Ha Long Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin, within Quang Ninh Province, in the northeast of Vietnam, is 145 km from the capital of Ha Noi.
Local legend tells of Vietnamese gods sending Mother Dragon and her children down to Earth to help the people defend their country. The dragons carved large valleys and gorges with their tails. These then flooded, creating Halong Bay, translated as "descending dragon". Watching the limestone pillars jut out of the early morning mist, it’s easy to appreciate that this otherworldly seascape has a mystical importance to the Vietnamese people.
Covering an area of 43,400 ha and including over 1600 islands and islets, the sheer columns of rock have gradually eroded to create a network of caves, grottoes and arches, which are best explored by boat. Due to their precipitous nature, most are uninhabited — topped with tangled patches of jungle and occasionally fringed by narrow beach. Local life clings to the water, where people live in brightly painted floating villages.