Hang Mua Cave, Ninh Binh: One of Vietnam’s Best Views?
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Ninh Binh is full of amazing scenery and spectacular views. But in my opinion, the best view is from the Mua Cave, Ninh Binh lookout.
Most of the time in Ninh Binh, you are viewing all of the scenery from ground level.
Whether you are riding a bike or taking a boat ride, the limestone mountains look amazing from below.
But the Hang Mua Cave lookout is the one place in Ninh Binh you can see it all from above. The view is incredible and something that you have to see.
Hiking up to the lookout was one of my favorite things I did in Ninh Binh. Most people look forward to the boat rides in Ninh Binh, but I might have enjoyed the hike up here even more than our boat ride.
So keep reading to find how to get there, how to avoid the scams, and the best times of day to arrive.
Is Mua Cave Actually A Cave? The History
One thing that confused me when I was researching the Mua Cave lookout was, why is it called a cave?
When I looked at all the pictures, I did not see any caves, just dragons and temples on the tops of mountains.
But I later learned that the cave is at the bottom of the mountain, and it is easy to miss.
Hang = Cave and Mua = Dancing in Vietnamese, so the literal translation is dancing cave.
This small cave at the bottom of the mountain is apparently where a king used to go to watch his dancers perform in the 1200s. So that is how it came to be called the dancing cave.
In the early 2000s, they decided to build a lookout on the mountain above the cave. Then they decided to name the lookout after the cave for some reason!
How To Get To The Hang Mua Cave Viewpoint?
The best way to get to the Hang Mua viewpoint is by bike, scooter, or grab.
It is about a 45-minute walk from Tam Coc. So, unless you feel like a long walk, it is best to get some wheels.
We hired a scooter from our guesthouse, and it was the perfect way to get there. We wanted to arrive at sunrise and didn’t feel like an early morning bike ride.
I highly recommend getting a bike to explore the rest of Ninh Binh. It is so much more peaceful riding a bike, and I feel like you are able to take in the views better.
Scooters create so much more noise than you think!
TIP: When you hire a scooter in Vietnam, it will almost always be super empty. This is because most people siphon the gas out when you return the bike. We hired a bike from our guesthouse and returned it in the evening. Then we asked to take it again the next morning, and our hosts were scrambling around to put gas back in it without us noticing! So always be prepared to put some gas in straight away, which is often from plastic bottles on the side of the road.
Hanoi To Mua Cave
If you are looking to visit the Mua Cave lookout from Hanoi, you have a couple of options for how to get there.
You can book a bus or a limousine bus with 12GoAsia. Limousine buses are just vans, but they call them limousines in Vietnam for some reason. The bus or van will cost from 6 to 10 USD.
If you do not want to organise things yourself, you can take a tour to Hang Mua Cave. If you can only do a day trip to Ninh Binh, this is quite a good option because you can see all the main sights in one day and return to Hanoi in the evening.
Hang Mua Sunrise vs Sunset
As I mentioned earlier, we decided to go to the viewpoint for sunrise. The main reason for this was that I thought there would be fewer crowds, and I was right.
When we were at the top for sunrise, there were maybe 20 other people up there. Whereas I had seen videos of people at the top for sunset, and it was jam-packed.
The views at sunrise were amazing, so I can highly recommend going then if you are an early riser.
But if you hate getting up early, then make sure you go at sunset. It will be crowded, but it is worth it for the views.
Another benefit of going when it is less crowded is that the dragon at the top is very awkward to climb around. It is surrounded by sharp rocks, and there is not much space at all.
So if it is full of people, it would not be pleasant!
Hang Mua Entrance Fee & How to Avoid the Parking Scam
It is well known that there are scam parking attendants when you arrive at Mua Cave.
As you drive towards the lookout, people will stand out on the road and try to tell you that you have to park at their parking lot.
They are just trying to scam tourists, and there is an official parking right next to the entrance that is quite cheap.
Because we arrived for sunrise, we did not encounter anyone trying to make us park earlier. I guess there were not enough people to scam at that time!
Just make sure that you do not park until after you have arrived at the gate and paid for your ticket.
The ticket to Hang Mua Cave costs 120,000 VND or about 5 USD. There is no card payment, so make sure that you bring cash.
The 500-Step Hang Mua Hike: Is It Difficult?
After walking through the gate, you will pass through some tacky, touristy restaurants and fake photo spots before arriving at the stairs.
If you go past the stairs on the left, you can check out the Hang Mua Cave that the lookout is named after. But it is not very impressive, so you can also just give it a skip.
There are 500 stairs to the top, and as long as you are in half-descent shape, it will not be difficult to climb to the top. However, we did see some people really struggling!
The only thing I would note is that near the top of the stairs did get narrow and were quite sharp. So you probably will want to wear good shoes.
Even though we found the climb easy, we were happy that it was early in the morning when we started our climb. The air was nice and cool, so we were not sweating our arses off.
Because we were heading up at sunrise, the views as you climbed up were incredible. It was so magical watching the countryside around us slowly turn orange in the glow from the sun.
The Fork In The Road: Pagoda vs Dragon Peak
At one point, you will reach a fork in the footpath. The path to the right will take you to the pagoda lookout point. The path to the left will take you up to the dragon viewpoint.
I recommend heading up to the Dragon View point first. In my opinion, it has the best views, and then you can climb on the Dragon before other people arrive.
There is not much space at all around it, and climbing onto the Hang Mua dragon viewpoint was definitely the sketchiest part of the trip.
Katharina is not a fan of heights, and she was not happy when she was on the dragon! So keep that in mind if you are scared of heights.
I loved the views of the rows of limestone karst mountains from the dragon viewpoint.
You get such a different perspective, and you can truly appreciate the scale of nature in Ninh Binh.
For us, sunrise was the perfect time to go up to the viewpoint. It was an awesome experience watching the sun rise over the mountains while we took in the views with almost no one around.
It is such a touristy place, and I am sure our experience would have been much different later in the day.
The atmosphere is so much different when there are just a few other people quietly enjoying the views. Rather than busloads of tour groups jamming up the footpaths and making a lot of noise.
We spent about 30 minutes at the top, then walked over and checked out the viewpoint from the pagoda.
It gives you a different perspective, so it is also well worth checking out.
After that, you can head down and start your journey back to town to grab some breakfast!
Finish Off At The Lotus Pond and Boardwalk
Once you have arrived at the bottom of the stairs, it is worth having a quick walk through the lotus pond.
It is on the left as you are walking out, and if you are lucky, you may see some lotus flowers in bloom.
When we walked through, most of the flowers were not in bloom. But the boardwalk was still a nice place to stroll around for a few minutes.
Looking For Something To Do After Mua Cave?
The Hang Mua Cave viewpoint was a surprising highlight of our trip to Vietnam for me. Even though it is a super touristy location, the views are stunning and unlike anything I have seen elsewhere around the world.
If you are in Ninh Binh, I think that you are really missing out if you do not make your way up to the lookout.
If you want more information about Ninh Binh, also make sure to read our complete guide on Ninh Binh.
We also have plenty more articles if you need help planning the rest of your Vietnam itinerary. If you are heading north from Ninh Binh and wondering where to go next, then check out our articles on Ha Long Bay. Or if you are heading south, check out our posts on beautiful Phong Nha.
