Ha Long Bay Vietnam Print

Hạ Long Bay in northern Vietnam is known for thousands of limestone islands and pillars rising almost vertically from the water. The landscape was shaped over millions of years as soluble limestone was weathered and eroded, leaving towers, caves and enclosed lagoons across the Gulf of Tonkin.

Boats are the natural way to understand the bay because many of its formations are separated by channels of water rather than roads. Fishing communities have also lived with the limestone landscape for generations, long before cruises made it an international destination. Hạ Long Bay was recognised by UNESCO for its natural significance, but its strongest visual identity remains very simple: calm water interrupted by steep green-grey karst forms that look unlike almost anywhere else in Vietnam.