Heavenly Palace Cave
As we draw closer to the towering karst isles and islets of the bay, I’m still in awe of the numerous karst gradually fading in the horizon. While I still have the same sentiments that the ocean waters here aren’t as clear and inviting as our very own Palawan, I must admit that Ha Long Bay impresses by sheer numbers.
Our first stop in this tour is the Thien Cung Cave or the Heavenly Palace Cave. I haven’t been here so I was curious what it’s like. This 10,000 square meter cave is said to be the most beautiful primitive cave in the bay. After a bit of trivia from Duc, we proceeded into climbing the staircase leading to the cave entrance.
Heavenly Palace Cave, like Sung Sot Cave which I visited before, is also developed. Cemented pathways and multi-colored lights illuminate the rock formations and walls of this cave. It’s a fairly huge cave and the pathway winds through several crevices before leading to the exit. I must say the cave has impressive rock formations even if we strip away those fancy lighting. It’s an easy cave to explore. I finished exploring the cave in half an hour in a slow pace, taking my sweet time taking photos inside the cave.
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
