The landscape around the town of Ha Tien is studded with a surprising number of emerald green hills and limestone formations, and it’s not surprising that many contain caves.
Two of these are open to the public, and form the focal point for two ‘out and back’ bike loops, which each incorporate a cave visit.
Here are two of four 15-20 km bike loops I’ve mapped out through the area.
Tackling these on different days will give you plenty of time to explore the caves and temples, keeping in mind that caves and humid heat can be a tiring combination.
Da Dung, the larger and more impressive of the two complexes needs at minimum an hour of your time, two if you want to delve into the cave interiors.
If you’re just not that into caves, but are into scenery, do this ride anyway. This is an intriguing little pocket of Vietnam, and boasts some terrific scenery.
There are rice terraces, villages, caves, coast, canals mountains – little bit of everything in fact.
Xa Xia loop with Thach Dong Cave
Distance: 20 km (approximately)
Road condition: Easy, flat roads, with one unsealed stretch that can be skipped if necessary. Small section of highway.
Good to know: There are several steps leading up to the cave entrance – just enough to get you puffing.
About the route
The Xa Xia Loop takes you out to to Thach Dong cave via a striking Cambodian temple and gorgeous back road before meandering through more stunning countryside right up near the border.
Thach Dong is the smaller of Ha Tien’s cave sites, but definitely worth a visit – mainly to see the atmospheric Buddhist temple built within the cave.
There’s a great hilltop view to boot.
Heading out of town
Take road DT 28 until you get to a small right hand turn off at the junction with So 25. This takes you onto a very pretty country road that somehow reminds me of Laos.
That’s probably because the nice concrete path turns into bumpy red dirt. This road goes past a quarry and apart from the occasional rumbling lorry, you’ll quickly feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere.
Music and voices drifting from the odd settlement tends to be Khmer rather than Vietnamese.
The road eventually meets DT28 (Ba Ly) and runs east, and at about this point you’ll see the 80-metre limestone formation of Thach Dong looming in the distance.
Xa Xia temple is about midway along this stretch; just be aware that it sits at the end of a driveway so isn’t visible from the road.
Cambodian temple
Xa Xia (Sa See-ya) temple is the centre of cultural life for the very considerable Khmer population living in the area.
This is maybe one to skip if you have just been to Cambodia, otherwise the temple is a calm, serene and quiet place to punctuate your trip.
I rather enjoyed looking at some of the wall scenes though I’m not sure what this horse is about to do.
The Eagle’s Lair: Thach Dong cave and pagoda
Thach Dong is around 5-10 minutes ride from Xa Xia, via a brief turn off onto Highway 80. Pay a few thousand dong for the ticket fee you’re free to wander up some steps and into the cave.
The most striking feature of this cave is this internal temple. When I visited I was lucky enough to hear prayers being performed; and despite the fact that the space had several visitors the grey-robed nun seemed oblivious to the world around her.
For the Vietnamese, Thach Dong draws fame for its connection to the legend of Tach Sanh. It’s a classic rip-roaring tale involving a penniless hero who saves a princess from ogres and an evil eagle, finding himself unfairly jailed along the way.
Watching out for ogres, I was able to squeeze onto a small ledge allowing sweeping views across to Cambodia. A few domestic tourists were also keen for me to make a guest appearance in their holiday snaps.
My Duc back roads
Two back road loops branch off from QL80 at My Duc, both offering wonderful scenery out across surrounding countryside.
QL80 here is a sprawling, dusty, unattractive mess that doesn’t do much beyond encouraging people to leave Vietnam as quickly as possible. Push on for a few minutes, however, and the back roads are quite idyllic.
Xa Xia Road
Take a left off QL80 onto the Xa Xia road, which again takes you into rice field territory and a large fish farm. Sailing along virtually empty roads, the land lays out like a carpet.
You’ll start on a concrete path but take care not to miss the left hand turn onto a smaller gravel road – do refer to my map here.
Returning to Ha Tien
Ride back to Ha Tien along DT28, or for a longer ride you can take the Coast Road via Nui Den, described here in my Lighthouse Loop post.
Da Dung cave loop
Distance: 20 km or 15 km
Road condition: mostly good roads with a few rough patches. Flat.
Good to know: Good, depending on how deep you go into the caves. Some stair climbing involved. If you’re planning to go into the caves bring sturdy sandals and sturdy shorts – some ‘bum sliding’ might be required.
Introduction
This loop includes a stop off at the Da Dung cave and a small but intriguing Cao Dai temple, as well as fishing boats and more scenic back roads.
The name Da Dung (pronounced ‘Da Yoong”) refers not to a single cave but rather to an imposing limestone structure with a series of 14 different caves and grottoes. This is a much more impressive site than Thac Da and is definitely the pick of the two.
Heading out of town
Take the road along the waterfront, heading away from the To Chau bridge.
Eventually you’ll reach a small bridge over a canal – on the other side you’ll see Ha Tien’s impressive fishing fleet, with dozens of boats moored side by side. Get there between 8 and 9am you’ll see fishermen loading long blocks of ice into the boats via an ingenious slider system.
Backtrack a little to Duong Dong Ho and follow it along the canal until you reach QL80, ignoring the unsightly rubbish dumps on what is otherwise a nice section of road.
QL 80 is not too busy here, and there are nice little snapshops of canal life as you start to see the hills come into view.
Cao Dai Temple
This small but intriguing temple is worth a brief stop, especially if you have not previously come across Cao Dai.
Cao Dai is a religion which originates in souther Vietnam and ombines Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, Confucianism, and Islam
I found the iconography on its banners and and murals quite beautiful and surprisingly Chinese in appearance
Village detour
Before you reach the Da Dung turn off there is a nice little detour through a peaceful small village in the shadow of another hillside. I love exploring these little back ways – they give you just a little glimpse into another world.
Da Dung Road
There is some particularly lovely rural cycling along the road to Da Dung: the vegetation becomes thick and lush and cocoons you as you go.
According to good old Google Maps it is possible to take a very narrow back road through rice fields and farms. Not a great idea, unless you want to take a tumble (I did). It’s a great spot for a photo though (check out my map).
Da Dung caves
Da Dung lets you get up close with the limestone. You can circumnavigate the hill via a well maintained walkway, ducking into the caves as you go.
When I went on a weekday morning there was almost no-one around, and the site itself was well-maintained and litter free, well-worth the small (around 10K) entrance fee.
Depending on how much clambering you are up for this can be quite an energetic excursion, that will take an hour at the very least.
With 16 caves all up, it’s easy to spend too much time on the earlier exhibits and run out of puff – so be warned.
With the help of ropes and some quite tasteful lighting, you can climb quite deep into some of the caves, though a number of areas are still naturally dark, slippery, humid and prone to bats whizzing past.
What is great about Da Dung is that even if you stick to the walkways and peer in, you’ll still see plenty of cave formations.
Small shrines pop up here and there, adding to the atmosphere.
My Duc Scenic loop
Leaving Thach Dong, you’ll head down a wide, straight, smooth concrete road that offers great views across rice fields and back to Nui Da Dung itself, and across to the jutting shape of Thach Dong.
I’m not sure what a ‘border belt’ is, but there’s one here:
Some of Ha Tien’s best scenery can be found from a small back road in the village of My Duc. It’s easy to miss the turn off, but once you do it is worth it.
Take this bit slow, and enjoy the view.
Back to Ha Tien
From here, you have two options: head straight back to town via QL80, or take the far more scenic DT28, threading your way in between the cluster of hills on the peninsula.
‘Best of ‘ circuit route
If you’re up for a longer ride, this thirty kilometre loop combines the coastal and inland roads, sticking almost entirely to well-paved surfaces.
