Ban Long Cave

Visiting Ninh Binh, almost every tourist wants to visit the famous temple named Ban Long. Ban Long Pagoda is an ancient temple in Khe Dau Thuong village, Ninh Xuan commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. The temple located under the cave of Dai Tuong mountain range is more than 1000 years old, associated with many mysterious legends.

Ban Long cave and pagoda built before Dinh Dynasty is an architectural work to worship Buddha. This relic also has a place to worship the goddesses: Holy Mother Lieu Hanh, Queen Quynh Hoa and Queen Que Hoa.

Ban Long Pagoda does not have a Tam Quan gate as is common in Vietnamese temples. Coming here, visitors have to go through a sophisticated stone bridge to get inside the temple.

The reason it is called Ban Long is because this place used to be the place where Lord Trinh Sam visited and wrote three words "Ban Long Tu", which means the scrolling dragon stone pedestal. In addition, in the temple, there is a very mysterious dragon-shaped stalactite. People here tell each other that, if the glittering dragon scales shine, there will be rain no matter how droughty the weather, so every year Ban Long Pagoda has a ceremony to pray for rain.

Going deep into the cave, on the left side, there is a statue of Amitabha made from green stone made from the first years of the temple's establishment and is a unique ancient stone Buddha image in the region. Below the Buddha statue is a coiled stone dragon, created by nature.

Ban Long Pagoda as well as many other temples are decorated with many Buddha statues, but more especially around the Buddha statues on the cave walls are carved by nature with images like the four spirits: long - ly - Quy. - worship. All of them worship Buddha statues, adding to the majesty of the ancient temple and even more special when on the high cliff in the middle of the cave, there are stalactites printed with the image of Buddha riding a white horse. Each space in the temple is created by nature to create impressive, delicate and very sacred sculptural shapes.

During the resistance war, this place was the place where many local headquarters were stationed. The pagoda, nestled in a cave, in the middle of a green and blue area, has long been a spiritual destination for many people. Along with the development of Ninh Binh tourism, Ban Long Pagoda is becoming more and more famous as a unique spiritual address. Ban Long cave and pagoda were recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national historical relic in 1994.