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Situated
on
Bồ Hòn Island, 14 km south of
Bãi Cháy Beach is the Luồn
Grotto. In front of the grotto is Con
Rùa Islet, and the Sky Gate is on the
right. Here the cliffs stretch
vertically out of the pure blue and
smooth water. At the water-level, an
arched entrance leads to the grotto,
just at the base of the island. Passing
through the pretty entrance, you come
across a tranquil round lake, surrounded
by luxuriant trees and high dangerous
stone walls. Monkeys run to and fro in
groups, benjamin fig trees shade the
landscape and many orchids hang their
sweet-scented flowers. In the lake, many
species abound: shrimp, fish, crab and
cuttle-fish.
This
is an enclosed group of islands. It
connects with the sea via a
4-meter-wide, 100-meter-long, and
3-meter-high mouth. Inside the grotto,
the 1-km2 brackish lake is
surrounded by mountains. On the cliff
one still find traces of fossils of
fresh-water snails, which prove that men
used to live there and this must have
been a deep valley then.
The
beauty of the site, is the mingling of a
number of factors: the mountain's size
and form, the colour of the water and
the clouds.
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