How to visit the Mua Caves (Hang Mua) Viewpoint in Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Last updated on March 15th, 2024

Want to admire Ninh Binh’s epic towering limestone peaks from the Mua Caves (Hang Mua) viewpoint? We’re sharing everything you need to know before you go!

In Ninh Binh you’re surrounded by towering limestone karst peaks, which can be admired as you bike around town and from the water on a boat tour. But one of the best ways to see them is from high above. And that’s exactly what you can do by visiting the Mua Caves viewpoint.

Mua Caves, also known as Hang Mua (“Hang” means cave in Vietnamese), is a mountain with two spectacular viewpoints above Ninh Binh. The towering peak was used as a natural vantage point for surveying the area and for tracking enemies since the 1200s. And today it still provides an amazing vantage point of the area! 

Watch our experience in Ninh Binh where we took a Trang An boat tour, visited the Mua Caves, the Bich Dong Pagoda, and more! 

From the top you’ll have ridiculous panoramic views. You’ll see layers and layers of peaks as far as the eye can see, gorgeous valleys of rice paddies, and tranquil rivers flowing between them. While it’s a doozy to get to the top, it is 100% worth it. It’s easily one of the best things to do in Ninh Binh! 

And in this guide we’re sharing everything you need to know to visit the Mua Caves viewpoint. Including how to get there, the cost, what to expect as you climb up and at the top, plus how to not get scammed. 

How to get to the Mua Caves Viewpoint

The Mua Caves Viewpoint is located near the town of Ninh Binh in northern Vietnam. The Hang Mua Ecolodge marks the start of the hike up to the Access to the Mua Caves Viewpoint. Once you’re inside the gates, you’ll walk through the manicured gardens of the ecolodge, all the way to the end of the path, where you’ll find a shaded area with a restaurant, snack stand, toilets, and the stairs.

Parking for the Mua Caves Viewpoint

Beware of parking scams!

If you have researched about some of the top things to do in Ninh Binh, then you’ll have read about some of the parking scams you might encounter around town. Unfortunately, the Mua Caves viewpoint is no exception. 

As you’re riding down the only road to reach the Mua Caves and the Mua Caves Ecolodge, there will be some locals along the road trying to get you to park on their property. They will insist that you have to park there and cannot ride further. Some will be more aggressive than others and some may be dressed in official looking uniforms to look like police officers. They will demand that you pay a fee to park with them. 

What you do in these situations is firmly tell them no and keep moving. Keep pedaling past them and DO NOT get off your bike.

One way to avoid this uncomfortable encounter is to arrive early. When we arrived before 7 AM, no one was really on the streets. However, one local rushed out when they saw us to try to get us to stop. We just kept pedaling! 

Official parking for the Mua Caves Viewpoint

The official parking lot is just inside the gate by the Mua Caves Ecolodge. Parking costs 10,000 VND  (~$0.40 USD) for motorbikes and 5,000 VND (~$0.20 USD) for bicycles. Make sure to ONLY park after entering the gate, right behind the payment booth.

How much does it cost to visit the Mua Caves Viewpoint?

The entrance to the Mua Caves is 100,000 VND (~$4 USD) per person. Kids below 1 meter tall are able to enter for free. There is a ticket booth right after you enter the gates where you can pay your admission and parking fee. Make sure to bring cash!

Hang Mua Ecolodge

After paying your admission, you will walk through the grounds of the Hang Mua Ecolodge. This is a beautiful, garden-like property, which sets a nice, nature filled scene for the trek ahead! Here you can find a restaurant and a snack stand, so if you get hungry, you can grab a quick bite here. We recommend going to Brick Coffee afterwards instead!

The Caves at Mua Caves

The name “Mua Caves”’ can be a bit misleading. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the whole experience was about caves. And while there are a few caves on the mountain, the real star of the show is the viewpoints at the top of the mountain!

Right before you reach the famous Mua Caves stairs, you’ll come across the only accessible cave, called Tiger Cave. It’s a small cave and is worth popping your head into real quick. But compared to the caves on the Trang An Boat Tour, it wasn’t overly impressive.

Climbing the stairs

After seeing Tiger Cave, it’s time to conquer the stairs! There are over 500 large stone steps to get to the Mua Caves viewpoint. Which even as avid hikers, kicked our butts a bit. We arrived shortly after sunrise in the “cooler” months, but the humidity caused us to be drenched in sweat as we climbed to the top.

As you climb up, make sure to take your time and turn around to enjoy the view! It gets better and better as you climb. The entire hike up should take about 20-30 minutes total.

About two thirds of the way up, you’ll come to a fork. Right in the middle is a snack stand, where you can buy drinks and snacks. To the right, you can get to the pagoda viewpoint. And to the left, you can go to the dragon viewpoint, which is the higher of the two. We suggest going to the left first!

The different viewpoints at Mua Caves

Dragon

The dragon viewpoint is the most impressive of the two, in our opinion. After turning left at the fork, you will climb more sets of steps to get to the very top. Between the two sets of stairs, there is a landing, where you can take a break and snap some photos. From here, you can get a really cool shot of yourself or your travel companion hiking up the steps, with the pagoda viewpoint behind them.

The next set of stairs are a bit more challenging, as they are super tall and steep. I (Kathryn) had to use my hands to help me get up them. But after this short final section, you have made it to the top!

From here you can look down on the rice fields, the river where the Tam Coc boat tour goes through, and tons of peaks in the distance. It is absolutely EPIC! There are multiple areas to admire the views and get photos. With one of the most unique being a huge, snaking dragon statue!

Not only is the dragon statue super neat to admire, but you can also climb around on the dragon. But WARNING: the rocks surrounding it are very sharp and worn down from lots of visitors and are very slick! PLEASE be careful if you decide to do this. And make sure you have good shoes!

Pagoda

After admiring the views from the dragon viewpoint, head back down the stairs and onto the pagoda viewpoint. To get up to this viewpoint you’ll have to go up more stairs (shocker, I know)! At the top, there is a small pagoda to admire. Plus you’ll have views of different fields and buildings in the distance, mountains, the Hang Mua Ecolodge, and the lotus fields. 

These lotus fields directly below the Mua Caves usually have a design in them. If you visit in the rainy season, the fields will be green and the lotus flowers will be blooming. You can also walk around a boardwalk, right by the Hang Mua Ecolodge, with the flowers all around you!

After spending time at both viewpoints. It’s time to head back down! And thankfully it’s all downhill from here. 😃

What time should you visit the Mua Caves Viewpoint? 

The Mua Caves viewpoint is open everyday from 6 AM to 7 PM. And we HIGHLY recommend arriving as early as possible. This is one of the most popular attractions in the area and the hordes of tours will begin arriving probably around 9 AM or 10 AM.

We left our homestay right before sunrise and got to the Mua Caves just before 7 AM. While there were a handful of groups, it wasn’t bad at all and we were able to get lots of photos without people in them. It definitely was getting busier as we left!

The best time of year to visit the Mua Caves Viewpoint

We would recommend visiting Ninh Binh and the Mua Caves viewpoint in the dry season, during the months of November through April. The rainy season typically begins in May and ends in October. 

We visited Ninh Binh in late March and the weather was great. We had some cloudy days, plus a few warm and humid days, like the day we climbed the Mua Caves. But we didn’t experience any rain.

Looking for more things to do in Ninh Binh?

If you have more time in Ninh Binh, check out our guide with 9+ AMAZING things to do in Ninh Binh. In this guide we share a two day itinerary, plus a bunch of suggestions of where to eat and stay, including a beautiful bungalow with a private plunge pool!

Ready to visit the Hang Mua Caves viewpoint?

Pin this guide to visiting the Hang Mua Caves viewpoint to help plan your experience!