Hoa Lu Ancient Royal capital:
In 968 Dinh Bo Linh ascended to the throne and took the name of King Dinh Tien Hoang. The country was named Dai Co Viet and Hoa Lu became the capital city for 41 years (968-1009). Twelve years were spent under the Dinh Dynasty beginning with King Le Dai Hanh.  King Le Dai Hanh was credited with building many palaces and made the royal city more beautiful and magnificent.  In 1010 Ly Thai To moved the capital city of Hoa Lu to Thang Long.  Nowadays tourists visiting Hoa Lu could only see two temples some 500m apart from each other, standing in the ground of the ancient palaces: One was defecated to King Dinh Tien Hoang and the other to King Le Dai Hanh. Both were built in the Truong Yen commune in Hoa Lu district. Being close to each other they were called the Dinh-Le Temples.  On the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month each year, a great number of pilgrims come to Hoa Lu to pay tribute to Kings Dinh and Le. 

Bich Dong:
Is a grotto located in the Ngu Hanh Son mountain range, in Dam hamlet, Minh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district. A short boat trip will take tourists into a beautiful landscape with canals meandering between high rocks and grottoes. In the 18th century King Tu Duc visited Bich Dong. Charmed by the marvelous scenery offered by the mountains, rivers and cliff top pagodas, the King conferred on Bich Dong the title "the Second Most Beautiful Grotto in Vietnam". 

Tam Coc:
Taking a sailing trip from Bich Dong, tourists reach Tam Coc which comprises three grottoes: Hang Ca, Hang Hai and Hang Ba, all are adorned with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites in different shapes and colours, sparkling like gemstones. 

The Cuc Phuong National Park:
Only 100  km southwest of Hanoi and 60 km from the sea, the National Park lies between the provinces Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa. It covers an of 25,000 ha, three-quarters of which is limestone mountains with a height ranging from 300m to 600m above sea level.  This primeval tropical forest was discovered in 1960, and it was turned into a national park two years later. Cuc Phuong is famous for dozens of picturesque caves. The most interesting of them is Dong Nguoi xua (Ancient Man Cave) where stone tools of pre-historic humans were found.  The National Park is hime to some 2,000 species of flora. Some rare wood trees of the Parashorea and Dracontomelum families are about 1,000 years old and from 50m to 70m high. In particular Cuc Phuong boasts at least 50 varieties of orchid. Many of them fragrant all the year round. 
The National Park is also home to 262 species of animals, birds and reptiles, including elephants, tigers, deer, flying squirrels, flying lizards, and boas. 

The Phat Diem Cathedral:
The cathedral was build in 1875-1898 in Luu Phuong cimmune, Kim Son district, 120km from Hanoi. 
The cathedral covering an area of 8ha consists of various structures. The largest structures is the cathedral proper which was built in 1891. It is 80m long, 24m wide and 18m high supported by 48 lim wood columns each one almost 2.4m in perimeter. In the lateral naves there are 14 stone bas-reliefs depicting the life of Jesus Christ. The facade of the cathedral faces a 1.5-ha pond dominated by a 3 - meter statue of Christ the King erected on an islet. 
In 1889 the palace of Maria's Heart 15m long, and 9m wide was built totally of stone. 
The Phat Diem Cathedral is an architectural complex that combines the traditional pagoda architecture of Vietnam and the Gothic style of Christian architecture. 

Bich Dong - Tam Coc:
Bich Dong Pagoda is located 11 km from Ninh Binh in Ninh Binh province and can be reached by either  boat or car.  Bich Dong Pagoda, built on Ngu Nhac Mountain, is divided into three levels: Ha Pagoda (lower pagoda), Trung Pagoda (middle pagoda), and Thuong Pagoda (upper pagoda). On the mountain peak stands the statue of a scholar Mandarin looking at the horizon in hope of viewing the spectacular landscapes of Hoa Lu.

From the upper pagoda, one has the most magnificent view of Bich Dong, which is romantically charming in terms of architecture and history. The location for this pagoda was chosen in 1428 after two monks were charmed by the view of the river and the mountains. Later, King Le Canh Hung  wrote a poem in honour of the beautiful pagoda and landscape. He was the one who said that Bich Dong Pagoda was the second nicest pagoda in Vietnam, after the Huong Pagoda, also called Perfume Pagoda, in Ha Tay province.  One cannot visit Bich Dong Pagoda without visiting Tam Coc Cave, located approximately 2 km from the pagoda.

Cuc Phuong National Park:
The best time to visit Cuc Phuong National Park is during the dry season, from December to April, when the hard forest rain accounting for 90% of the annual rainfall is over. Cuc Phuong National Park is located 160 km south of Hanoi in Ninh Binh province. The park is conveniently located on the route to several tourist attractions, including Bich Dong Pagoda, Hoa Lu, and Sam Son Beach. It was officially opened in 1960 as the first national park in Vietnam.

Cuc Phuong National Park is surrounded by several limestone cliffs, the highest being May Bac, meaning "silver cloud," with a height of 656 m. There are plenty of plants and mammals living in the park. There are an estimated 2,000 different species of flora and the 450 species fauna account for 38% of the national fauna.

Thanks to the limestone terrain, Cuc Phuong National Park has a multitude of caves, including Thang Khuyet Cave, Con Moong Cave, Pho Ma Cave, and Nguoi Xua Cave. Quen Voi, also part of the park, is where Nguyen Hue’s army was stationed before it made its surprise attack on Thanh Long and defeated Thanh enemies in the spring of 1789.

Global environmental programs led by the UNDP, United Nations Development Program, and FFI, Flora and Fauna International, researched the distinguished primitiveness of the tropical forest and the monsoon influence on Southeast Asia in Cuc Phuong National Park.

Dinh and Le Temples :
Dinh Temple was built in the shape of a Chinese character. Through the first entrance called Ngo Mon, there is a stone royal bed with Nghe (imaginary animals of the old times) standing on both sides. Inside the temple is Khai Thanh in worship of Emperor Dinh's parents.

The temple consists of three parts: Bai Duong for the community, Thien Huong in honour of mandarins, and Chinh Cung where Dinh Tien Hoang’s statue is located. On his left is the statue of his eldest son Dinh Lien, and on his right are those of Dinh Hanh Lang and Dinh Toan. On each side of the altar, there is one stone dragon similar to the ones placed near the royal bed.

Le Temple is almost the same as Dinh Temple in term of architectural design, except for some details. Le Temple also consists of three parts: Bai Duong, used for the community, Thien Huong, in memory of the royal mandarins of Le King, and finally, the altar in memory of the King. The statue of Le Hoan is at the centre, on the left is the statue of Queen Duong Van Nga and on his right is that of Le Ngoa Trieu, his fifth son and the third King of the First Le dynasty.

Old Capital City of Hoa Lu :
Hoa Lu was the capital of Vietnam almost 10 centuries ago during the Dinh and Tien Le dynasties. It is situated in Truong Yen commune, Ninh Binh province, approximately 100 km south of Hanoi. Hoa Lu is surrounded by numerous magnificent mountains and consists of three areas: Thanh Ngoai, Thanh Noi, and Thanh Nam.

Thanh Ngoai, covers an area of approximately 140 ha in Yen Thanh village. King Dinh Tien Hoang  erected a flag in Thanh Ngoai Palace. Ma Yen mountain is in front of the palace.

Phat Diem Cathedral :
Located 130 km south of Hanoi and 28-km southeast of Ninh Binh, Phat Diem Cathedral was built between 1875 and 1899 and consists of a network of ponds, lakes, churches, and artificial caves.  Phuong Dinh Church, part of the Phat Diem complex, is a giant building entirely made of stone. Numerous stone sculptures are on the inside and outside walls. A large bell cast in the 1890s weighing nearly 2 tons is found in the bell tower.  Phat Diem Cathedral was built in 1891 with four roofs and six sets of iron wooden pillars. On both sides of the church are four smaller churches of different styles. On the extreme north corner are three stone caves. The most beautiful of these caves is Lo Duc cave. Phat Diem Cathedral is the center of Catholicism in north Vietnam and also a tourist site attracting foreign and domestic visitors.

The cathedral of Phat Diem seems to have changed very little since Graham Greene described its ..gigantic pillars formed out of single trees and the scarlet lacquer work of the altar, more Buddhist than Christian" in his 1955 classic The Quiet American. Indeed, with its multi-tiered, curling roofs and its 48 lime-wood columns - (the largest of which weigh seven tones), Phat Diem is a far cry from a European cathedral. Stone relief angels overlook carved dragons and the cathedral's two tones bell is accompanied by a giant brass gong.

In the area surrounding this massive stone and wood cathedral, the rice paddies are peppered with stone churches. But, unlike these structures, built by Europeans and resembling typical churches of the era, Phat Diem Cathedral was designed by a Vietnamese priest, known as Father Sau Between 1875 and 1899, Father Sau rallied the local population to build the cathedral, five side chapels, three artificial grottoes, an artificial lake and a bell tower. He died the same year as the complex was finished.

Local Catholics view the cathedral's survival as almost miraculous; a bombing in 1972 flattened two of the side chapels and caused the cathedral to lean by some 20 degrees. Despite the ongoing war, restoration started immediately and today, the only obvious trace of the bombing is the destruction of some intricate stone carvings.