Hoàng Xá Cave

Hoàng Xá Mountain (Tượng Linh Mountain – shaped like a prostrate elephant; Ba Ngai Mountain – three peaks shaped like three thrones) is located in Hoàng Xá Village (also called Đình Tổ Village), adjacent to Du Nghệ and Hoa Vôi Villages of Quốc Oai Town.

According to ancient geographical concepts, the entire limestone mountain system in this area is a branch dragon, whose veins originate from Tản Viên ancestral mountain (Ba Vì), winding and rising and falling along the earth dragon veins, stretching for tens of kilometers to form the suddenly rising mountainous region.

The cave was formed by the mountain-building movement of the geological strata and has two entrances. Behind the Hoàng Xá Cave gate is a small garden opening onto two paths. To the right is the way to Hoa Vân Pagoda; the other path leads up the mountain. Hoàng Xá is a “through cave” penetrating from one side to the other, so it is illuminated from two main directions, East and Northwest. When sunlight shines in, the cave sparkles with the magical colors of the stalactites…

The cave is spacious and open, with a dome nearly 100 m high, and connects with the open-air level. The cave floor has many natural stone slabs joined into large blocks. Legend says that in ancient times this was a place where immortals played chess. Today, the wide stone slab is an ideal spot for visitors to rest and enjoy the pleasant feeling of receiving the cool breeze blowing in from the cave entrance.

Inside the cave are stalactite formations shaped like standing and lying elephants, nearly the size of real elephants. That is why many people liken Hoàng Xá Cave to a forgotten fairyland.

The largest wall of Hoàng Xá Cave bears a carved statue of Cao Xuân Dục (1842–1923), an upright official and a famous scholar of the Duy Tân period of the Nguyễn dynasty. When Hoàng Cao Khải, who followed the French, wanted to become Viceroy and forced court officials to sign a petition to the king, Cao Xuân Dục refused to sign. He was slandered and demoted to serve as prefect of Quốc Oai. After his death, the people carved a statue to worship in the middle of Hoàng Cave. Although his time as prefect of Quốc Oai was brief, he spread the spirit of patriotism, indomitable will, and the tradition of valuing education among the people of Quốc Prefecture.

In front of the cave entrance are two towers built in the 7th year of Thành Thái (1895). In the mountain and cave area are the Văn Xương Đế Quân Temple, the Lower Temple (burned by the French invading army in 1949), Hoàng Kim Pagoda, and Hoa Vân Pagoda (Cả Pagoda), built during the Later Lê dynasty, forming a unique complex of temples and pagodas that fits the beautiful natural scenery.

From Cả Pagoda, follow several dozen stone steps up to visit the Upper Temple halfway up the mountain.

In front of the cave entrance, next to the inter-communal road, is a wide lotus pond, commonly called Giếng Cả, shaped like a giant carp with its head resting toward the cave entrance. In the middle of the fish pond is the fish navel (ngư đỗ), with a raised mound of earth on which a pavilion called Quán Gió was built, connected to the shore by a semicircular bridge.

Outside Giếng Cả, across the inter-communal road, is Gò Mãng Xà, resembling two dragons facing the cave entrance. This area is now the district’s Martyrs’ Cemetery. In front of the cave, slightly to the right, is Hoàng Xá Communal House. Behind the communal house is a shrine to General Lữ Gia, who is honored as the village tutelary deity.