Amongst endless fields of maize and beaming sunlight lies an entrance to a mysterious set of caves with a rich past and soaked in legend that has just recently been tapped for its tourism potential.

Yen Son Commune, Yen Chau District in the northern province of Son La to have a look at what everyone is talking about: the eerie beauty and mystery of the Chi Day caves in Dan Village.

While the series of caves has been known for centuries by locals, it was only last year that word of mouth started to spread to the general public, pulling in a great number of visitors throughout the country. The visitors are entranced by the incredible sites of the variously shaped stalactites as if paradise has appeared in front of them.

Getting there
The area is remote and peaceful. The caves aren’t new to everyone. The Thai ethnic elders of Dan Village say their community has known about the caves. It wasn’t until last year, however, that the caves were considered as anything but big holes leading inside the mountain. They had never thought about exploring inside.

The series of Chi Day caves includes five separate caves, although only three are open to visitors, according to Kieu Duc Nam, head of the site management board.

In the recent drive for tourism, the caves were fixed up to receive visitors, although the site has yet to be officially recognised as a destination for tourists. Nevertheless, hundreds of people are now coming to the site daily.

The caves can thank simple word of mouth for their recent popularity. After the first tourists visited the caves and enjoyed them, they introduce the caves to their friends. Gradually, more and more people came to know about this recent discovery, and the caves now receive thousands of visitors on its busiest days on holidays and weekends, according to Nam.

The caves are estimated to be nearly 1,000m above sea level, Nam said. Over millions of years, the vicissitudes of time and the deformation of the earth’s crust created these caves with multiform stalactites.