Ninh Binh

First boat at Trang An, last light over the Ngo Dong

Start Ninh Binh at the Trang An wharf when the first boats leave, well before the Hanoi coaches appear. The rowing route takes two to three hours, threading through low caves with stops at island temples in the flooded valley, and from the wharf it is a short ride to Hoa Lu, the 10th-century capital.

Take a hat and water. At Hoa Lu, the temples of the Dinh and Le kings stand at the foot of the hills. Have lunch nearby and sit out the hottest hours back at your homestay.

Late in the afternoon, cycle the lanes around Tam Coc, past paddies and goat pens to Bich Dong, the pagoda built in three levels into a cliff. Dinner is grilled mountain goat with crispy rice.

Get up at first light on day two for Mua Cave. Climb the roughly 500 steps to the stone dragon on the ridge and look down on the bends of the Ngo Dong river while it is still cool. Afterwards, take the Tam Coc boat through its three caves, or drive 20 minutes to Van Long for a quieter bamboo-boat trip where langurs sometimes show on the cliffs. Spend the afternoon at Bai Dinh, riding the electric cart up to the great bell and the long arhat galleries, then head back for a last sunset over the river.

Mountain goat, com chay and Kim Son eel salad

Mountain goat (de nui) is Ninh Binh's dish, raised on the province's limestone outcrops and listed first on every menu around Tam Coc and Trang An. It comes as lime-dressed slices with lemongrass and sesame (de tai chanh), on skewers, steamed with ginger or in a group hotpot, eaten with herbs, star fruit and fig leaves.

Alongside it comes com chay, the local scorched rice. Rice is cooked until a thick crust forms, dried in the sun and fried into crisp golden sheets. Restaurants serve it topped with a pork floss and fish sauce mixture, or soaked in a meat broth, and shops sell bagged slabs to take home.

Head south towards Phat Diem and the specialty changes to goi ca nhech, a raw eel salad from the Kim Son coast, wrapped in leaves with roasted rice powder and a rich dipping sauce. It is an acquired taste and best eaten at places that are busy with locals. The simplest meals are often the best: family-run rice shops in Tam Coc cook pork, river fish and morning glory without fuss, and the cafes along the Ngo Dong river do strong iced coffee for the hours between boat trips.

Cuc Phuong's primates and Phat Diem's stone cathedral

Three trips beyond the Tam Coc, Trang An and Hoa Lu triangle are worth a day each: Cuc Phuong National Park, the Van Long wetland and Phat Diem cathedral. Cuc Phuong, set up in 1962 as Vietnam's first national park, covers a long ridge of limestone forest about an hour's drive west.

The Endangered Primate Rescue Center near the gate cares for langurs and gibbons rescued from the wildlife trade, and the guided visit is the best introduction to the park. Beyond it, forest trails lead to ancient trees and caves. Stay overnight at the park bungalows if you want to walk at dawn.

Van Long, north of Tam Coc, is the calm alternative to the busy boat routes. Bamboo boats glide across a reed-fringed wetland under cliffs where the rare Delacour's langur survives; you need luck and binoculars to see them. Afternoons are especially quiet.

Phat Diem Cathedral, in Kim Son district to the south, is one of the strangest buildings in the country. Completed in the late 19th century, it was built of stone and ironwood in the form of a Vietnamese temple, with curved tiled roofs and a bell tower that looks like a pagoda gate. Inside, the long nave is held up by massive wooden columns. Combine it with an eel salad lunch in Kim Son and you have a full day away from the crowds.