The Bizarre Landscape of Tam Cốc

Among Vietnam’s most stunning images is the aerial view of Tam Cốc: a region of rice fields and steep limestone hills, just south of Ninh Binh. If you’re spending any time in the region, it’s a photo you’ll see over and over again, in the window of every tourism agency, hung on the wall of every restaurant. And every time you see it, you’ll think to yourself… “Man, I’ve got to go there!”

A visit to Tam Cốc consists of a two-hour boat trip along the rivers that cut around, and through, the va...