Upon hearing “Tung Cave” you may be curious as to the strange name. Why does the cave bear such a title? The answer lies in a fascinating legend presented to its visitors.

To reach the cave you’ll need to come prepared: hiking shoes, long pants to guard against scratches, water, flashlights and sometimes rope as well. All this is necessary as the path to the cave is through a forest that lends its name to the cave with towering tetrameles trees requiring guests to ascend a small mountain which, according to Madagui’s guides, takes at least 45 minutes to reach. The Tung - tetrameles trees  surrounding you are found in only one place in Vietnam: Nam Cat Tien National Park and specifically the area of the park where Madagui lies.

After conquering the mountain, you will find an array of natural wonders surrounding you. Tung Cave is made of large stone blocks stacked upon each other and with a grotto deep in the mountains you will feel a sense of infinite expanse. As you explore the cave you will be told an ancient love story of the Ma people to take with you on your journey.

According to the legend, this ancient cave was the home of a great Bird Spirit – an incarnation of the forest god Yang Ndu. One day, a young hunter became lost and entered the cave seeking shelter.  Within the cave he discovered a baby bird, shaking and abandoned. Filled with sympathy, the man brought the bird home to raise it. From the moment he brought the bird to his home he found strange occurrences; the fields were always in season, the rice grew plentiful and sweet potatoes filled the yard. Greatly wanting to know the secret to his fortune, one day he stared perplexed at the bird, when suddenly it transformed into a beautiful young woman to help him cultivate the fields. After time, he made the woman his wife.

However villagers warned that she was an evil spirit, and while her husband was out hunting they killed her. Racing to the sky as a sudden wind, the woman turned into the bird of Tung Cave and became a stone memorial that you can still see to this day. When the husband returned from hunting and could not find his wife he ran looking for her until his death, becoming the small rocks at the base of the stone bird in this very cave. Later the villagers understood that she was the daughter of the forest god Yang Ndu. With deep regret and sympathy for their beautiful love, each year the villagers hold a ceremony which asks for forgiveness from the Bird Spirit and also seeks good crops for the coming season. Visitors may still see traces of the ceremony in the form of grain laid at the base of the rock formation.

Conquering the Tung Cave is not only a great achievement but also a challenge offered by the forest of Madagui and an opportunity to learn a long-standing love story of the local Ma people.