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| The entrance of Am Phu Cave leads to the 12 alleys of heaven and hell |
The central city of Danang is famous for its landscapes and historical sites, but Am Phu cave about 8km from the city offers something out of this world.
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| The balancing scales of good and evil - Photos: Hoang Tham |
Am Phu Cave is part of a series of mysterious caves in the Ngu Hanh Son mountain range in Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District.
Tickets to the cave are sold at Am Duong Bridge that crosses Nai Ha River. The entrance to the cave has a chill wind and a few bats dart about or cling on to the rock walls.
Inside the cave is a statue of Bodhisattva. Going deeper inside on the left, are white statues of sentries that stand guard at the 12 doors to hell.
Am Phu Cave has 12 offshoots that are known as roads to heaven and hell. Tourists have to step around the sentries to get into the narrow alleys that lead to larger compartments. In these hellish caves are bas-reliefs and statues portraying macabre scenes of criminal execution such as sawing bodies in half and boiling them in oil, pulling out eyes and cutting out the tongue, beheading or disembowelments. In the flickering light it seems like you have entered the fires of hell.
In contrast to the alleys full of hell, the alleys leading to heaven are bright and colorful. Statues and paintings depict fairies, Buddha, goodness and many angels dancing in paradise. Entrance tickets are VND15,000.
