Magical beauty of Phong Nha Cave - Quang Binh

Phong Nha Cave, a wonder in the World Natural Heritage Site of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province, is made even more charming through the lens of international photographers.

Phong Nha is the most exemplary cave, in terms of aesthetic value and beauty, in Phong Nha – Ke Bang.

After almost 20 years of tourism development in Phong Nha, tourists now have the opportunity to experience all seven outstanding features of Phong Nha Cave, as listed by the British Royal Cave Explorers’ Society.

These include:

- Cave with a high and wide door

- Cave with the most beautiful sand and reefs

- Cave with the most beautiful underground river

- Cave with the most magnificent system of stalactites

- Cave with dry, high and wide chambers

- Cave with a beautiful, deep and wide lake

- The longest wet cave.

With a length of 7,729m, Phong Nha is one of the world’s longest water caves. In particular, this is the sole cave with an underground river in Vietnam that is opened for tourists.

Magical beauty of Phong Nha Cave - Quang Binh

Why Son Doong Cave interests explorers?

The majestic scenery inside the Son Doong cave is beyond the imagination and creativity of artists. Pictures of Son Doong Cave have covered newspapers worldwide, showing the “attraction” of the world’s largest cave. It also contains many secrets that scientists cannot decode yet.

And what are interesting facts about this breathtaking cave?

Son Doong Cave – The world’s largest cave

1. Accidentally discovered on a rainy day

In 1991, Ho Khanh, a local man accidentally discovered Son Doong cave when he sought shelter from the rain. It wasn’t until 2009 when the explorers of the British Royal Cave Exploration Association came, Ho Khanh told them about the cave.

Ho Khanh struggled to find the entrance which is located deep in the jungle with rugged terrain, far away from the main road and could not be seen with Google Earth. Thanks to his guidance, the British explorers went deep into the cave to take photographs, survey and collect scientific data.

2. Can accommodate a 40-storey building

 

 

It has a width of about 91.44m, a height of 243.84m

Son Doong has a width of 150m, over 200m tall, at least 5km long. The actual length of the cave may be even longer but the British explorers could not explore the entire length of the cave due to technical limitations. Still, with the recognized size, Son Doong has passed Deer in Gunung Mulu National Park in Malaysia (120m tall, 150m wide, 2km long) to become the largest natural cave in the world. Some sections inside the cave are up to 140mx140m, including 14m high stone columns.

Photographer Carsten Peter took a photo of a cave section with a width of about 91.44m, a height of 243.84m, which means that it can accommodate a 40-storey building inside.

3. Formed five million years ago

According to scientific documents, Son Doong cave was formed when river water flowed through the limestone buried along a fault line. After millions of years, water currents eroded and created a giant tunnel in the ground below the mountains. In the areas where rock was soft, the ceiling collapsed, creating holes which gradually became giant domes.

4. Rich fauna

 

 

The ancient lakes, waterfalls, rivers inside the grotto have formed rich algae and flora systems.

Son Doong cave’s ceiling collapsed centuries ago, creating a lush forest inside the cave, which was named by the British explorers as Eden forest. This forest is inhabited by monkeys and flying foxes. Many types of ferns, palms and vines cover from outside to the inside of the cave. The ancient lakes, waterfalls, rivers inside the grotto have formed rich algae and flora systems. In particular, the explorers also discovered a species of pearl which is formed from the process of dripping water, creating calcite crystals on the sand.

5. Why are visitors to Son Doong Cave restricted?

Son Doong cave does not welcome many visitors because it must be protected for research. Currently, the mysterious world inside the cave has not been decoded completely. Therefore, Son Doong cave welcomes explorers and scientists rather than curious visitors.

The Vietnamese government has finally opened the cave to the world. A visit will set you back at least USD $3,000

 

Why Son Doong Cave interests explorers?

Son Doong - The world"s Largest Cave

Son Doong, a cave belongs to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto system in central Quang Binh Province, has been discovered to be the biggest in the world.

Son Doong cave, discovered by a local 18 years ago, is more than 200 meters wide, 150 meters high, and at least 6.5 kilometers long, though the explorers said they were unable to explore it fully. Bristish explorers have recently discovered that Son Doong is much larger than the world’s biggest known cave.

The biggest section of Son Dong is five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide, said Howard Limbirt of the British Cave Research Association team searching the area April 10-14, 2009. Son Dong is much larger than Deer Cave in Malaysia, currently considered the world’s largest, an explorer said (Deer is 90 meters wide, 100 meters high and 2 kilometers long). The Son Doong cave has replaced to take pole position as the world’s largest cave. The Son Dong is situated below another cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, though its entry passage is very difficult to traverse. The exploration team said they had set foot on just 6.5 kilometers along the cave, as there is a large amount of fast flowing water inside Son Dong. It takes explorers six hours of walking through a 10 kilometer long forest path from Truong Son Highway to reach the mouth of Son Dong cave. The explorer added that the Quang Binh cave has beautiful stalactites and stalagmites that are not seen anywhere else. Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto system belongs to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. It is a limestone region of 2,000 square kilometers in Vietnam and borders another limestone area in Hin Nammo in Laos.

When describing the newly-discovered cave, the team’s spokesman, Haward Limbirt, said that it was a thing of overwhelming beauty and grandeur. He added that each grotto has its own beauty, but he is impressed by Ca Xai. This cave is near the Vietnam-Laos border. It is very deep and has a big lake inside. Explorers measured the depth of this lake, but they had only 200m of rope and the end didn’t reach the lake bed. The British team suggested to the local authorities not to develop Son Doong Cave as a tourism site immediately to preserve its natural beauty.

Son Doong - The world"s Largest Cave