| In 1991, a Vietnamese farmer discovered an underground cave that’s never been explored in Phon Nha-ke Bag National Park. It turns out to be a portal to a whole new world. The cave is known as Hang Son Doong, the largest cave in the world.
“From an early age, local man Ho Khanh used to spend weeks on end trekking and maneuvering his way through the jungles of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, searching for food and timber to earn a modest income. In 1990 while out on a hunting mission, Ho Khanh stumbled across an opening in a limestone cliff and moved forward to investigate.
As he approached, he noticed clouds billowing out of the entrance, and could hear the sounds of a river raging from somewhere inside the cave.
When he could feel a strong wind also blowing out from the cave, he decided to move on without further inspection. By the time he had returned to his home a few days later, he had forgotten its exact location and thought no more of it. At the same time two members of the British Cave Research Association (BCRA), Howard and Deb Limbert, were basing themselves in Phong Nha to conduct exploratory cave expeditions in the area. While chatting with Ho Khanh one day, he mentioned to the caving experts that he had found a cave with clouds and a river inside. Howard and Deb were intrigued and urged Ho Khanh to try and rediscover the cave. After many failed attempts, they began to think this elusive cavern might remain lost in the jungle forever more.
In 2008 while out on another food gathering trip, Ho Khanh found the mysterious opening again and studiously took note of the path on how to get there. In 2009 he led Howard, Deb and a team of professionals back to the cave for the first expedition to enter what would later become known as Hang Son Doong, or ‘Mountain River Cave’.” But they were never prepared to find such magnificent view underneath.
It is a portal to a whole new world!
Before you experience the one of a kind underground cave journey, you will need a rope to descend 262 feet below.
Hang Son Doong is over 5km long, with sections reaching up to 200m tall and 150m wide.
It is large enough that it has its own river, jungle, and climate.
The cave’s miniature jungle houses bats, birds, monkeys and more.
Its gorgeous bright green rivers each come with their very own beaches.
Formed on the edge of a fault zone, Hang Son Doong has been carved out by the mighty Rao Thuong River as it erodes away the limestone, forming the enormous tunnel beneath the Annamite Mountains.
Fossil lovers will surely have a visual feast that is essentially unparalleled.
Stalagmites up to 80m high, the tallest ever encountered, can also be seen in the cave.
Some of the world’s rarest rocks are also found inside Son Doong.
The cave is part of a network of 150 or so caves in the Annamite Mountains, though many are still not surveyed.
The Hang Son Doong cave offers the perfect getaway and whoever visits this unusual place will be surely be mesmerized.
With a total measured volume of 38.5 million cubic metres, the Son Doong cave surpasses Deer Cave in Malaysia, which was previously considered to be the world’s largest cave. Source URL |
