Discovered in 1991,the existence of Son Doong cave was not made public until 2009. Son Doong cave measures 9,000m long, roughly 200m high and 150m wide, making it the world’s largest cave, surpassing Deer Cave in Maylaysia.

Apart from its size, Son Doong stands out for other reasons, including its perennial forests, jewel caves, deep holes, fossils, aquatic species, bats and a giant stalactite known as the Great Wall of Vietnam. National Geographic magazine reported that the cave contained “entire forests” and “white sand beaches large enough to contain a New York city skyscraper”. In 2014, the New York Times ranked Son Doong as eighth among the 52 most attractive destinations on Earth, while the Smithsonian Science Magazine ranked Son Doong at the top of 25 destinations visitors should explore in the 21^st century. The US website Smarter Travel Tourist declared Son Doong one of the top 27 natural wonders of Asia. The Huffington Post website ranked Son Doong fifth among 10 must visit destinations. And the Guinness Book of Records confirms Son Doong’s status as the largest cave on the earth.

En cave (Swallow cave) – The widest

En cave is the world’s third largest cave with an entrance measuring 78.6m high and spanning over 70m across. Although it’s just 1.645km deep, it has the widest interior of any cave found in Vietnam.

The cave impresses visitors with its beauty, which has been lauded by publications including National Geographic and the New York Times. The 2015 blockbuster movie, Pan, included a couple of scenes shot in this beautiful cave.

Phong Nha – Superlative beauty

Phong Nha Cave is both stunning and geologically important. The British Royal Academy voted it one of the most impressive caves in the world based on seven criteria: Highest and widest entrance; finest submerged sand and rocks; most beautiful underground river; most splended and mysterious stalactite networks; high and wide dry caves; deep and beautiful underground lake; and the longest river.

French travel magazine Extreme-Asie, published in 1929, described it as follows: “Several stalactites take the form of laterns in festivals that are adeptly arranged while others are hang loose like flower petals and sepals. Some cave edges are filled with long tubes like the flutes of church organs”.

Also in 1929, a team of French explorers named Charly, Qualaggi and Buoffier recorded the following in their diary: “Numerous spiky stone statues of quaint shapes are in disarray and yet unutterably tranquil, featuring all the colors of the rainbow. We can see the faint pinks of painitngs by Watteau, the blues of works by Raphael, yellowish-grey sediment and vermillion reflected with bright reds and the evergreens of lush fields. All mirror themselves in the water..”

Paradise cave -  Underground Palaces

Paradise Cave stretches over 31.4km long. It is generally from 60m to 80m wide, 150m across at its widest point, and between 30m to 100m high. The Record Association lists it as the longest dry grotto in Asia.

Nature created a fairytale palace of stalactites and stalagmites, which are deverse in shapes and sizes and vary greatly in color. These formations take the shapes of bells, tubes, towers and curtains, leaving both visitors and scientists enchanted.

The caves of Phong Nha – Ke Bang are drawing visitors from all over the world. Other nearby tourist sites include Nuoc Moc Fountain, the Chay River – Dark cave zipline route and Sinh Ton Valley – Thuy Cung cave, the Botanical Garden... Visitors to this wild region will find rich biodivesity, natural beauty and many opportunities for adventures./.

Tue Minh