PHONG NHA CAVES

Thiên Đường Cave (Paradise Cave) is a cave in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, 60 km northwest of Đồng Hới city. Thiên Đường Cave is located on an elevation of 200 meters above the sea level, near the west branch of Ho Chi Minh Highway. The cave was discovered by a local man in 2005 and the first 5km of this cave was explored by the British Cave Research Association in 2005, the whole 31km was explored and publicly announced by the British cave explorers.

This cave is 31km long, longer than Phong Nha Cave which had been considered the longest cave in this national park. The parameters of the cave reach 72m in height and 150m in width. The limestone formations are spectacular and mammoth and as you view them, many of them will start resembling different animals and even people. The British cave explorers were impressed by the beautiful and spectacular stalactites and stalagmites inside this cave and they named it Paradise Cave.

E Cave is located in the Phong Nha Ke-Bang National Park and can only be accessed by doing the Abandoned Valley Tour. Found to be 736m long, among all the Phong Nha Cave tours, Hang E is a cave that is one long swim! During its complete length, only one resting spot can be found where you may get out of the water. The passage is usually 10-15m and 5m high which inevitably ends in a sump.

Hang E is the feeder to Dark Cave (Hang Toi) and both caves take an extremely large amount of water in the wet season when Hang Phong Nha river sink can’t take the volume of water. The river sink backs up and the water after rising over 15m in this huge river valley flows towards Hang E and both this cave and Dark Cave then become part of the Phong Nha Cave system. The main appeals of Hang E are the pristine river, the endlessly blue natural spring, and the total isolation you can experience here. It’s easy to spot the inspiration for its alternative name: ‘Water Palace’.

The Hang Vom system consists of a dry cave and a wet cave. During the American war the cave was inhabited by locals who lived inside on platforms and enclaves at various heights. The cave was discovered in 1992 by British cavers and on the first expedition Cham writing was found on one of the walls of the cave. This lead the expedition to believe that local people knew about the location of the cave.

After speaking to local people in Phong Nha, locals were able to show the explorers the ideal route to reach the cave. Hang Vom was once considered one of the longest cave systems in the world at 31.4kms and is renowned for its beautiful formations.

Elephant Cave is a dry cave that is visited along with Ma Da Valley. Located in the heart of the protected zone of Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, the Elephant Cave makes for a perfect trek of moderate difficulty. The hike to the entrance is a bit challenging but none the less rewarding.

The climb to the Elephant Cave is uphill and the most difficult part takes about 20 minutes of hiking through the jungle. After exploring and learning the history of the Elephant Cave, you will continue hiking through the jungle to reach Ma Da Valley. There, you will be rewarded with a chance to swim in Ma Da Crystal Lake, which will be a blessing after hiking in the heat. After this so necessary refreshment, you will continue your way to visit Tra Ang Cave.

Tu Lan Caves (Tú Làn) – a system of more than 10 wet and dry caves (Rat, Hang Ton, Ken Cave and others) located 70 km from Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, near the village of Tan Hoa. There are different routes to the Tu Lan Cave System that take 1, 2, 3 or 4 days. The route begins and ends in Tan Hoa Village, an hour and a half drive from Phong Nha Village.

The trek to Tu Lan is not easy and your tour will be filled with activities: you will visit the caves of Tu Lan, Hang Ken, Hang Kim, trudge through the wild trails in the jungle, swim under the waterfalls and in the caves, and spend the night in hammocks in the open air. On the entire route you will be accompanied by local English-speaking guides, as well as porters who will provide the camp with everything you need. As a rule, all porters are locals from Tan Hoa village where the route begins and ends.

Part of Phong Nha Cave System in Phong Nha, is home to some of the most unique formations on earth and is easily one of the most valued caves in the world. It’s located quite close to the famous Son Doong Cave “the largest cave in the world” and is thought to be part of the same system as well as they’re not necessarily connected but they share the same underground water flow.

After venturing into Hang Va we’ve been able to see that some of the stalactites and stalagmites in here are even more stunning than those in Son Doong Cave.

The Largest Cave in the World aka “The Great Wall of Vietnam” Son Doong’s largest chamber is over five kilometers long, over 200 meters high and 150 meters wide.
Son Doong was discovered by a local in 1991. However, until April 2009, little was known about Son Doong (before the expedition of the British Speleological Association led by Howard and Deb Limbert). Locals were afraid of the sounds emanating from the cave (they were produced by an underground river), so they tried not to get close to it.

It is believed that the stalagmites with a height of 80 m, found here, are the highest in the world. Exploration of the Son Doong in Vietnam began in 2009-2010, and tourist groups began to be admitted only in 2013. The path to Son Doong runs through the village of Ban Doong and the neighboring Hang En “Swallow Cave”
Son Doong is not only famous for its enormous size, but it’s also a unique cave in Vietnam with its own ecosystem: light penetrates into it giving it a rich diversity of flora and fauna.

The expedition members spotted an intact jungle with the biodiversity untouched by humans and to honor the extraordinary natural beauty of the jungle, the cave experts have called it “the Garden of Eden”.