Visit Son Doong – the largest cave in the world
Home to many spectacular landscapes throughout the country, from the cascading rice terraces of Sapa, the thousands of limestone karst islands of Ha Long Bay to the labyrinth of rivers of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam has no shortage of sights to see. Furthermore, Vietnam is also proud to be home to the world’s largest cave – Son Doong, nestled in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province.
Here’s everything you need to know about Son Doong Cave.
Overview
Son Doong is the largest cave on the planet when measured by a cross-sectional area said to be double that of Deer Cave, Malaysia.
Son Doong was formed on a fault line in the Truong Son mountain range and eroded by the Rao Thuong River over millions of years, forming a giant tunnel beneath the limestone mountain. Cracks in the cave ceiling have been corroded and collapsed, forming large holes outward.
Water droplets that have fallen from the cave ceiling over millions of years create baseball-sized cave beads. Inside this magnificent space lies a world apart, a rare natural wonder that surprised the conquistadors of Son Doong.
First discovered and explored in 2009, Son Doong Cave has only been open to the public since 2013.
At over 200m high, 175m wide and 9.4km long, Son Doong Cave could hold a 40-story New York skyscraper or allow a Boeing 747 to fly comfortably without any danger to his wings. The new discovery in mid-2019 added an additional 1.6 million cubic meters to its existing 38.5 million cubic meters, which is equivalent to climbing 8848 m of Mount Everest and discovering a mound that went 1000 m higher, as Limbert recently told CNN.
The cave becomes unique with the 2 huge hố sụt (cave roof collapses or sinkholes) and underground rainforests as well as the “Great Wall of Vietnam” – a 90m high calcite barrier.
There are various unusual cave formations including towering stalagmites, phytokarst and huge cave pearls inside.
Cave experts are still searching for the connection between Son Doong Cave and neighboring Thung Cave to find the connection. If successfully completed in the future, Son Doong will become the world’s largest cave by volume and cross-section.
Who discovered Son Doong Cave?
The entrance to Son Doong was first discovered by a local man, Ho Khanh, in 1990 while he was foraging for food and firewood in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park to earn money , then took shelter from a storm at the foot of a huge cliff in the jungle where he found a deep hole at the base of the rock that was emitting wind and even puffs of clouds.
Thoughts of gulls in legendary tales living in wind-blowing rock caves frightened him and discouraged him from entering the cave.
Its location was forgotten until 2008 while searching for food, Ho Khanh stumbled upon the entrance again. The following year, 2009, he met Howard and Deb Limbert of BCRA, who were leading exploratory caving expeditions in the area at that time. Then he led Howard Limbert and his team to the opening.
They began exploring the cave, but the process was stopped by a large wall covered with cast stone or later named as the Great Wall of Vietnam. It was crossed in 2010 when the group reached the end of the cave passage and determined that it was the largest ever discovered in terms of the size of its cross section which shook the caving world.
His name
As Ho Khanh was the first to discover this cave, it was first called Ho Khanh Cave. But earlier, the expedition asked Mr. Khanh for permission to rename the cave to “Son Doong” which was created by combining the name Son (meaning mountain) and the nearby village of Doong where less than 40 Bru -Van Kieu ethnic minority.
First expedition to Son Doong
Son Doong Expedition is classified as an international-class adventure tour type with tour design criteria as well as safety standards in line with European standards.
The cave was opened to the first group of tourists on August 1, 2013. However, access was strictly controlled and limited to only 1000 permits each year to ensure the environment and ecology of Son Doong Cave.
All tours are exclusively organized and led by Oxalis Adventure Tours. Howard Limbert and his wife Deb are the technical directors.
Taking place from January to August each year (after which the cave becomes impassable due to the rainy season) for the required 4 days 3 nights expedition, the Son Doong tour only accommodates a maximum of 10 people for each.
Each tour requires 30 other staff/attendants to escort including a cave expert, tour guide, security assistant, chef and porter bringing a total of approximately 600kg of equipment in and out of the cave. Anything brought there must be taken out of the cave, including human waste.
How much does Son Doong shipping cost?
It’s 3000 US$/person.
You may wonder why it costs US$3000/person for only 4 days? Not cheap at all.
The answers are because this price covers the USD 660 entrance fee and forest environmental services paid to the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park Management Board; fees for all staff/attendants, airport pick-up/drop-off fees, hotel, meals; administration fees and other administrative costs; 10% VAT.
How to explore Son Doong Cave?
To reach Son Doong Cave, you have to pass through the Doong ethnic minority village which is surrounded by dense jungles and accessible only on foot. The village is home to fewer than 40 Bru-Van Kieu.
The discovery of the cave eased the villagers’ difficulties through their subsequent conservation partnership with Oxalis. Exploring the village and interacting with the locals is also an exciting part of the trip, during which you can experience a way of life unchanged for centuries.
It takes two days of intense jungle trekking and river crossings to reach the entrance to Son Doong Cave. Once inside, you will experience your own skills to rappel, climb, crawl and wade/swim in underground rivers to complete your journey. Camping, eating inside the cave and taking extraordinary photos make your trip even more incredible. Hang En (En Cave), the third largest cave in the world is also included in the tour where you can take a swim if you are interested.
What to see inside Son Doong Cave?
The Son Doong Cave ecosystem is very unique as it is large and even has its own localized weather system. Many rare limestone cave pearls are scattered in dry pools inside the cave.
Dog’s Foot Block (khối bàn chân chó): This is a massive block of natural stalactites in Son Doong Cave. From a distance, we can see the Dog’s Foot Block, a majestic spectacle of the largest cave.
From this position, you can almost admire the panoramic view of Son Doong Cave.
Fossil Corridor (hành lang hóa thạch): An area where cave walls are filled with coral fossils dating back 300 million years. This area is right next to the first campsite.
The first campsite (bãi trại 1): located near the 1st collapse of the cave ceiling or sinkhole. The campsite is nestled on a fairly flat sandy area and offers a beautiful view towards the 1st sinkhole.
1st Sinkhole – (hố sụt 1 – vọng khủng long): Formed by part of the cave ceiling that collapsed thousands of years ago, sunlight can penetrate the cave allowing foliage to grow at Inside the cave and microscopic organisms grow in the darkness.
At the 1st Sinkhole, there is also a large layered block of stalactites named “Wedding Cake” by tourists. On the other side of the 1st Sinkhole is a large cave called “Rat Run”, from here you can see the panoramic view of the collapsing ceiling of this cave. This is the perfect place to take photos of the most beautiful Son Doong Cave.
2nd Sinkhole (hố sụt 2): This is also known as the “Garden of Edam”. The formation of a sinkhole allows light to enter the cave and creates a small forest with trees and vegetation.
2nd campsite (bãi trại 2): Also called seaside camping because of its location on a cave covered with white sand like the beach. This is also considered to be the campsite with the most majestic view in the world.
The Great Wall of Vietnam : is the highest stalactite wall with 90m high, located at the end of Son Doong cave. This section of the cave is also where the highest ceiling is around 200 meters.
During this trip you will also discover Hang En, the third largest cave in the world.
Additionally, the cave is also rich in other life forms. Explorations of the cave have seen monkeys, snakes, squirrels, rats, flying foxes, birds and bats.
The team also discovered 7 new species of fish, spiders, scorpions, shrimp, woodlice and plankton. All completely white and eyeless, evolutionary consequences of existing in total darkness.
