Quang Binh - the heaven of caves

Contents

1/  Son Doong cave, one of the world's largest caves

2/  Tu Lan cave system 

3/  Helicopter tour of national park to take off in Vietnam


4/ Amazing landscapes in Quang Binh

5/ The mud and the darkness
    Zip line to be launched in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park



1/ Son Doong cave, one of the world's largest caves

Son Doong Cave in the Quang Binh province of central Vietnam is one of the world’s largest caves and is now, for the first time, accessible to tourists, thanks to the tour operator Oxalis. Huge shafts of light penetrate its vast caverns, allowing forests of 100-foot-tall trees to thrive in spaces big enough to accommodate 40-story skyscrapers. Colossal 260-foot stalactites are also present. Monkeys, hornbills and flying foxes have all been spotted in this surreal habitat, first fully explored in 2009. While trips into Son Doong are limited in number (only 220 permits for the year) and to visitors with deep pockets (over $6,000 per trip), the nearby and more affordable Tu Lan Cave is also now open to adventurous travelers.

 (52 places to go in 2014 - The New York Times)

Son Doong Cave is in the heart of the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province. This incredible cave was only explored in 2009/2010 by the British Cave Research Association. Situated in the deep jungle, the entrance to the cave was found by a local jungle man Mr Ho Khanh.

Son Doong Cave is now the largest cave in the world and has understandably been the attention of many film companies such as the BBC, National Geographic, Japanese and Brazilian teams. It also featured in National Geographic Magazine in 2011. 

Son Doong cave is unlike any other caves on the planet. Inside this giant cave are two huge daylight windows which allows the light to enter many parts of the cave. At the base of these windows are large jungles which use the available light and so trees up to 30m tall are present. But Son Doong is not only about its immense size, the cave has amazing examples of some of the best speleothems in the world. Giant stalagmites up to 80m high and enormous rimstone pools are present throughout the cave. There are also excellent examples of giant cave pearls and a newly discovered side passage is full of large fossils over 300 million years old. As well as rare species of plants in the cave a number of new species of animals have recently been discovered. Monkeys, hornbills and flying foxes have all been seen in the jungle section of the caves.

The Government of Quang Binh Province has just approved Oxalis to run pilot tours to Hang Son Doong from August 2013, February and March 2014 and after that will be the official opening of Hang Son Doong. Note: from September to January is flooding season in the area thus there is no tour to be organized.

 (Oxalis Adventure: oxalis.com.vn)

Picture: Pinterest.com


Picture: Picasaweb.com

Picture: Pinterest.com

Picture: Daily Mail

Picture: Daily Mail

Pictures: (?)

Picture: oxalis.com.vn

2/ Tu Lan cave system

The Tu Lan cave system is located in Minh Hoa district, Quang Binh province. The system includes Tu Lan , Hang Ken and Hang Tien caves that were explored on the 2010 expedition. In 2012 the BCRA expedition came back and explored more caves including Hang Hung Ton, Hang Uoi, Hang Chuot, Hang Son Oxalis and Hang Kim, and a few more caves have been found in 2013.

Tu Lan cave system became popular when Carsten Peter (NatGeo photographer) took a photo in Hang Ken that won so many prizes in National Geographic Magazine in 2011. 

(oxalis.com.vn)

 
 
 




 

Pictures: oxalis.com.vn

Note: I went to Quang Binh province one time in 2006 to visit Phong Nha - Ke Bang national park. And so far haven't come back yet / (and, of course) haven't visited Son Doong cave and Tu Lan cave system

3/ Helicopter tour of national park to take off in Vietnam 
 (Thanh Nien new, Monday, April 21, 2014)

A helicopter tour around the world-famous Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park in the north-central province of Quang Binh will begin operating at the end of this month. 

Three trips for 60 tourists will depart on April 26 or 27, Saigon Tiep Thi (Saigon Marketing) newspaper quoted the tour operator, Oxalis Adventure Tours Company, as saying. 

The company said the helicopter will fly around the 85,700 hectare (211,769-acre) park before flying over the Garden of Edam – a jungle housed inside Son Doong, the world's largest cave.

The helicopter will also alight at the entrance of En (Swift) Cave, so tourists can explore the cave which goes 1,645 meters back into a mountain. 

According to Oxalis, En cave is a feeder to Son Doong and was once named one of the most captivating caves on earth by National Geographic. 

A half-day tour costs VND3 million (US$140) per tourist, while a two-day tour was priced VND6.3 million ($294), the news report said. 

Phong Nha – Ke Bang won UNESCO heritage recognition in 2003 thanks to its 300 different caves and grottos which date back some 400 million years.

Son Doong, which is 150 meters high and 200 meters wide, was discovered by a local man named Ho Khanh, but did not gain international recognition until the British Cave Research Association explored it in 2009 with Khanh’s help. 

The cave was opened to tourists last year. 

4/ Amazing landscapes in Quang Binh

VietNamNet Bridge – As a  land of harsh weather, the central province of Quang Binh is also bestowed with many beautiful landscapes.

 Located at the boundary of the two provinces of Quang Binh and Ha Tinh, Deo Ngang or the Ngang Pass is a famous sight of central Vietnam. Photo by HTaingoc (Phuot.vn)

 

 Nhat Le is the central beach of Dong Hoi City, the capital of Quang Binh Province. The beach is located at the Nhat Le Estuary, with a still-wild character, white sand and blue sea. Photo by Trinh Quang Minh (Flickr).

 

Nhat Le River is a historic landmark and famous landscape of Quang Binh. The river name means "the brilliance of the sunlight". Photo: Lequang304 (Xomnhiepanh.com).

 

Da Nhay is a famous beauty spot in Bo Trach District. There are beautiful beaches and rock mountains eroded by sea water, with cliffs of different shapes. Photo: Gion166 (Flickr).

Along with the Ngang Pass, the Gianh River is the geographic symbol of Quang Binh. This river used to be the boundary between Tonkin and Cochin (1570-1786) with the war that lasted nearly half a century (1627-1672) between Le Kings and Trinh Lords. Photo: MichaelR (Panorama).

The Son River flows out from Phong Nha Cave in the village of Phong Nha, Son Trach Commune of Bo Trach District.

 

The wharf on the Son River, where tourists begin their tour to the cave system in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. The Park was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage in 2003. Photo by Huy Ngo Hoa (Flickr).

 

 The Phong Nha Cave has been named the "most beautiful cave of Vietnam”.

 

 Also located in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Thien Duong (Heaven) Cave was discovered in 2005. With a total length of 31.4 km, it is Asia's longest cave. Due to the beauty of stalactites and stalagmites here, the cave is named Heaven.

 

 Son Doong Cave is the largest natural cave in the world. This cave is situated in the system of caves of Phong Nha-Ke Bang. Photo: National Geographic.

 

Sunset on the dunes Quang Phu in Dong Hoi. Photo: Lequang304 (Xomnhiepanh.com).

 

Ray Ho Dam near Dong Hoi City. Photo: Lequang304 (Xomnhiepanh.com).

 

Located near Hon Lam and Ngang Pass, Vung Chua is an amazing beach surrounded by a beautiful landscapes and many relics. This is also the resting place of legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap. Photo: Huuthanh.ng (Panoramio).

5/ The mud and the darkness
  Inside Dark cave

Entrance of Dark Cave

Riding a zip line crossing Chay River

Dark Cave is about 20 kilometres from Phong Nha Cave, Quang Binh Province, by road. Examined by British Royal explorers in 1990 and 1992, its entry way is 20 metres wide and 40 metres high. The cave is 5,258 metres long, and the ceiling inside is up to 80 metres high. Like many other caves in Phong Nha - Ke Bang area, it has a dry part and a submerged part. The darkness inside the cave is thick, much thicker than in other caves. So thick that one feels one can scoop it. That’s why people call it the Dark Cave.

Visitors can get on a boat at Phong Nha landing on Son River, go upstream and then follow Chay River for about five kilometres to reach the Dark Cave. Or, from Dong Hoi City to Phong Nha - Ke Bang Heritage Centre, it takes 40 minutes to drive on the fabulous Ho Chi Minh trail. The Zip Line entertainment park is 17 kilometres from there. Then I and my friends rode a zip line over the Chay River and took a boat to Dark Cave.

The entry is a mysterious narrow hollow in a gigantic lime stone mass. When we went inside, darkness immediately enveloped us. Without the stairs and a guide, few would dare to come in.

We admired a big stalagmite standing guard at the entrance, with a wavy surface covered by tiny, glittering grains. We found fossilized shells in the cave walls. There was even a fish skeleton high above. We had to climb up a large rock to see it in its entirety. 

The deeper we went, the darker it became, and the more fascinating. We followed a section of a cave river, wading waist-deep in cold water, and then turned to another path to walk in mud. Nobody would expect such a path amidst stone walls. Amazing! It was very narrow; at times the bottom was just wide enough for our feet. Mud covered the walls and stalactites. The path zigzagged for about 10 minutes, and we came to a wide area, with soft, fine mud that thickly covered the slopes, allowing us to slide like kids, then splash into a muddy ditch. We yelled like kids and let the mud cover us from head to toe. ‘Nothing anywhere can compare to this muddy joy,’ Pon, a foreign tourist exclaimed. He and his pal had a specialized camera. One snapped continuously while the other slid and fell and splashed.

At the end of the muddy path we cheered loudly again, seeing another muddy hole about 20 metres in diameter. Again, sliding and falling, eagerly and wildly. The mud penetrated our skin, feeling like an elixir of life. We turned off all the lights on our helmets to enjoy the primeval darkness and the silence, disturbed only by dripping water.

After a few minutes of soaking in the mud, we turned to another path that led to the Thuy Tien pool. It was quite big, with clear, cool water. On the other side of the pool there was a passage, about two metres wide, leading to a submerged interstice. We dived through it and emerged to a field of rugged rocks. We sat there for a while, enjoying the air, the absolute silence and the perilous beauty of the rocks, and then went back, finishing the exploration of the Dark Cave to join sportive games that take place on Chay River.

For a long time, people said that Phong Nha - Ke Bang is like a beautiful woman that one can only look at, without touching. That’s because monotonous sight-seeing was the only thing available here. Lately, some tour companies have ventured into the realm of adventure tourism with considerable success.

Last August, zip line, a daring sport, appeared in Phong Nha - Ke Bang for the first time. Tourists can cable slide 400 metres from the wildlife watch station to Dark Cave, and slide further to a creek bath site. To guarantee safety for guests, Phong Nha - Ke Bang tourist centre has hired three Vietnamese mountain climbers to train mountain climbing and cable sliding here. Since the opening of zip line services, the area has become much livelier. Every day it receives on average 60-80 tourists, mostly foreign.

According to Mr Le Thanh Loi, Phong Nha - Ke Bang tourist centre’s director, his centre will soon invest in the Chay River and Dark Cave area to create more attractions such as a suspension bridge or homestead eco tourism, so tourists will have a more in-depth experience of this land of caves.

Text and photos by Truong Quang Nam

(http://www.vietnamheritage.com.vn/pages/en/1910142445734-The-mud-and-the-darkness.html) 

Zip line to be launched in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park

(Quang Binh Website) - According to information from the Phong Nha - Ke Bang Tourism Center, system of zip line at Chay River - Dark Cave tourism route with a total investment of nearly VND7 billion has recently put into operation in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park.
This is a new type of tourism service, contributing to diversifying tourism products, meeting the demand of foreign and domestic visitors coming to the heritage sites in particular and Quang Binh in general.

At present, coming to Chay River - Dark Cave, visitors will experience two zip line routes. One route connects the animal conservation station and Toi Cave, which is about 400m long. The other 100m route, which crosses the Chay River, can be used by tourists who want to swim in the clear and cool waters of the river.

This is a new tourism service, marking a breakthrough in diversifying forms of tourism in the province.

Reportedly, from early year to now, the province received 2.4 million tourists, increased 138% compared to the same period, of which international arrivals reached nearly 35,000, rose 37.2%; turnovers from hotels, restaurants and tourism were estimated to reach nearly VND 1,000 billion, grew by 23.6%.

 In order to these results, the tourism sector has actively organized the programs to promote and popularize tourism, cooperate tourism with the provinces and cities nationwide, and put into operation of tours, routes and forms of new tourism with high quality.

(Source:  http://www.quangbinhtourism.vn/en/NewsEvents/NewsDetail/tabid/222/ArticleId/1300/Zip-line-to-be-launched-in-Phong-Nha-Ke-Bang-National-Park.aspx)