Son Doong Cave – where the new records written

In spite of just being discovered lately, Son Doong Cave has broken so many records of the world, and obviously become a new symbol of Vietnamese tourism. Therefore, it will be an unacceptable to take a Vietnam tour without dropping by this amazingly gorgeous cave.

The magnificent, majestic scenery inside Son Doong cave is beyond the imagination and creativity of the artist. Recognized as the largest natural cave in the world, Son Doong Cave in the central province of Quang Binh, contains many hidden secrets that scientists cannot decode.

1. Measuring Son Doong Cave took years.

The first expedition into Son Doong Cave was stopped by a 200 meter barrier that the spelunkers dubbed the “Great Wall of Vietnam”. It wasn’t until the following year that a team traversed the rock wall, and was able to reach the end of the cave’s largest chamber, determining it to be the largest in the world.

One of the giant stalagmites in Son Doong Cave

2. The world’s largest cave is on the border of Vietnam and Laos.

Half a million tourists visit Mammoth Cave in Kentucky every year. Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest cave system, with over 405 miles of passageways known and more being discovered every year. But it doesn’t contain the world’s single biggest cave. For that, you’d have to trek through the dense jungle of Vietnam’s Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, home of Hang Son Doong (Mountain River Cave).

Skyhole in Son Doong Cave

3. The world’s largest cave has its own weather.

How big is Son Doong Cave? It’s more than 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long, 200 metres (660 ft) high and 150 metres (490 ft) wide. It could hold an entire city block of Manhattan, including 40-story skyscrapers. It has its own lush vegetation where sunlight filters in from sinkholes above, and clouds even form near the ceiling when moisture condenses there.

Hand of Dog, a humongous stalagmite that looks like a dog’s paw.

The world’s tallest stalagmites tower 260 feet in the air, and limestone “cave pearls” the size of baseballs litter the cave floor. This amazing underground cathedral is a potent reminder that there are still remarkable landscapes on Earth waiting to be discovered.

4. The cave was only discovered recently and then lost again for two decades.

In 1990, a local farmer named Ho Khanh was hiking through the national park, gathering firewood and aloe. He stumbled on a remarkable site: an enormous cave entrance in a limestone cliff, with clouds and wind billowing out of it. A rushing river poured from its entrance. Khanh remembers that it “felt like something from the underworld,” and he returned home without exploring it. He soon forgot its location. It wasn’t until almost twenty years later, during a chance conversation with some British spelunkers exploring the area, that Khanh began looking again for the cave entrance. In 2008, he ran across the cave again, and led an international team there the following year.

The magnificent sceneries inside of Son Doong Cave

However, Son Doong Cave is just one of many amazingly beautiful places in Vietnam, if you’re curious about these fantastic destinations, here’s a list of magnificent spots that you can easily fall in love with:

• Halong Bay
• Sapa
• Da Lat
• Phu Quoc