The UNESCO listed Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is located in Quảng Bình Province, in north-central Vietnam, wedged between Laos and the South China Sea. The park spreads over 2000 sq km and is composed of hundreds of cave networks, including some of the world’s largest and longest caves. It continues west to the Hin Namno Nature Reserve in Laos covering another 2000 sq km.
Phong Nha is unlike your typical wilderness adventure as it holds spectacular sights that you’ve never seen before, dense green jungles teeming with biodiversity, colossal cave systems that were chiselled by rivers over 400 million years and in short, nature in her purest form.
The Phong Nha town serves as the gateway to the park and can be accessed by an hour’s drive from Dong Hoi, its nearest city. Dong Hoi has frequent flights to and from major cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and even from Thailand. Once you reach Phong Nha town, you can set out to the park by land or water, along with your tourist guide.
You can explore this vast expanse through boat trips, climbing, kayaking, hiking and swimming. Some of the sites also offer overnight camping. You can also take the Highway 20 or the Ho Chi Minh Trail which loop over the park and offer easy access to its dry caves.
Phong Nha Cave
The Phong Nha cave network, after which the entire park is named is one of the main attractions here. The cave is more than 7500 metres long with 14 main grottos and the Son river flowing through it. A dragon boat will take you to the cave, almost a kilometre inside and you can explore a small portion of 500 metres by foot. Note that though over 44 km of this system were explored by scientists, only 1500 metres are within tourists’ limits. The Dark grotto or Dark cave is the most popular site in this system as it offers ziplining, kayaking and swimming.
Paradise Cave
Another major attraction in the park is the 31-metre long Paradise cave, one of the longest dry caves in Asia and a part of the Vom Cave systems. A series of wooden walkways will guide your exploration of this beautiful cave which also has a light system that highlights its stalactites and stalagmites. The cave is almost 100 metres high and it resembles a rugged, natural cathedral.
Hang Son Doong
Hang Son Doong is the world’s largest cave which was discovered by Ho Khanh, a local man. The staggering dimensions of its main chamber are over 5 km long, 200 metres high and 150 metres wide. To help you picture these numbers better, the cave can easily accommodate the EStatue of Unity and a Boeing 747 can fly around without hitting on obstacles! However, the cave is set in a remote location and you can visit only through a 4day/3night excursion which costs 3000 USD per person.
Tu Lan Cave
A visit to Tu Lan involves a short hike to the caves which is followed by swimming, floating and climbing through long tunnels and narrow passages of water and rocks. There are day trips as well as overnight camping trips available for this system. The cave’s recent growth in popularity can be attributed to the Hollywood movie, Kong: Skull Island (2017), for which it served as a setting.
Hang En
This is the third-largest cave in the world and is located near Son Doong cave. You can visit this cave on a two-day camping trip that includes a challenging hike through dense forests, river crossings and a small tribal village. Inside the cave, there is a mini beach where your tent for the night will be put up.
Hang Va
Hang Va and the nearby Hang Nuoc Nut are two of the most interesting caves to explore as it involves careful navigation through razor-sharp stalagmites through emerald waters. It includes rock climbing, wading and swimming.
Eight Ladies Cave
The cave is named in memory of eight women who were trapped and starved to death here due to a bomb blast during the Vietnam War. It is a small cave located along the Ho Chi Minh trail and contains a shrine dedicated to the women.
Why should you visit?
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is nature at its best – raw, wild and enchanting. A trip here will take you back in time, thousands of years ago, and stun you with its impressive other-worldly sights. Gear up and get ready to embark on this thrilling adventure of a lifetime into the depths of nature’s best-kept secret.
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