Son Doong caves

Why Son Doong caves is special ?

Sơn Đoòng Cave was found by a local man named Hồ-Khanh in 1991. The whistling sound of wind and roar of a rushing stream in the cave heard through the entrance as well as the steep descent prevented the local people from entering the cave. Only in 2009 did the cave become internationally known after a group of scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng from 10 to 14 April 2009. Their progress was stopped by a large, 60-metre (200 ft) high calcite wall, which was named The Great Wall of Vietnam. It was traversed in 2010 when the group reached the end of the cave passage.

More importantly, you are only allowed to enter the cave with the Oxalis Adventure Tours. Contact them at: http://oxalis.com.vn/cave/son-doong-cave/ for more information.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

What to explore at Son Doong caves?

According to the Limberts, the cave is five times larger than nearby caves like Phong Nha Cave and Hang En, the third largest cave in the world previously considered the biggest cave in Vietnam. The biggest chamber of Sơn Đoòng is more than 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long, 200 metres (660 ft) high and 150 metres (490 ft) wide. With these dimensions, Sơn Đoòng overtook Deer Cave in Malaysia in 2009 to take the title of the world's largest cave. The cave runs for approximately 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) and is punctuated by 2 large dolines, which are areas where the ceiling of the cave have collapsed. The dolines allow sunlight to enter sections of the cave and has resulted in the growth of trees as well as other vegetation.

The cave contains some of the tallest known stalagmites in the world, which are up to 70 m tall. Behind the Great Wall of Vietnam were found cave pearls the size of baseballs, an abnormally large size.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

How to get to Son Doong caves?

It is situated below another cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, though its entry passage is very difficult to traverse. The exploration team said they had set foot on just 6.5 kilometers along the cave, as there is a large amount of fast flowing water inside Son Dong. It takes explorers 6 hours of walking through a 10 kilometer long forest path from Truong Son Highway to reach the mouth of Son Dong cave.

Source: http://www.sondoongcave.org