Vietnam has made its name to the world for the best place of caves and geological exploration, thanks to natural gifts such as Ha Long Bay and Son Doong. Despite drawing the public attention recently, Son Doong, the world’s largest cave is still worth your time and effort if you are interested in traveling Vietnam.
Son Doong Cave is more than 5 kilometres long (3.1 miles), 200 metres high (660 ft) and 150 metres wide (490 ft). According to Haward Limbirts – the member of the British Cave Research Association team, with these numbers, the cave is five times as large as nearby caves like Phong Nha Cave and Hang En. Accordingly, Son Doong cave overtook Deer Cave in Malaysia to take the title of the world’s largest cave.
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, there are pearls found inside the cave with the large size of baseballs.
It is estimated that Son Doong cave was created 2-5 million years ago by the river water eroding away the limestone underneath the mountain, where the limestone was unstable. The ceiling collapsed and created huge skylights.
This cave is near the Vietnam-Laos border. It is very deep and has a big lake inside. Jungles emerge from inside the cave, misty clouds enveloping the whole scene, and fossil passages were considered the proofs of the cave’s ancient existence.
To reach Son Doong, tourists have to first go on foot across the Ban Doong ethnic minority village, the only village located inside the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park with the population of less than 40 people.
The cave carries the overwhelming beauty and grandeur, which attracts numerous explorers, photographers, and tourists.