Son Doong Cave is currently known as the world’s largest cave. It has an impressive size and landscape, and there is also an ecosystem inside the cave. Since its discovery, Son Doong Cave has made it to the covers of worldwide newspapers and magazines and continued to be a must-visit destination for adventurers.
Where is the World’s Largest Cave?
Son Doong is part of the Phong Nha—Ke Bang Massif, located in Son Trach Commune, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. It is an underground system connected with 150 other caves in Vietnam, near the border with Laos.
Many other world-famous caves are located in Phong Nha—Ke Bang. It is a national park in Vietnam and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2003. The heritage site’s boundary was extended again in 2015 after the discovery of Son Doong Cave in 2009.
How the World’s Largest Cave was Found
Son Doong Cave was an “accidental” discovery. In 1991, a local named Ho Khanh, a logger at the time, was looking for aloe wood deep in the forest and stumbled upon Son Doong’s entrance when looking for shelter from a strong storm. The cool breeze, strange whistle and roar coming from inside the cave, and steep descent prevented him from going in further.
It was not until a group of cavers from the United Kingdom led by Howard Limbert came to Quang Binh in 2006 that the story about this cave got the proper attention. Based on Ho Khanh’s distant memory, Son Doong was still a mystery for another 3 years and was once again found by chance in a solo expedition of Ho Khanh in 2009.
About the World’s Largest Cave – Son Doong
Ho Khanh was given the right to name the cave, and he wanted to call it “Ho Khanh”, but after a discussion with the British caves, he agreed to name the cave Son Doong (“Son” means mountain, and “Doong” means river and is also the name of a village near the cave).
Son Doong Cave earned the title of largest cave passage (about 5 km long, 200 meter high and 150 meter wide on average, and the cave can extend further than where the expeditions have found). With Sung Sot Cave in Ha Long, Son Doong is one of the 10 largest caves in Southeast Asia.
There are two entrances to Son Doong. The easier way is through En Cave, a connected cave to Son Doong and also the world’s third-largest cave. The second entrance is through a 90-meter-tall calcite wall, so-called the “Great Wall of Vietnam.”
The Great Wall of Vietnam (by Ryan Deboodt)
Son Doong was created about 2-5 million years ago when the river stream eroded the limestone under the surface of Phong Nha-Ke Bang Massif.
The stalactites and stalagmites inside Son Doong are enormous, some as high as 70 meters. The cave pearls (usually about 1 cm in diameter) found in Son Doong can be as large as a baseball.
The “mushroom” stalagmites (by Martin Edström)
Cave pearls as the size of a baseball inside Son Doong (by Ryan Deboodt)
There are two lines in the caves where the weak limestone roof collapsed thousands of years ago. The lines allow the sunlight and vegetation to grow in the dark cave.
Son Doong has a fast-flowing underground river, its ancient ecosystem, and localized weather inside the cave with diverse flora and fauna life. Unknown to humans for millions of years, the jungles (“Watch out for Dinosaurs” and “Garden of Edam”) here are among the most reserved ecosystems.
Vegetation inside Son Doong (by Martin Edström)
Tourism Activities at Son Doong
Since 2013, the cave has been open to public exploration, but mass tourism is still carefully monitored to protect the sensitive environment inside. There is currently one exclusive tour provider to En Cave and Son Doong Cave.
From 2014 to 2018, projects to develop mass tourism in Son Doong Cave (a cable car system bringing tourists straight to Son Doong or En Cave) have faced some opposition from environmentalists. The World Heritage Centre and International Union for Conservation of Nature have expressed concern for the preservation and sustainable tourism development of Son Doong and requested the Vietnamese government to cancel the cable car plan permanently.
The best time to visit Son Doong
January to August is ideal because it is the dry season and when the exclusive tour is operated. From the beginning of September to the end of December, any tourism activities inside the cave are shut down to recover the ecosystem inside the cave.
Touring Son Doong Cave
Besides the time limitations and strict restrictions to protect the environment inside the cave, conquering this world’s largest cave is no easy task. It demands a lot of physical preparation and no small amount of money to join the adventure.
A tour lasts about 4-5 days and involves camping in caves, trekking, rappelling, climbing, and crossing rivers. Each tour costs US$3,000/person and only allows a maximum of 10 people who are above 16 years old and accompanied by a tour guide, porters, cooks, etc.
But if you want to experience the pleasure of witnessing and being embraced by beautiful, untainted nature that has been isolated from the outside world for millions of years, Son Doong is a one-of-a-kind experience and a reward for challenging yourself.
Another way to see the inside of this beautiful cave is to watch the 360 experiences: