Located in Son Trach town, Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province, Son Doong cave has recently overcome Phong Nha cave (also in Quang Binh) to become the largest cave in Vietnam. Actually, it was first found by a local man called Ho Khanh in 1991. Still, the man was so afraid of the whistling sound from the cave that he hardly told anyone else. It was not publicly known until 2009 when a science team from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey about Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park and explored the site.
Son Doong cave which means Mountain River cave is deeply hidden in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park in the West of Quang Binh, near the border between Laos and Vietnam. It is very difficult to travel around this area. During the first expedition, Limbert’s team only explored two and a half miles of the cave before a 200 foot wall of muddy calcite stopped them. According to Limbert and other scientists, Son Doong is five times bigger than Phong Nha cave, previously regarded as the largest one in Vietnam. It was created about 2-5 million years ago by river water eroding away the limestone under the mountain range. The largest chamber of Son Doong is over 9 kilometers long, 200 meters wide and 150 meters high, twice as large as Deer cave in Malaysia which currently is considered as the world’s largest cave.
Son Doong cave is now the largest cave in the world and has officially been the main attention of many documentary film corporations such as BBC, National Geographic, Japanese and Brazil teams. It also was featured in National Geographic Magazine in 2011.
The government of Quang Binh province has just approved the official opening of Son Doong since April 2014. Just find a prestigious travel agency like Eviva Tour Vietnam, Exotimo or Buffalo and book with them to be part of an adventurous tour to this unique place.