Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is a national park of Vietnam, located in Bo Trach district, and Minh Hoa, Quang Binh province, about 50 km northwest of Dong Hoi city, about Hanoi capital. 500 km to the south . The park is bordered by the Hin Namno nature reserve in Khammouan province, Laos to the west, 42 km east of the South China Sea from the border of the two countries.
Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park stretches over Bo Trach and Minh Hoa districts, about 50 km northwest of Dong Hoi City, in Quang Binh Province, Central Vietnam Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park has a total Surface area is 126,236 Ha and adjacent to Hin Namno Nature Reserve in Kham Muon Province, Laos.The core zone of the National Park covers an area of about 857.54 km2 and has a buffer zone of 1,954 km2, covering 13 communes in Minh Hoa district (Dan Hoa, Hoa Son, Trung Hoa, Thuong Hoa and Trong Hoa) Bo Trach district (Tan Trach, Thuong Trach, Xuan Trach, Phuc Trach, Son Trach, Phu Dinh, Hung Trach) and Truong Son commune of Quang Ninh and Quang Binh districts.
In April 2009, an expedition belonging to the Royal Cave Association of England discovered and declared Son Doong cave as the largest cave in the world (over 5 km long, 200 m high, and 150 m wide. ), much bigger than Deer Cave in Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, 4 to 5 times larger than Phong Nha. During this survey, the expedition also found many other caves.
In Phong Nha-Ke Bang, there is a system of about 300 large and small caves. The Phong Nha cave system has been rated by the British Royal Cave Research Association (BCRA) as the world’s most valuable cave with four points: the longest underground rivers, the tallest and widest estuary, the widest and most beautiful sand banks, the most beautiful stalactites.
The Phong Nha-Ke Bang area is one of the beautiful and distinctive models of complex karst formations in Southeast Asia . Uniquely recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage site according to geological and geomorphic criteria in 2003, and was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage with the criteria of biodiversity and ecology on March 3. July 2015.
Access : Coordinates: 17.537222, 106.15125 / The Tourism Service Center is located in the community of Son Trach, Quang Trach District. The park is accessible to visitors by train (Saigon-Hanoi line), bus (1A national road) or plane (Dong Hoi airport). The park is located on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The north-south railway stops in H?i. The Vietnam Airlines operates the Noi-Bai International Airport (Hanoi). This airline was connected to Tan Son Nhat International Airport (in Ho Chi Minh City) in 2009. Tour guides at the Tourism Center are available in English, French and Chinese.
By train : Đồng Hới Railway Station is located 3 km from the center of Dong Hoi. / By bus : Phong Nha-Ke Bang is located 50 kilometers north of Dong Hoi.
Highlights : The caves :
- Tien Son Cave : Tien Son Cave or Dry Cave is a famous beautiful cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang area. The entrance to Tien Son cave is located about 1,000 m away from the Phong Nha cave entrance, at an altitude of about 200 m. Tien Son Cave has a length of 980 m. From the cave entrance is about 400 m, there is an area about 10 m deep, and then the underground cave continues to be nearly 500 m long, quite dangerous so visitors are not allowed to come to this area but only visit the distance.
- Thien Duong Cave – Paradise cave : Thien Duong cave was discovered in 2005, the Royal Cave Association of England discovered in 2005 and determined that this cave has a total length of 31 km. Due to the beauty of the cave, they named this cave Thien Duong. Thien Duong Cave is considered to be a larger and longer cave than Phong Nha cave. This is a dry cave, there is no underground river flowing through like Phong Nha cave. There are many stalactites and stalagmites in Thien Duong cave. Most earthquakes are flexible, fairly flat soil, which is convenient for sightseeing and exploration.
- son Doong cave : Son Dong or Son Doong is one of the latest discovered cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang area. This cave was explored by the expedition team of Royal British Cave Association. This cave is said to be the largest cave in the world . The largest compartment in Son Dong is over 5 km long, 200 m high and 150 m wide. With this size, Son Dong cave surpasses Deer cave in Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak Malaysia, 4-5 times bigger than Phong Nha cave, bigger than Paradise Cave. Because the water of the underground river in this cave is so fast, British explorers cannot explore the whole cave.
- Dark Cave: located on the upper reaches of the Son River. This cave has a length of 5,258 m and a height of 83 m and a length of 736 m.
Cha An cave: 667 km long and 15 m high./ Thung Cave: there is a 3351 km long underground river. / Hang En: 1645 m long and 78.6 m high, with sand inside, which is the habitat of Swallow. / Khe Tien Cave: located south of Phong Nha, 520 m long.
Khe Ry Cave: located in the south of Phong Nha. / Khe Thi Cave./ Vom cave: 15.05 km long and 145 m high with many stalactites and stalagmites.
Dai Dai cave: 1645 m long and 28 m high. / Hang Duot: 3,927 m long and 45 m high, with fine sand. / Fish Cave: 1,500 m long and 62 m high. / Tiger Cave: 1,616 m long and 46 m high / Hang Over: 3,244 m long and 103 meters high with a width of about 30-50 m. / Pygmy Cave: 845 m long. / Ruc Caro cave: the habitat of the Arem minority. They live in caves and hunt for nature. - The park area, along with the Hin Namno Biodiversity Conservation Area bordering the Laotian side, is one of the two largest limestone areas in the world and includes several hundred caves, including long corridors with stalactites and stalagmites. British and Vietnamese scientists have explored twenty kilometers of it. There are many subterranean rivers and waterfalls.
- Son river flows into Phong Nha cave : In addition to the cave system, Phong Nha-Ke Bang also has the longest underground rivers.
- The peaks : Phong Nha-Ke Bang has a number of mountains higher than 1,000 m, notably Co Rilata peak with an elevation of 1,128 m and Co Preu peak of 1,213 m
- Climbing adventure: here have dozens of peaks with a relative height of over 1,000 m, steep limestone slopes suitable for extreme sports climbing activities.
- One of the new tourist routes is by boat trip along the Chay River to the forest. The more you go against the Chay River, the more it flows, winding through many rapids and reaching the forest area of Trang Mang. This route was surveyed by the tourism business units and proposed to open the Phong Nha-Ke Bang forest ecotourism route to soon serve tourists outside the tour of Phong Nha and Tien Son caves.
- The Phong Nha-Ke Bang area has a 50m high fishing waterfall, and a stretch of Ran Bo beach … The name of Ran Cow because this is the place where gaur live and breed here.
Activities : Visit to the caverns and caves in boats – explore caves by canoe / Boat rental on the Son River / sightseeing / photo opportunities / trekking / Eco-tourism / discovering the flora and fauna in the forest in this national park. / Ascent to the mountain, trekking: here are the mountains with extreme slopes, with a size of more than 1,000 m, which is a real challenge for adventurers.
Go next : Hue is in the central region of Vietnam and is the former imperial capital / Hoi An is a city in Vietnam, south of Da Nang. The Old Town of Hoi An is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. / Ninh Binh , the capital city of Ninh Binh Province in North Vietnam,
