The Caves of Phong Nha

Together with the Chinese girl Joy, whom I met in the hostel in Hue, I took the bus to Phong Nha. There are loads of caves to explore here. On the internet, I saw a few pictures of the Son Dong cave, the largest known cave in the world, and I was absolutely thrilled! The cave is so big that it has its own ecosystem, with its own jungle, beach, lakes, and rivers.

When I researched about it, it turned out that only about 500 people have access to the cave every year, they have to be absolutely fit (the cave is several days away in the middle of the jungle, so climbing, swimming, abseiling is required...) and they have to pay over 3000 Euros for a multi-day tour. So maybe next time... ;-)

A little disappointed, we instead rented a scooter and visited the Phong Nha and Paradise caves. The latter is particularly beautiful and huge. However, the entrance to the cave is way, way up, so we (especially due to the hot, humid weather) were already exhausted before we even set foot in the cave. :-)

It is believed that there are many more caves like this in the Phong Nha area that have not been discovered yet.

(I have included three pictures of the Son Dong cave from the internet so you can see why I am so excited.)