Hang Son Doon Cave: An Unexplored Destination

Vietnam is home to many popular caves, and one of them is the largest cave in the world, the Son Doong Cave. Located in the heart of the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Son Doong Cave was accidentally discovered in 1990 by Ho Khanh and later explored in 2009 by the British-Vietnam Caving Expedition Team. The name of Son Doong Cave means the mountain river cave as two large rivers; Khe Ry and Rao Thuong created a huge passage into the base of the limestone mountain millions of years ago by joining together.

The Son Doong Cave is a true hidden gem and only allows a limited number of over 1000 visitors per year. To reach the entrance of the cave, the visitors have to trek for a day and a half, and all the expeditions are exclusively led by Oxalis Adventure Tours. With its one-of-a-kind ecosystem and its own underground forest, this largest cave in the world will surely be an unforgettable memory.

Be it a tour to Son Doong Cave or Ha Long Bay Vietnam, your trip to this tourist destination would be filled with adventure and stunning views. Here are some further details about the Son Doong Cave:

The Expedition

Explore the mystery of nature inside the Hang So Doong cave. The expedition to this cave has largely attracted adventure seekers to Vietnam, as it is a great place to discover the underground world. The expedition tours in Son Doong Cave started in August 2013 and saw huge popularity from different international agencies like National Geographic, The Travel, and BBC. With its popularity, the world’s largest cave saw people from around the world and has taken the spotlight in almost every Vietnam tour package.

This 6-day expedition to Hang Son Doong Cave is a beautiful blend of magnificent settings and an impressive campsite that will satisfy your travel bug. The exclusive organiser of this expedition is Oxalis Adventure Tours, which will conduct the trekking through the Hang Son Doong Cave’s prime forest, several river crossings, and terrains. These terrains will have challenges like rocky scrambling, sandbanks, ladders, and rope climbs. It is important to note that there will be no mobile network or Wi-Fi inside the cave, and the expedition tour may change in case of harsh weather conditions.

As the expedition is only permitted for a few people, here are the notable things that you should remember before booking your tour to the Son Doong Cave:

1. Overall Prep

To visit an adventure-filled location, one must be physically fit to face all the challenges. As you will have to perform tasks such as trekking, river crossing/wading, climbing on rocky mountains or vertical hills, life lining, and swimming, you should be physically fit to do so. Anyone who regularly exercises, runs, participates in treks, etc., can easily complete this expedition.

2. Things to Carry

As the expedition journey is for 6 days, the adventure seekers must bring essential clothing, mosquito repellent, sunglasses, sunblock, a hat, a mini-fan, personal hygiene items, medication, a passport, power banks, and more to the tour. The tour organisers provide you with essential gear, meals, a water bottle, first aid, a satellite phone, a compost toilet, and more.

For better preparation, make sure you check out the list of items you need to carry and what they provide for the expedition on Oxalis Adventure Tours’ official website.

3. Choosing The Correct Level

This expedition tour is prepared in a systematic manner and wants you to have a fulfilling experience in the world’s largest cave. They have designed an adventure scale from 1 to 6 that goes from introductory to hard so that you can choose according to your adventure and fitness level.

4. Safety Measures

Your safety is the priority of the tour organisers, which is why they use only international standard equipment. All the tour guides and safety assistants have taken a professional training course and have the skills to lead the tour.

For further information on potential risks and how they can be avoided, you should check out Oxalis Adventure Tours’ official website.

5. Tour Booking

As Oxalis Adventure Tours are the authorised organisers of this expedition, you have to book the tour from their official website. There are several tour packages that you can choose from according to your preferred adventure level, as it can get challenging as the expedition goes deeper into the cave. One must check all the terms before booking the expedition.

Exceptional Features

The Hang Son Doong Cave takes you to a unique underground world where you can spot a variety of cave formations like cave pearls, stalactites, stalagmites, dolines, underground forests, and rivers—everything inside the cave. It is a different world altogether, where the giant stalagmites reach up to 80 metres, rime stone pools allow you to take a relaxing swim, and there are large fossils that are over 300 million years old. A huge variety of rare species of flora and fauna are also seen in the jungle section of the Son Doong Cave.

Inside this world’s largest cave, scientists have found the world’s tallest stalagmite and largest limestone pearls. Furthermore, the sinkholes that are found in the cave's depths allow sunlight and rain to enter the cave and nourish the thriving rainforests. The best part about this cave is that it has its own weather system that can also form clouds that are spectacular to witness inside a cave!

Facts about Son Doong Cave

The Hang Son Doong Cave is a fascinating place to visit, and even after so many years of discovery, no one has fully explored this world’s largest cave. Here are some interesting facts about the Son Doong Cave:

• The Son Doong Cave has sections that have a height of up to 200 metres and a width of up to 150 metres that could house an entire New York City block.
• The cave pearls of Son Doong are the size of baseballs.
• The large size of Son Doong Cave, with a minimum length of 5 kilometres, is capable of accommodating about 68 Boeing 777 aircraft.
• The grand landscape of the cave gives it the honorary title of "The Great Wall of Vietnam".
• Son Doong has its own climate conditions and unique flora and fauna.
• The cave’s discovery remained a mystery for 15 years.
• People visiting the world’s largest cave must be physically fit, as the expedition to this cave is full of challenges and serious risks like flooding.
• There are a few species discovered in Son Doong Cave that have no eyes and transparent bodies due to the prevalent darkness inside the cave.
• The main passage of Hang Son Doong Cave is one of the largest known cave passages in the world.

Best Time to Visit

The Hang Son Doong Cave tour only operates from January to the end of August every year due to the changing weather conditions and the safety of the guests.

• From January to March, the weather is generally quite cold.
• April to May is one of the best times of year to visit the cave, as the weather becomes nice and warm and the forest is in its blooming period. In this period, clouds and mists also form inside the cave.
• June to August are the hottest summer months. Nonetheless, the trek takes place under the cover of trees and inside the cave, where the temperature is mostly 22 to 25 degrees. You can enjoy swimming in the underground lakes this season.

Witnessing the mesmerising beauty of the world’s largest cave is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you are an adventure seeker, then this must be on your bucket list!