Phong Nha - Ke Bang
National Park

PHONG NHA - KE BANG NATIONAL PARK and UNESCO World Heritage Site is in Quang Binh Province 500km South of Hanoi.

In 2004 UNESCO recognised Vietnam's Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park as a world natural heritage site. Phong Nha-Ke Bang park is now the fifth UNESCO recognised site in Viet Nam after Ha Long Bay, the imperial city of Hue, the ancient quarter of Hoi An and the My Son historical site.

The park was created to protect one of the world's two largest karst regions with 300 caves and grottos.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang area is noted for its cave and grotto systems as it is composed of 300 caves and grottos with a total length of about 70km, of which only 20 have been serveyed by VN and British scientists 17 in Phong Nha and 3 in Ke Bang.

THE PARK is also recognized for its biodiversity, with the highest number of animals and plants on planet.

According to initial statistics, the primitive tropical forest in Phong Nha-Ke Bang houses 140 families, 427 branches, and 751 species of high-rated plants, of which 36 species are endangered and listed in the Viet Nam Red Book. The forest is also home to 32 sets, 98 families, 256 races and 381 species of four land backboned animals. Sixty-six animal species are listed in the Viet Nam Red Book and 23 other species in the World Red Book. In general, Phong Nha-Ke Bang's animals are more diverse than in other natural reserves and national parks.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang also boasts dozens of mountain peaks of over 1,000 metres still unexplored by men and seen as ideal sites for activities like climbing and exploration. Worthy of note are Peak Co Rilata with the height of 1,128 m and Peak Co Preu, 1,213 m. Lying between these peaks are valleys which promise tourists exciting eco-tours.

In addition to the diversity in the ecosystem, Phong Nha-Ke Bang is home to archeological and historical relics such as an ancient hieroglyphic script of the Cham ethnic minority, King Ham Nghi's base built for the resistance war against French colonialists in the late 19th century, and the Xuan Son ferry station, Ho Chi Minh Trail and Road 20 used during the US resistance war.

Central Quang Binh province has poured heavy investment into upgrading the Phong Nha-Ke Bang visitor site to turn it into the country's major tourist destination.

THE PHONG NHA CAVE itself which lends its name to the whole system is probably the most beautiful of all, containing many fascinating rock formations, enchanting visitors with evocative names such as Lion, Fairy Caves, Royal Court and Buddha.

Besides the grotto and cave systems, Phong Nha has the longest underground rivers, the largest caverns and passageways, the widest and prettiest sand banks, and the most astonishing rock formations in the world.

THE WORLDS LONGEST UNDERGROUND RIVER winds through Vietnam's Phong Nha cave system, the name translates as "the cave of teeth". Entering this cave is like venturing into the mouth of a giant beast, all the more mysterious since the cave rings with strange noise. Locals say it is music from a banquet hosted by the mountain God, but the acoustic tricks are actually echoes, which bounce off the limestone cliffs of the cave.

The main cave system contains 14 chambers, linked by an underwater river that runs for 1.5km. Secondary corridors branch off in all directions. The Outer Cave and some of the Inner Caves have roofs that tower between 25 and 40 meters above the water level.

From the 14th chamber there may be other corridors leading to similarly large chambers, but this area is more dangerous due to ongoing erosion of the limestone of the cavern.

Some 800 meters into the cave we reach the Shallow Cave, where we step out of the boat to explore a fantastic landscape of sand and rock. Stalactites and stalagmites jut out like strange trees, exciting our imaginations.

Caves have always held a primitive fascination for people, as if they are meeting places for the real and the imagined. The word "magical" is used all too often but in the case of the Phong Nha caves it is fitting. A visit through these caves will present you with a rare opportunity in this modern age: the chance to explore nature's magic and reconnect with the earth.

TIEN SON CAVE originally called "dry cave" is another beautiful cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang area. Tien Son cave was discovered by a local inhabitant by accident in 1935. The entry mouth of Tien Son is about 1 km from Phong Nha cave, at an altutude of 200 m. Tien Son Cave is more than 980 metres long. Travelling into the cave for about 400m, visitors will see an abyss 10m deep. Then comes another part of the cave, about 500m long, which is rather dangerous for walking. At present, nearly 400m of the cave have been installed with lighting system to make it safe for visitors.

Like Phong Nha cave, this Cave looks marvelous inside with hundreds of stalagmites and stalactites of different sizes and shape. Some look like a man or an animal, and there is one that looks like the Learning Tower of Pisa in Italy. On the cave ceiling, there are glittering gold and silver-like veins. Stalactite and stalagmite columns and walls here create strange sounds like that of gong and drum if they are knocked with the hand.

According to British cave scientists, Tien Son cave was created tens of million years ago when a water current holed this limestone mount in Ke Bang. Following a series of landforms and movement of rocks, this mass was levered or lowered, blocking the current and creating what is now Tien Son cave while the underground river redirected its current to Phong Nha cave. Although Phong Nha and Tien Son caves are located next to each other, there are no linking grottos between them.

Go with us and you will see, taste, smell and experience the REAL Vietnam

Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park