Why Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is Vietnam’s best National Park?
Did you know that Vietnam, apart from being famous for its tea gardens, breathtaking natural landscapes, the capital of Hanoi, terraced rice fields, the ancient town of Hoi An, Vietnam War, Vietnamese beer, traditional Ao Dai garments, serene beaches, mysterious islands, majestic mountains, coffee, and the scrumptious food, is known for its national parks?
I have been wondering what Vietnam can offer travelers in terms of reserved national parks or maybe even world heritage sites. After some research, I discovered that there is one such national park which boasts of Vietnam’s hidden treasure. So, without further ado let’s find out what’s this treasure all about. Despite the fact that Vietnam hosts various national parks, today, we will discover the one which stands out from its counterparts. The national park we are referring to here is none other than Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng. Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is essentially a composition of two terms namely Phong Nha in Vietnamese meaning cave and Kẻ Bàng meaning limestone forest. Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is also called by three other names:
1. Thầy Tiên cave
2. Thầy Mount
3. Troóc cave
As you read on, you will discover what Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is and what makes it so special.
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is a UNESCO world heritage site, located at the Quảng Bình Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng national park is one of the world’s two largest limestone regions. Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is also the oldest Karst in Asia due to its limestone formation which dates back to 400 million years ago. Karst is essentially a formation from the dissolved soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. These Karsts are thereby categorized by many underground drainage systems and caves. Compared to the other similar UNESCO-listed national parks of Southeast Asia, Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is older and has complex underground rivers.
The Caves of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is home to the oldest cave in the world. The Karst formation in the region is an impressive display of earth’s geological history. It offers tremendous research and study opportunities for geomorphic and geo-chronological history of the region. The rivers dissecting these majestic caves and the shimmering sunlight hitting the limestone formations, reflecting back into the atmosphere makes the whole experience magical. Down below, I have listed some of the major caves and its characteristics of the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng region.
The Phong Nha Cave
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng cave is where the national park and cave system gets its name from. The Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is famous for its rock formations and these rocks are given names as below:
1. The Lion
2. The Fairy Caves
3. The Royal Court
4. The Buddha
Cave characteristics
Cave length — 7.7 kilometers
Length of its underground river — 14 kilometers
Number of grottos — 14
Reachability to tourists — 1.5 km
Tiên Sơn Cave
Some scientists say that Tiên Sơn cave was created tens of millions of years ago. This cave is considered to be dangerous for tourists due to its characteristics and open for adventure professionals only. Tiên Sơn Cave characterizes spectacular stalactites and stalagmites that are shaped like many fairy-tales. If knocked with the hand, these stalactite and stalagmite columns and walls create strange yet beautiful sounds like that of a drum.
Cave Characteristics
Cave length — 1 kilometer
Aperture — 1 kilometer
Altitude — 200 meters
Thiên Đường Cave
Also known as the “Paradise Cave”, this cave is home to the most spectacular stalactites and stalagmites in the whole of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng national park. It was discovered in the year 2005 by a local person. Thiên Đường Cave’s limestone formation is more beautiful than that of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng cave.
Cave Characteristics
Cave length — 31 kilometers
Height — 100 meters
Width — 150 meters
Aperture — 1 kilometer
Altitude — 200 meters
Sơn Đoòng Cave
The Sơn Đoòng Cave is discovered by a local man in 1991 and is regarded as the largest cave in the world because of its humongous dimensions. This cave measures five times larger than the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng cave and hence it has been declared as the world’s largest cave.
Cave Characteristics (Approximation)
Cave length — 5 kilometers
Height — 200 m
Width — 150 m
Tourists Attractions in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng
There are notably many tourist activities in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng. Some of the activities you can do while in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng national park are:
Take a boat ride and go on a cave expedition. Explore the flora and fauna in the Kẻ Bàng forest. For adventure climbers, the park offers mountain climbing and trekking. Visit the beautiful Chai waterfall. This waterfall falls from a height of 50 meters. Visit the Ran Bo bull field. Visit the Nước Ngang called The Horizontal Spring, Ðá Nằm called The Crouching Stone. There are many streams that run for a long distance and suddenly disappear underground. These streams are a treat to the eyes and one of the must-see places in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng.
About Tours For Books
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Author: Vinay Ananth
About the Author: Vinay Ananth is a Technical Writer from India currently based in the city of Gurgaon. He thinks the whole world is his family and it is his duty to take care of it. With this idea, he joined Better Life Vietnam as a Volunteer in Tours For Books division. He hopes to learn more about NGOs and help BLV in every possible way to better the life of Vietnamese children. When he is not writing, he enjoys traveling, bird watching, nature photography and biking.
