00:12 - 16.02.2025
Son Doong Cave, the world’s largest, has consumed a lot of ink in the press. As the world’s largest cave, it attracts many tourists to come and explore. Currently, Son Doong Cave is being exploited by the Quang Binh Provincial People’s Committee to Oxalis Company as an adventure tourism destination.
Son Doong Cave images are famous on Google Culture, National Geographic, or travel magazines such as Tripadvisor, Lonely Planet with its large cave system and magnificent stalactites. Son Doong Cave images are on many covers as well as major TV channels such as BBC or CNN.
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In the article about Son Doong Cave, we will list detailed information such as who discovered Son Doong Cave, details about the cave system as well as Son Doong Cave tours.
Son Doong Cave has coordinates 17°55’N and 106°14’E, located in Son Trach commune, Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province. Son Doong Cave is located in the core zone of Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park.
The cave is located close to the Vietnam-Laos border. In Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, recognized twice by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage. Son Doong Cave is located in Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province.
Son Doong Cave was formed about 2-5 million years ago, when river water flowed across the buried limestone along a fault line. The water eroded and created a giant tunnel in the ground under the mountain range. In places where the rock was soft, the ceiling collapsed, creating sinkholes, which over time formed giant cave domes.
The cave is 150 meters wide, over 200 meters high, and nearly 9 kilometers long. The estimated capacity of Son Doong Cave is 38.5 million cubic meters (equivalent to 15,000 Olympic swimming pools).
Son Doong Cave was first discovered by a forest ranger named Ho Khanh who lived in Phong Nha Ke Bang. In 1990 – 1991, while walking in the forest, he encountered a sudden thunderstorm. While looking for a place to shelter from the rain, he accidentally discovered a stone cave with large clouds above. He intended to go deeper into the cave but was afraid so he did not dare to go in and hid next to the cliff, waiting for the rain.
In 2007, the British Royal Expedition conducted a new cave search in Phong Nha – Ke Bang. Ho Khanh also took them to look for Son Doong cave for 2 days but they still did not find the cave. During that trip, Mr. Howard Limbert himself, when observing the natural phenomena in the surrounding area, confirmed to Mr. Khanh that there must be a large cave nearby.
However, time did not permit so the cave expedition team had to return to England. But before returning to England, Mr. Howard Limbert had time to ask Ho Khanh to try to find that cave.
Ho Khanh then continued to go into the forest and discovered Son Doong Cave in 2008. In early 2009, when the British Royal Cave Association expedition returned to Vietnam, Ho Khanh led Howard Limbert’s group there and the cave was named Hang Son Doong.
After a thorough survey of the cave, a group of British Royal cave experts and Quang Binh province introduced Son Doong Cave to the world. The technical announcements about the world’s largest cave, its size, and its unique ecosystem have amazed the world.
Son Doong Cave has been exploited for adventure tourism since 2013. Adventure tourism activities in Son Doong Cave have always proven their appeal to the domestic and international tourism community with its majestic, magnificent beauty and many other wonderful values.
Initially, the name Hang Son Doong was named after the person who discovered Hang Son Doong, Ho Khanh. Later, experts asked for permission to change the name to Hang Son Doong because according to experts, Hang Son Doong is located in Ha Doong area, in Doong land. Near this area, there is an ethnic village called Ban Doong, and Son means mountain.
Son Doong Cave was discovered and named that way until now.
Son Doong Cave offers a unique experience that few other caves can offer. Many of the highlights listed below show the appeal of this cave.
The Vietnam Wall is the name of the tallest stalactite wall located at the end of Son Doong. The ceiling of the Vietnam Wall is about 200 meters high. To reach the Vietnam Wall, you need to go through a rather muddy cave section.
The entire climb up the 90m high Vietnam Wall requires the use of protective equipment and is guaranteed by Oxalis’ professional safety team. When you reach the top of the Vietnam Wall, you will see the cave exit.
The interesting thing about camping inside the cave is that many tourists enjoy it. When conquering Son Doong cave, you will have 3 nights sleeping in the cave, the first night sleeping in Hang En, the remaining 2 nights sleeping in Son Doong cave. Son Doong camping site is very beautiful, an extremely attractive experience that cannot be found anywhere else. Campsite 1 and campsite 2 in the cave have a view of the sinkhole and are located on the cave floor covered with white sand.
The pictures of camping in Son Doong Cave also make everyone want to conquer it once.
The Dog’s Paw is a massive natural stalactite in Son Doong Cave. The Dog’s Paw looms large, a majestic sight in the world’s largest cave.
From this position you can almost admire the whole view of Son Doong cave.
Son Doong’s two sinkholes are where the most beautiful images are, because there is a lot of light coming out. Sinkhole 1 is also known as Dinosaur Watch. At Sinkhole 1, there is also a large layered stalactite block that tourists have named “Wedding Cake”. Sinkhole 2 is also known as “Garden of Eden”.
The formation of the sinkhole allows light to penetrate into the cave and create a small forest. The unique ecosystem of Son Doong Cave has been able to survive thanks to sunlight. To reach this location, visitors will have to climb a rocky hill with gradually rising natural steps, looking like stairs leading to the Garden of Eden.
Because it is located underground and has a large void, people believe that Son Doong Cave has its own climate. With the size of the cave, it is considered the largest in the world, inside the cave clouds form from underground water veins.
Large and seasonal clouds cover the cave’s chambers, creating a magnificent scene for visitors to admire and check in to take pictures of the cave. The cave’s own weather system is also a condition for flora and fauna to live.
Currently, Son Doong Cave Tour welcomes about 1000 visitors each year. There are health options for each participant. Currently, the cave is assigned to Chua Me Dat Company for exclusive exploitation and management. Therefore, you cannot arbitrarily travel to Son Doong Cave.
The current ticket price for a 4-day, 3-night Son Doong Cave tour is $3,000/person.
Currently, Son Doong Cave in particular and Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park in general are considered the image of Vietnam Tourism.
Son Doong Tour is currently organized for 4 days and 3 nights, however, the operator Oxalis Adventure has created a 6 days and 5 nights tour. Son Doong Cave exploration tour is the dream of many people.
Expedition with special itinerary for tourists.
Day 1: Oxalis Adventure will safely introduce you to Phong Nha.
Day 2: Trekking Ban Doong – En Cave
Day 3: Cave entrance – Sinkhole Campsite 1
Day 4: Sinkhole Campsite 2 – Garden of Eden
Day 5: Vietnam Wall – Exit – Chay Lap Farmstay
Day 6: Chay Lap Farmstay – Dong Hoi
Conquering this unique and magnificent cave is also an opportunity for you to challenge yourself.
To conquer this cave requires you to be healthy, and the cost is $3,000. Currently, many Quang Binh cave exploration tours are more affordable and require less health, such as exploring En Cave, Tu Lan Cave, Tiger Cave, Kong Sinkhole, or exploring the Cha Loi cave system.
On April 30, 2013, Son Doong Cave was recognized by Guinness as the largest cave in the world.
In June 2016, the World Record Association sent a document confirming the record for Son Doong Cave, Quang Binh Province as the largest natural cave in the world.
On July 24, 2016, the World Records Union Council – WorldKings also officially confirmed the record for Son Doong Cave.
The event of Hang Son Doong on Google also consumed a lot of ink of the press. The image of the world’s largest cave was introduced by the number 1 search engine on the Google website.
Visitors will be provided with more information and exposure around the world.
See more tourist attractions in Quang Binh that you should know
Many tourists often translate it as Son Doong Cave without accents or Son Doong Cave.
The first person to discover Son Doong Cave was Ho Khanh. Later, British royal cave experts surveyed and published about this cave.
The cave was discovered by chance during a trip to the forest. After many searches, it was re-measured and put into adventure tourism activities.
Son Doong Cave was discovered in 1990, but only on the outside. In 2008, during a hunting trip, Ho Khanh was lucky enough to find the cave entrance again, which was thought to have been forgotten. In 2009, Ho Khanh led Howard, Deb and several other cave experts back to the cave entrance, opening the way for more detailed surveys later. In 2013, Son Doong Cave was put into tourism exploitation as an international-class tour.
You can see Phong Nha Ke Bang Travel experience here
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17:59 - 08.05.2025
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