Son Doong cave is world's largest cave, located in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in central Vietnam. It is found by a local man named Ho Khanh in 1991 and was discovered in 2009 by British Cave Research Association, led by Howard Limbert.
photo source: www.nationalgeographic.com
The name "Son Doong" cave means "mountain river cave", It was created 2-5 million years ago by river water eroding away the limestone underneath the mountain.
photo source: www.nationalgeographic.com
Son Doong cave is more than 200 meters wide, 150 meters high, and approx 9 kilometers long. It could hold 40-story skyscrapers.
photo source: www.sondoongcave.org
A large river flows through the cave.
Photo of the underground river taken by Ryan Deboodt.
You can see a stalagmite rising towards the cave ceiling, well above the others. This stalagmite called the Hand of Dog, is over 70 meters tall. It may well be the tallest stalagmite in the world.
Photo of the world’s tallest stalagmite taken by John Spies.
photo source: www.asiatouradvisor.com
Thanks to the collapsed ceiling, daylight is flowing in through the jungle above. This has made it possible for vegetation within the cave. The first doline is named "Watch Out for Dinosaurs". The cave ceiling simply couldn't support its own weight at this point. It collapsed because of weaknesses in the rock.
photo source: www.nationalgeographic.com
At the top of Watch out for Dinosaurs.
photo source: https://urszihlmann.com
This part of the cave has been somewhat undisturbed by the elements which have made possible the formation of the beautiful gours. They have formed from water dripping from the ceiling.
photo source: www.nationalgeographic.com
photo source: www.nationalgeographic.com
You can camp inside the cave. The guided tour costs US$ 3,000 each.
photo source: https://urszihlmann.com
This is the Garden of Edam. The doline holds a veritable forest of its own hosting tall trees and birds and bugs alike. The trees over 30 meters tall. Birds, monkeys and snakes have been spotted in the cave by explorers. Many new species, previously unknown to inhabit Vietnam, have been found in the region.
photo source: https://urszihlmann.com
photo source: https://en.wikipedia.org
photo source: www.sondoongcave.org
photo source: www.sondoongcave.org
The cave pearls found in Son Doong, can be as large as baseball.
Photo of the cave pearls taken by Ryan Deboodt.
This cave is a living environment, changing every day. This part of the cave is a muddy trench, leading into the last stretch of the cave.Now, because of heavy rains, this section has flooded and formed a lake. This is end of the cave for now. According to experts, a large part of this cave could not be discovered.
photo source: www.sondoongcave.org
References: www.nationalgeographic.com, www.sondoongcave.org, https://en.wikipedia.org
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