Hi guys!

I'm getting more and more positive feedback on my blogs and I’m really happy about this! This time I want to tell you about the time I spent in North Vietnam in a place called Phong Nha-Ke Bang National park.

At first I didn't really know if I wanted to visit this place because it wasn't so warm when I was there and also quite foggy. But it was one of the best decisions I made while being in Vietnam because I had an amazing time.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is a Limestone region, consisting of 300 (discovered) caves, which has rightfully conquered a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The park is located 500 kilometers South of Hanoi and is a must-visit stop between Cát Bà en Ninh Binh. It has a diverse range of unique adventures and experiences and it is therefore no wonder that the park annually increases in popularity among backpackers.

The biggest cave: Son Doòng Cave

In the park you can find many caves, including the Son Doòng Cave. This cave is considered to be the largest cave in the world and is discovered by accident by a local farmer in 2009. The cave is so big that it has its own ecosystem and a complete city bloc from Manhattan, New York, would fit into the cave. Including the skyscrapers. Entering the cave is possible for 10 tourists a week between February and August, but the waiting list is very long and it’s very expensive. Before the discovery of this cave the park also held several world cave records, including the longest underground river.

(not my picture)

The Paradise Cave

One of the most popular caves in the area is the Paradise cave. The cave was discovered in 2005 by a local man and is about 31 km long. When entering the cathedral-like entrance most visitors only see the 1st kilometer of the cave. It is possible to see the first 7 kilometers with a tour which includes a swim through an underground river.

We stayed in the Duong Home stay in the center of the village. At the corner of the street we rented a scooter for three days. It's about an hour drive from the village to the Paradise cave. A scooter isn't the most comfortable way to do this, but it does give you a great view of the surroundings. When we where there we paid around 250.000 dong which amounts to about 10 euros. The road to the cave is one with many turns. Once you get there you can get a buggy from the car park to the entrance of the cave or walk your way up. We decided to climb our way up, which was quite the climb, and enjoy the view. Once upstairs we were happy to enter the cave where it was nice and cool.

Inside we had to walk down a long stairs inside the big cave. The view was absolutely amazing and the big karts stone creatures looked almost if they were made by artist sometimes. But what I didn't like about the cave was the fact that there where many(!) tourists who were very loud and sometimes almost poked your eye out with their selfiesticks. I definitely recommend going outside rush hour to prevent this.

Botanic Gardens and the Thac Gio Waterfall

We spent around an hour in the cave and then went back to the parking to continue our way. We drove back to the village paid a visit to the Botanic Gardens. Because it was at the end of the we only had around an hour to spent here. The area is really nice to walk in and if I knew the opening times I definitely would have come earlier. There are two well-marked trails that lead through the forest. There's a short one and a longer one. We decided, despite having not very much time, to take the long trail. The trail leads you past an animal rehabilitation and a 30 meter high waterfall called the Thac Gio Waterfall. We visited this place in march and even though it was not a very cold day it was still quite chilly between the trees. If you decide to go here don’t forget to put on some good hiking shoes because this way it’s way easier to climb the waterfall.

Floating in the mud

The next and last day we decided to pay a visit to Hang Toi also know as the Dark Cave. We booked a trip at the agency at the corner of the street where we also got our scooters. The best option is to combine the Paradise cave and the Dark cave in one trip. Because we already saw the Paradise cave, we still joined the group but got dropped off at the Dark cave first. The people there gave us a harness and with a zipline we entered the cave. From the entrance we all got a light on our heads and together we walked and swam our way in to the cave. The cave is all muddy and slippery inside so mind your step! Eventually we ended up in a big mud bath with the whole group. You stay afloat in the mud, as if you are in the dead sea. A fun thing to do is to all put your head torches off and make it completely dark. Once outside we have swum a bit in the river to clean up again. Inside there are also showers to get yourself clean.

( not my picture. if you do want to make pictures inside the cave make sure your camera or phone is water-resitant and you hold on to it very good. Because if you drop it in the mud you have a good chance of never finding it back)

Overall we had a great few days in the park and I’m really glad we decided to pay a visit to the park. From here we continued our journey to Ninh Binh from where we did a tour through the inlands, walked through many rice fields and stayed in wooden cabins with the local people. I’ll tell you more about this next time! Thanks for reading :-)