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In the center of Vietnam's Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is the world's largest cave, Hang Son Doong Cave. This amazing underground kingdom was discovered in 2009 by a group of British cavers led by Howard Limbert.
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| Son Doong Cave |
Son Doong Cave is located in the heart of the dense jungle. Its location was shown to researchers by a local farmer. The first descent into the cave did not impress the cavers - they decided that the dimensions of Hang Son Doong are only 150 meters long and 60 meters wide. However, further research made a real revolution in the field of modern speleology.
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| Son Doong Cave |
Hang Son Doong Cave has a very narrow entrance (10 by 30 meters) through which a strong stream of air breaks through. It was he who prompted the researchers to think that there could be a large cave here. Hearing the sound of an underground river, cavers began to move deeper into the cave, as a result of which they discovered its incredibly huge size.
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| Son Doong Cave |
Although the locals had long known about the existence of this cave, the strong wind and the noise of the mountain river flowing in its depths frightened them, so no one was studying these places. When they first entered Hang Son Doong Cave, a group of British explorers spent four days traveling through its gigantic halls.
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| Son Doong Cave |
Only part of this amazing underground cave in Vietnam has been explored. Hang Son Doong really amazes with its size. The stalagmites formed here are up to 70 meters high. Some of the halls are so large that, according to researchers, you can fly here in planes and hot air balloons!
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| Son Doong Cave |
The width of the incredible underground corridors of Son Doong Cave reaches 100 meters, and the vaults rise to a height of 250 meters. After analyzing these indicators, scientists have come to the conclusion that at the moment Hang Son Doong is the largest cave on Earth.
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| Son Doong Cave |
Interestingly, some parts of the giant cave are so large that they are completely overgrown with dense vegetation, turning it into a real underground jungle. Birds, snakes, insects, various rodents and even monkeys live here. The unique climate and temperature changes contribute to the formation of underground clouds rising to the vaults of the cave.
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| Son Doong Cave |
Scientists' studies have shown that the network of giant Hang Son Doong Caves in Vietnam was the result of the active work of a large underground river, which two and a half million years ago washed its way through a weak limestone layer. The cave got its name in honor of the shadow of the mountain river flowing here to this day - translated from Vietnamese Hang Son Doong means "Mountain River Cave".