Phong Nha - Ke Bang

Spending either New Year's or my birthday, which is in May when we travel due to extensive Russian holidays, in the most obscure places has now become a running joke with Ivan. And this year did not disappoint. So on a very rainy New Year's Eve 2019 we found ourselves getting off the train at Dong Hoi and driving to Phong Nha. It's mostly homestays, we chose the Ecolodge on the border of the town. There are two hostels more central for the young crowd if you're in for some partying before or after the sightseeing, but we were fine with our choice. The town itself is nothing to write home about, but has some watering holes and even a very nice French restaurant (Villas) with a decent wine list.

We booked a day tour with our lodge and next morning at 9 a.m. sharp the bus came to pick us up. It was raining the whole day. First stop were the botanic gardens with a waterfall. There's a small museum with some stuffed local wildlife. We had a very crazy guide who I believe was making stories on spot and as for the waterfall, instead of the signposted route, made those who felt especially suicidal cross the river and then walk down slippery stones to see it. Ivan did, I passed. It was okay.

Second stop was the Paradise cave, which was beautiful. I was surprised by the size of it and the decorations were beautiful. You …

I regret taking a tour for this. You pick one of the activities and spend most of the day on a bus from Hue and back on the same day, and Hue being a WHS makes this an easy follow-up but what I really recommend is staying in the park for 1 or 2 nights and do more than one activity. Don't just "tick" this one off for the sake of completing a list.

I chose the Paradise Cave because it was recommend to be the most beautiful one. It is a big cave and rather impressive for someone who has seen even a few around the world, but was it worth coming all the way for? I ended up chatting with the people on the tour most of the time and we all felt the cave was okay but the guide did not even explain anything to us. There are other caves to explore, zip lining might not be your thing, nor is mud cave exploring (i.e. a bath!), boat trips, and then there is still the forest which is inside the ancient karst region. Having just spent a few minutes at the tourist information booth where some people were dropped off to stay at a local accommodation, I knew there is a lot more to do here instantly.

As a regular tourist, you can only walk through the first kilometre and a half of Paradise Cave, although there are special tours that can take you further. This first section is designed for visitors, with a wooden pathway the whole way and tasteful lighting illuminating the special features along the way.

When it comes to these features, there are so many to see. The start of the cave is an enormous cavern, bigger than a stadium, but when you get a bit further in it’s the stalactites, the stalagmites, and the limestone columns that dominate the view. They come in all different shapes and sizes – thin ones and thick ones, smooth ones and jagged ones. Some look like rows of guardians, watching over their theatre. Another looks like a house. Another like a waterfall, in suspended animation for millions of years.

I decided to visit Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park after the hotel receptionist in Hue confirmed to me that the one day trip to visit the cave is very easy and enough to see all interesting places. In the next morning, a minivan pick me up from my hotel at 6.30 and after many brief stops to collect more passengers from other hotels, the minivan were fully packed with both local and foreign tourists. I learnt that most of the passengers were not part of a tour group but just used minivan to Phong Nha town. The guide also informed me that I have to choose between Phong Nha Cave and Paradise Cave, the two caves that are accessible for normal tourists, as there was no time to see both caves. Most of members of the tour group immediately chose Paradise Cave for more adventurous experience offered, only a few including me chose Phong Nha Cave for relax river cruise tour. The minivan made two brief stops at the ruin of Our Lady of La Vang church where the Marian Apparition has been reported in 1798, and the Vauban styled Quang Tri Citadel where the Battles of Quang Tri during Vietnam War happened.

At noon the minivan reached the city of Phong Nha, the Karst landscape around the town is quite beautiful, after many stops in town to send passenger, we finally arrive at the Phong Nha cave tourist center to have lunch. After lunch, the Paradise Cave …

Ah, this really is a find! And then to realize that I had thought of skipping it – another cave, and a bit out of the way. Directions in the Lonely Planet are made more difficult than they really are however: Phong Nha is an easy day trip from Hué. Several days a week there are tours organized by the travellers cafés. I wanted to go on another day, so I rented a car + driver for myself. It takes about 3.5 hours to get there, most of it via a shiny and quiet asphalt road that crosses sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Traces of the Vietnam War are also clearly visible at the entrance of the Phong Nha cave: crater holes that have turned into small ponds. From above you’ll notice that the landscape is dotted with them. The Phong Nha cave was used as an important Northern base during the war. A trip into the cave is all organized from the town of Son Trach. At the ticket office, you have to pay the entrance fee to the caves (Phong Nha and the adjoining Tien Son), and pay for the boat. As I was on my own and there weren’t many other people around to share with, I had my own boat.

A couple speaking only Vietnamese manned this small wooden ship. They used the motor to get from Song Trach to the entrance of the cave (about 20 minutes). The characteristic karst landscape …

My cousin and I were at the Phong Nha Cave in February of 2009. Our visit was doeable via the bus that originates from Hanoi. When we stopped at Dong Hoi we took rides on the back of 2 motorcyclists who drove us there in the open air. The ride was close to an hour and goes through some amazing rice patties and tree farms. The road is new and very comfortable to ride on. There is very little traffic as Central Vietnam is still a fairly lowly populated area compared to the North and the South.

Arriving there, we were amazed by the beauty of this park. For some reason, one could still see many farms on the lowlands inside this protected national park, but as one look upward towards the karst mountains all you see is picturesque beauty that is very green and comforting. The canoes that took us from the park main entrance to the embankment inside the park wiggles through some amazingly emerald waters so that in some parts of this river one could see the bottom with the naked eye.

There were two caves that we have visited: one on top of this hill that we climbed after numerous steps and rehydration with local vendors who sells these products and another cave which could be reached through a river which runs inside it. The cave reached via the river is pretty radical considering that there is no light inside this tunnel and only a few …

Phong Nha is part of unique set of cave systems in the world in that it has a subterranean river flowing through the cave and out and the river is navigable by boat. This allows the visitor a unique experience to sit in a boat and either paddle or cruise through the cave while admiring the experience.

My family and I experienced Phong Nha in 2005. The starting point is the town of Dong Hoi which is access able from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh. A short drive brings you to Phong Nha which is a pleasant place to walk among the mountains. The cave is located on the river and boats can be rented to paddle you in. The cave is about 5 miles deep but the boat will take you less than a mile and then you get to walk in dry caves looking at the rock formations.

I have experienced several other similar caves, notably the Yellow Dragon Cave at Wulingyuan, China (WHS) and the Puerto Princesa Cave on Palawan, Phillipines (WHS). Phong Nha is by far the best and most natural with the most unique rock formations.

The Yellow Dragon Cave has become very touristy and feels like Disneyland and the Puerto Princesa Cave in the Phillipines are a big disappointment. The trip to Puerto Princesa is long and bumpy together with a rough boat ride across the bay. The karst formation on the cliffs look beautiful but when they motor you in the cave, there …