Explore Son Doong Cave: World’s Largest Cave Adventure for International Travelers

Key Highlights Inside Son Doong Cave

Hope and Vision Branch

This is a long cave chamber, famous for its colossal size and considered the widest area inside Son Doong Cave. Experts estimate this massive space could fit a skyscraper over 40 stories tall where even a Boeing 747 could fly through it.

What's more, this chamber is home to the world's tallest stalagmite, standing at an impressive height of over 80m.

Humans dwarfed inside Son Doong's widest chamber

Underground River

Hidden within Son Doong is a magnificent underground river, fed by multiple streams from the Phong Nha Ke Bang region. The river winds its way through the cave, creating waterfalls 5-10m high, their roar echoing throughout the cavern.

This underground river also makes the cave's ecosystem even more unique, with layers of mist and ethereal clouds of water vapor floating mysteriously through the passages.

A crystal-clear stretch of underground river inside Son Doong Cave

Fossil Passage

The Fossil Passage preserves traces of ancient creatures from hundreds of millions of years ago such as shells, snails, fish bones, and coral. Here you'll find an underground pool with temperatures around 16 to 17 degrees Celsius, perfect for a refreshing swim in the cool water after a long day of trekking and exploring.

Sinkhole 1: Watch Out for Dinosaurs

This sinkhole formed where part of the cave ceiling collapsed, creating an open space that welcomes sunlight. The depth from the rim to the cave floor reaches 450m, and this is also where the underground river flowing through Son Doong ends.

During midday on sunny days from January to March, sunlight beams all the way down to the bottom of the sinkhole. Combined with the mist from the waterfall, it creates a shimmering, mystical scene straight out of a fairy tale.

Sinkhole 2 - Garden of Edam

About 1km from Sinkhole 1 lies Sinkhole 2, which hides a unique primeval forest 200m underground, surrounded by layers of limestone mountains. Leaving Sinkhole 1, you'll encounter a gentle slope leading into this forest. Light filtering through the sinkhole opening helps ferns thrive, covering the path in green like an enchanted road into a fairy tale garden. This forest is full of massive ancient trees where you'll need over 30 minutes to cross through and reach the camping area at Sinkhole 2.

The massive primeval garden inside Son Doong Cave 

Cave Pearls

Cave pearls form from calcium-rich water droplets falling from the cave ceiling, settling on the calcium-laden cave floor. They come in incredibly varied shapes and sizes, from tiny as beans to large as baseballs. Cave pearls typically cluster together on the cave floor, creating shimmering, mystical scenes when lit up, especially on rainy days. Not just in Son Doong but several other caves in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, like Hung Thoong, also boast beautiful sparkling cave pearls.

Cave pearls inside the Hang Thoong system

The Great Wall of Vietnam

The Great Wall of Vietnam rises 90m high at a 45-degree angle and once posed quite the challenge for the British Royal Cave Association expedition team exploring Son Doong Cave. It's a massive, imposing block of flowstone that blocks the path leading to the cave's exit.

These days, though, a safety system has been installed, ready for brave hearts to conquer the world's largest cave.

Son Doong Cave entrance

Passchendaele Passage

At the foot of the mighty Great Wall of Vietnam lies a pool stretching over 600m. What's interesting is how the water level changes with the seasons. During the dry season, the pool drains, revealing a muddy path as deep as your hips that explorers have to struggle through. In the rainy season, the water rises, transforming the area into a stunning lake stretching 500m with jade green waters. Visitors coming during this time get to experience kayaking or rafting across the lake to the cave's exit.

The wondrous nature of Son Doong Cave still holds many magnificent secrets. If you're not quite ready financially or physically to visit Son Doong Cave, don't hesitate to challenge yourself with other lighter and more suitable options right here.