Vietnam: Cave trip by cable car

QUANG BINH The province’s People’s Committee has recently approved the construction of a cable car system to Son Doong Cave, considered the world’s largest cave.
It is located in a UNESCO-recognised Phong Nha- Ke Bang National Park.
The committee spokesperson, Truong An Ninh, told local media that the province will allow Sun Group — a local developer of tourism properties — to conduct a survey for the construction of the system.
Inside3The 10.6 km cable car system will cost USD211.8 million and span four sections to reach the entrance to Tien Son Grotto.
The first section will run to Tra Ang Bridge on the west leg of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, while the second will reach the rear entrance to Son Doong Grotto. The third will run from Son Doong Grotto to the mouth of the grotto’s second pit, while the last section will extend to Tien Son Grotto.
Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003.
The Son Doong Grotto was discovered in 1991 by Ho Khanh, a local explorer, but only became well-known after a group of scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, explored it in 2009.
According to the Limberts, the cave is five times larger than Phong Nha cave, previously considered the biggest in Vietnam.
The largest chamber of Son Doong is more than 5 km long, 200 metres high and 150 metres wide. It took over as the world’s largest from Deer Cave in east Malaysia, which is 148 metres high and 142 metres wide at the widest part.
The provincial government plans to officially reopen Son Doong Cave to the public next January after adventure tours to the cave were suspended, 1 September, to allow the cave’s environment to recover.
According to the plan, the cave will be opened for eight tours a month with roughly 10 people per tour allowed to enter the cave. Tour costs are kept high to control the number of visits.
Under the one-year pilot tourism programme, a total of 243 adventure travellers from 34 countries explored the cave on six-day trips that cost USD3,000 per person. Pilot tours run by Oxalis Company between August 2013 and August 2014.

sourced:ttrweekly.com