Vietnam opens mega cave

Tagged the world’s biggest cave, Vietnam’s Son Doong Cave will be officially open to tourists next year, but until then a trial route through the cave is being tested.

According to the district’s committee, the trail tour was suggested by Howard Limbert, an expert at the British Cave Research Association.

Mr Limbert recommended a trial tour could be offered twice a month and limited to a small group of seven or eight visitors.

He warned that before the cave was fully opened, authorities needed to set in place measures to preserve the environment and limit access with proper trails and roped off areas to ensure safety.

Exploration of the cave is best during the dry season, between February and August.

A group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Limbert, conducted a survey in 2009.

Son Doong Cave, was discovered in 1991 in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Considered the largest cave in the world it contains a fast-flowing underground river.

According to Limbert, the cave is five times larger than Phong Nha cave, previously considered the biggest cave in Vietnam. The biggest chamber of Son Doong is more than 5 km long, 200 metres high and 150 metres wide. With these dimensions, Son Doong overtakes the Deer Cave in Malaysia as the world’s largest cave.

In response to a question from  a TTR Daily reader, here are the comments and specific  background on contacts from the British Cave Research Association website:

Hang Son Doong Cave and Exploration in Vietnam
“BCRA 3 May 2011: There has been much interest shown by the media in the ongoing exploration of Hang Son Doong Cave and other caves in Vietnam. Some of the cavers involved in the exploration have been members of BCRA and, as a result, BCRA has received a number of inquiries for further information. Please note that BCRA “itself” has not been exploring this cave; it is just that some of the explorers happen to be members of the organisation, and that a subsidiary charity of BCRA, the Ghar Parau Foundation, has provided sponsorship for some expeditions. BCRA is not in a position to respond to inquiries in detail but we can suggest various contact points and sources of further information. A search for Hang Son Doong Cave will list most of the relevant web pages. Additionally, you may want to search for photos at National Geographic. There have been several expeditions to Vietnam caves in recent years; these are documented at vietnamcaves.com. The author of that web site, Howard Limbert, can be contacted for further information.”

Sourced: ttrweekly