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Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park

A Guide To Phong Nha And It’s Caves

Phong Nha is one of Vietnam’s hottest new destinations. Not only is it home to the world’s largest cave … it also has much to offer thrill seeking travellers.


A paradise of ancient karst mountains, Phong Nha is the oldest in Asia, pocketed by hundreds of spectacular caves. For those looking to experience Vietnam’s stunning nature, then you’re planning a trip to the right place. With it’s underground rivers, 400 million-year-old fossils and vast caves, Phong Nha is an adventurers dream.


The vast system of caves in Phong Nha offer a journey into one of the world’s most stunning natural wonders. From its breathtaking limestone formations to the tranquil underground rivers … every moment in Phong Nha promises an unforgettable adventure. If you’re seeking thrill, beauty, or simply an immersion in nature – then Phong Nha has it all. Phong Nha offers unmatched scenery, exclusive tours, and experiences that cater to every type of traveller.


Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park

Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park is located in the North of the Truong Son mountain range. It crosses the Bo Trach, Minh Hoa and Quang Ninh Districts of Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. It is one of Vietnam’s largest national parks and is also the widest continuous karst mountain range in Vietnam. Recognised by UNESCO as a world natural heritage site, Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park offers travellers and adventurers a glimps of the regions geology – geomorphology and biodiversity – ecosystems.


Phong Nha Cave System

The Phong Nha – Ke Bang area has more than 400 caves with different sizes, lengths and features. The longest cave system in Phong Nha – Ke Bang is the Phong Nha Cave System – with a length of over 100 km and comprising over 140 caves.



  • Khe Ry Cave – the longest underground river cave in Asia.
  • Hang En (Swallow Cave) – third largest cave in the world. A whopping 1,6km long with the highest point in the ceiling at 140m. It boasts a long sandy beach and a lake inside. It is also the habitat of the Swallow.
  • Son Doong Cave – the largest cave passage in the world. Located deep in the primary rainforest of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park. It is over 9 km long, more than 150m wide and 200m high.
  • Phong Nha Cave – the final cave in the system. Where the water drains out to the Son River and then on to the sea.

Why You Should Visit Phong Nha

Notably famous for the giant caves hidden in the karst mountains, Phong Nha is also known for its trekking in the national park. One of the best ways to get out and see everything is to rent a motorbike or bicycle and ride among the limestone karsts.


We arrived in Phong Nha from Hanoi, an easy 1 hour flight into Dong Hoi airport. From here we travelled to our hotel for the next few days. We chose to stay outside of Phong Nha Town, simply because we were tired from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and simply wanted a quiet few days to relax and head out on some adventures. If you decide to stay on Phong Nha Town, it’s a small town situated along the main road that runs in and out of the town. Phong Nha Town boasts a huge array of home stays, hostels and hotels – you’ll be spoilt for choice, with everything from budget accomodation to luxury stays. Additionally, you’ll find an abundance of restaurants and cafés with a wide range of food and drinks from must try Phong Nha traditional dishes to home sick western food.


But it’s not just Son Doong that people travel to Phong Nha for – entrance is restricted to only 200 or so cavers a year who travel on tours organised by Oxalis – it’s also all the other outdoor-based activities available in the area. When it comes to authentic wilderness, and getting off the beaten track, Phong Nha has it all.


Here is a lowdown of what to do in the area. Most of the tours include the caves. And for those who aren’t into dark, spaces, you can dive into adventure or feel closer to nature in a rather less adventurous manner.

Things To Do In Phong Nha

Exploring Phong Nha’s Caves

Hang Son Doong Cave Expedition

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is known as the Adventure Capital of Asia. You’ll probably have heard of Phong Nha simply because it’s home to the world’s largest cave, Hang Son Doong. The cave is almost 3 million years old and is the ultimate adrenaline-filled cave experience for adventure lovers worldwide! Hang Son Doong is not just a cave, but a different and unique world all on its own. Hang Son Doong is so colossal that it has its own jungle, river and even its own climate. An experience in this tremendous cave is made possible only with the Son Doong Expedition of 6 days and 5 nights. It’s not, however, that easily accessible as only a maximum of 1,000 visitors are admitted into the cave each year. The Hang Son Doong Expedition is priced at 3,000 USD and its exclusivity makes this tour an adventurers bucket list activity.


Hang Son Doong Cave Trek, Phong Nha
Ultimate Cave experience on the Hang Son Doong Cave Trek

Tu Lan Cave Encounter

There are multiple options for exploring the Tu Lan Cave System. Visitors can join a multi-day adventure or if you don’t have that much time to spare, you can opt for a full day cave hike. What you’ll the ecosystem of a tropical forest and admire the beauty of the Tu Lan Cave system, Quang Binh. Tu Lan Cave is situated out in Tan Hoa Village, which is 70km from Phong Nha. When you book a tour, you will get travel to and from Tan Hoa included.


You will swim in the underground river of a cave carved out millions of years ago and trek along forest trails. If you opt for an overnight cave experience, you’ll spend the night camping in the wild by the side of a waterfall, enjoy a local dinner, and spend the night at a Rural Homestay.


When we arrived in Phong Nha, the weather forecast wasn’t that great. We opted for a 1 day Tu Lan Cave hike booked with Oxalisonce the film set for the Hollywood blockbuster – Kong: Skull Island (2017). The experience gave us the opportunity to temporarily forget the hectic city life and immerse ourselves in nature. We were picked up at our hotel at 7am in the morning and taken to Tan Hoa Village by Limousine Bus with some other guests from our hotel. Along the way, we were given some information about Oxalis and the work they do with the locals – creating jobs, educating the local kids and building floating houses. You see, about twice a year Tan Hoa floods and the villagers evacuate their ground homes and move into floating houses. Their most prized possessions – their buffalo – usually swim for the kast mountains that surround the village and seek refuge during the floods. However, these houses are extremely expensive to build and most locals cannot afford to do it themselves … so Oxalis use their profits to build them for the locals, as well as educate the local children on how to swim.


Tu Lan Cave System - Rat Cave and Hung Ton Cave

On this tour, you’ll experience swimming in an underground cave system. The valleys are connected by a system of underground caves. Visitors can experience the magical feeling of swimming in total darkness of the cave. This is one of the most unique experiences of the Tu Lan Cave System adventure.


On the Tu Lan trekking tour you walk through two large valleys, Tan Hoa Valley and Hung Ton Valley, crossing open green fields surrounded by limestone mountain ridges thick with jungle vegetation. You explore 2 caves – Rat Cave and Hung Ton Cave with unique stalactite structures. The best bit – swimming in the underground river inside the cave – a unique experiences that lets you explore, equipped only with a head torch, as you’re immersed in the pitch-black space without natural.


After swimming in the cool blue stream through Hung Ton Cave, you pop out at a camp set up for the multi-day tours. If you’ve brought along some dry clothes, you can change into these (probably best just to change your shirt as you end up wadding through another stream on your way back to the village). You get to enjoy a picnic lunch by the stream of delicious food prepared by local chefs. We had rice cooked in banana leaves, a local pork stew, green mango, aubergine and tomato tofu … it was all delicious!

Tu Lan Cave 1 day hike - Lunch of local Phong Nha dishes

Whether you prefer long treks, camping in a cave, sleeping under the stars in the jungle, swimming underground in river caves, exploring the huge dry caves or simply taking an exploratory day trip, Oxalis Adventure Tours provide such a wide range of adventures it worth checking out everything they offer.


Tu Lan Cave 1 day hike Encounter - Oxalis Adventure

The price of the Tu Lan Experience tour is 1,800,000 VND per person. The tour price includes VAT, entrance fee and forest environment service fee. Each tour with a maximum of 12 guests will have 1 guide, 2 safety assistants, 1 chef, 1 kitchen assistant. Oxalis provides food, tea and coffee for visitors during the trek, as well as providing safety equipment such as helmets, harnesses, headlights, gloves and other safety equipment.


For a 5% discount – use this booking code UBWGPC to book your first trip with Oxalis. *We do not receive any affiliate amount back from this code – Oxalis simply provided us with this discount for anyone that books a tour with them through our website.


Phong Nha Cave and Tien Son Cave

Phong Nha cave is a great introduction to the caves in the area. Your experience will allow you to see the cave and be rewarded with a nice boat ride down the Song Con river. We did this on our second day as the weather wasn’t great for a hike or another cave trek.


We headed to the jetty in Phong Nha Town and bought an entrance ticket for the cave — there is no need to pay for a guided tour, unless you insist on needing an English-speaking guide. You will also have to pay for a boat. The price for a boat is fixed at 550 000VND, but if you wait around the docks for other potential passengers to show up, you can split the cost. We were lucky, there were already 2 other couples waiting at the ticket office, so we split the boat between us.

Phong Nha and Tien Son Caves

Tien Son Cave, Phong Nha boat tour

The boat takes you along the river to the entrance and winding stairs to the Tien Son cave. As you ascend, the green plains and the murky river spread out underneath, providing a great panoramic view to this part of the national park. You climb up and up, before arriving to the almost hidden entrance of the cave. Follow the looping walkway that twists through the cave to offer a closer look at its impressive stalagmites (rising from the floor) and stalactites (hanging from the roof).


Once you have explored Tien Son, the boat takes you through the first kilometre of the underground river flowing through the cave. Phong Nha Cave is 7,729 meters long and contains 14 grottoes. It is also the longest underground river, a whopping 13,969 meters long. Whilst scientists have surveyed and explored 44.5 kilometres of passages, tourists are only allowed to explore the first 1500 meters.

Phong Nha and Tien Son Cave Tour

This cave’s name – Phong Nha – means Cave of Teeth. As you float further into the cave, you experience the beauty of the stalactites descending down from the cave ceiling as myriad huge teeth.



Phong Nha Botanical Gardens

For those that don’t want to go on a cave trek, and are simply looking for an immersive experience into Vietnams Jungle wilderness, Phong Nha Botanical gardens is a great loop walk. This stop along the road south of Phong Nha village is a bit oddly named – even though it’s called the Phong Nha Botanical Gardens, it’s not really what you might expect as a botanic garden. It’s home to Gio Waterfall, Vang Anh Lake, an exhibition house, an animal rescue zone and pristine forest. The Phong Nha Botanical Gardens’ diverse flora provides a rich habitat for a range of bird and mammal life. Covering over just under 100 acres, a 3km trek takes you through the gardens, where there are spots to camp out at dusk to observe wildlife as night falls. Funnily, it’s not well known with travellers because most of them are busy visiting the caves, so it’s a great place to go if you want some quiet time in nature.


Whatever you choose to do in Phong Nha, it’s definately worth a stop on your Vietnam itinerary. Not only does it offer a plethora of activities for the adventure seeker, but it also offers the space for any traveller to simply relax and take in the serene surroundings, enjoy nature and simply gather your thoughts.

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