PHONG NHA-KE BÀNG NATURE RESERVE

By road, to Son Trach, then crossing by boat (30 minutes) on the river. The cave, dug by the river Chai, extends over 7 km, with 14 river caves from 10 to 40 m high. The deeper you go, the more spectacular the scenery becomes. There are ancient Cham Buddhist shrines dating back to the Indrapura period (860-986). Phong Nha-Ke Bàng Nature Reserve became a national park in 2001.

Phong Nha-Ke Bàng Park covers more than 85,750 ha of tropical forest and is home to a complex of different caves. It has identified 750 plant species, 380 species of non-aquatic vertebrate animals, including 66 rare species, classified in the Red Book of Vietnam, and 23 protected species worldwide. There are 17 caves at Phong Nha and 3 at Ke Bàng, a network of galleries more than 70 km long, which is currently being explored. The Vom cave, with a length of 15,050 m is the longest in Asia. The research is conducted by a team of geologists from the University of Hanoi in cooperation with English speleologists. The Phong Nha-Ke Bàng region is considered to be one of the oldest karst landforms in Asia, dating back more than 400 million years.

Phong Nha-Ke Bàng is also rich in archaeological and historical vestiges: there are traces of the ancient hieroglyphic writing of the Cham, vestiges dating from the resistance of King Ham Nghi against the French at the end of the 19th century, caches of the Vietnamese resistance during the American war. It is also home to the Ruc and Arem ethnic groups, which at the last census had the smallest populations. Officially, the park's protection measures are based on the participation of the entire community. Measures are being taken to raise awareness of environmental conservation, to provide alternative livelihood opportunities to abandon certain environmentally harmful practices, to move any activities that are harmful to environmental conservation off site, to combat poaching and illegal exploitation of forest resources, etc.

Count on a good day for the visit and arrive very early in the morning when the forest is still to itself. The underground network is immense and is far from having revealed all its secrets. Some caves are open to visitors: Phong Nha Cave, Paradise Cave, Dark Cave...