22 new caves discovered in central Vietnam

Twenty-two new caves with unique features have been found by the British Cave Research Association (BCRA) in the central province of Quang Binh, home to the world’s largest cave Son Doong.

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park’s Management Board said the caves have a total length of 11.7 km. Of the new discovers, 20 were found in Lam Hoa commune of Tuyen Hoa district, as well as in Hoa Phu and Hoa Son communes of Minh Hoa district, while the rest are inside Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.

The search for the new caves involved explorers from the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand who had worked for three weeks with support of tour guides and a number of locals.

Howard Limbert, the leader of the team, said that the newly caves are mostly wet, and although they are small, they are quite intriguing compared to many others found in Quang Binh. He further added that unlike Son Doong, En, and many other caves which have only one main entrance, this new cave system has multiple entrances and exits. Some of the new are even interconnected, creating multiple cross paths that make exploring inside extremely captivating.

In order to exploit the caves for tourism and exploration activities, the BCRA recommends that Quang Binh conduct further researches to evaluate their safety, ceiling heights, flow, and geomorphology of the caves.

With about 500 caves discovered, Quang Binh is renowned as Vietnam’s kingdom of caves. There are over 40 caves in the locality which are open to tourists. Son Doong is the world’s largest, while En and Pigmy come in at second and fourth.

Vietnam News Agency – April 13, 2023