Readers Ly Le shared her 4-day journey to conquer Son Doong with her many challenges.
The whole group departed from Hanoi, so I chose to fly to Vinh due to flight delay. I have to spend more money on the hotel in Vinh and rent a car to move to Quang Binh.
Before starting the 4 day 3 night journey to conquer the largest cave in the world, the whole group will gather to listen to the guide to disseminate safety information and receive equipment. At the same time, people will meet porters (porters), safety assistants, chefs … Son Doong cave belongs to Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park (Quang Binh), this is the address in the list of 20 destinations to break natural records voted by Insider (USA) in 2020. In 1991, the cave was discovered by Mr. Ho Khanh while going to the woods and looking for a place to avoid rain. Then the British Royal cave experts, led by Mr. Howard Limbert, have researched, measured and officially confirmed this is the largest cave in the world. 
Day 1: Phong Nha – Hang En The first day of the group was the journey from Phong Nha to Hang En. The group will start to walk down a long slope, across the forest with many climbing and downhill sections. After that, you continue to walk and wade streams. Due to going on a rainy day, the water in the cave is quite cold. Going all this way, you will come to Ban Doong, the village of the ethnic minority community of Bru Van Kieu. Group stop for lunch and rest here. After lunch break, the group continues to move about 3 hours to reach Hang En door. This is the third largest cave in the world with a length of about 1.6 km. This location used to be the setting of a famous movie Peter Pan . 
After more than half a day of traveling, the members were divided into tents and camps. Next to the camp is a blue lake, you can go swimming if you like. The first night in the cave, the chefs will serve the group with a variety of dishes. All processed ingredients are brought from the outside by porters, the dishes are processed deliciously, both taste and attractive. After dinner, the whole group will exchange, chat and end the first day. Day 2: Son Doong cave entrance – Bai Trai 1 In the morning, the whole team explores deeper in Hang En to come to Son Doong. After that, the group stopped for lunch before wearing seat belts and climbed down to the mouth of Son Doong cave. Although I still had a lot of confusion in handling situations, I finally set foot on the cave floor. With its majestic looks and giant size, the store surprised the whole group. 
From here, the group continued to cross many underground streams. The water is flowing fast, the porters have to stand in line to reduce the water strength, helping the group pass through safely. However, I boldly swim through this stream. In the afternoon, the delegation arrived at the first campsite of Son Doong cave. From here, you can look to sinkhole 1, also known as “Dinosaur’s Void”. This sinkhole was formed as part of the cave ceiling collapsed thousands of years ago. After dinner, I went to bed early because the day 2 itinerary was quite tiring. Day 3: Garden of Eden – Beach camp 2 Garden of Eden and Hole 2 is the most impressive place in this journey. From the very beginning, the group had to overcome very high and slippery rock slopes, so down quickly. You have to wriggle through many narrow rocky niches to reach sinkhole 1 – “Dinosaur’s Vape”. Continue to go deep and climb the rope over some steep rocks to get to the other side of the sinkhole 1. From here, you can capture the magnificent scenery of Son Doong cave. 
The group stops for lunch to prepare to conquer “Garden of Eden” at the second sinkhole. Because there is a sinkhole, light can enter the cave, creating a diverse vegetation. After exploring the forest, the group rested at camp No. 2 and continued to go into the dark cave to learn about the unique creatures, admire the masterpieces of stalactites. Finally, the group returned to the campsite, had dinner and rest, ending the third day. Day 4: The Vietnam Wall The last day, the group wore seat belts to conquer the Vietnamese Wall. This is an important milestone of the journey to conquer Son Doong. Before that, you are instructed on essential skills such as climbing ropes, operating safety equipment … First, you need to take a boat ride on an underground lake 600 meters long to reach the foot of the wall. You will start with a 20 m of iron ladder. The challenge increases in difficulty as you continue to swing with your hands to successfully conquer the wall and out of the cave. 
After leaving the cave, the group had lunch and continued to cross the forest for about 2 hours to go to the gathering point. About 15-16h, the transfer car took the group to the hotel, ending the journey. I stayed at a homestay for one night, then moved back to Hanoi. Note If you are planning this trip, you should register for the tour early. It was 8 months from the time I registered to the start of the journey. The number of visitors to explore the cave is limited per year. – Before starting the journey, it is necessary to practice according to the instructions of the tour provider. – About supplies, I prepare according to the list provided. In particular, you must bring organic shampoo, shower gel (organic), to not affect the environment in the cave. Good trekking shoes will decide 70% of your trip. Tour cost: 58.2 million VND / person Difficulty: 6 – difficult Age of participation: 18 years old and above Distance: 17 km through the forest, 8 km to explore the cave, 800 m up the slope, 90 m to climb the rope – Vietnam wall, across the river, stream or underground river in the cave. Do you have a trip this summer yet? Please share with us about the schedule, costs and beautiful pictures at: [email protected] The articles will be edited and published in the Zing Travel column.
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