Kayaking to discover Phong Nha cave at night

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QUANG BINH – Discovering Phong Nha and Bi Ky caves at night and experiencing local cuisine in front of the cave are suggestions for a New Year’s departure.

Phong Nha Cave belongs to Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, about 50 km west of Dong Hoi City. This cave has been exploited for tourism since the 1990s. Inside Phong Nha cave, there is an underground river, flowing into the Son River and then into the sea. To the west of the cave are limestone mountains and forests.

In early 2022, Phong Nha Tourist Center opens a new kayaking tour to explore Phong Nha and Bi Ky caves at night. Tour departs mid-afternoon. This time is convenient for visitors to participate after just checking in at the hotel, or arriving in Phong Nha in the afternoon.

Hoang Trung Thanh, Deputy Sales Department of Phong Nha Tourist Center, said that the night cave tour aims to diversify services and create an additional nightlife destination for tourists when staying in Phong Nha. . “Visitors who come to Phong Nha late can still explore the cave, there are points to experience,” Thanh said.

Before entering the cave, visitors are equipped with life jackets, helmets and disseminated some regulations to ensure safety and conservation of the cave. Visitors can kayak on their own to explore the cave. The first part of the tour is Phong Nha cave, which has been exploited in popular tours so far.

After a few hundred meters, the mass exploitation of the cave ends, visitors sink into the dark in the cave, enjoy the quiet feeling, listen to the sound of water falling from the ceiling of the cave.

Ms. Ho Thi Vien, a tourist, said that she has visited Phong Nha cave many times, but this is the first time kayaking by herself at night. “Riding by myself helps me actively observe and learn about the stalactites and mysterious nooks and crannies of the cave. This is an interesting tour,” Ms. Vien said.

At a depth of 1,200 m, visitors can see an ancient jar, believed to be of the Cham people, stuck in the cave wall and gradually covered with mud. The jar was discovered in early 2013, has a dark brown color, height 65 cm, diameter about 50 cm. The jar is made by hand and the turntable has a delicate pattern on the surface. According to the Quang Binh Museum, there was nothing inside the jar. The jar is made of crockery, the outside has a ceramic coating.

After learning about ancient jars, visitors come back a few hundred meters, anchor their kayaks on the sand and then explore Bi Ky cave. This is a dry cave, the entrance is wide and high.

Bi Ky cave has large stalactite columns, connecting from the ceiling to the cave floor. Currently, at some points the cave floor is subsided, some stalactites are broken and the rest continues to form new stalactites. This section of Bi Ky cave has just been exploited for tourism, and has never been opened for sightseeing before.

Inside the Bi Ky cave, there are 97 ancient Cham characters, so far the meaning and date have not been deciphered. These inscriptions were explored and discovered by the French 120 years ago. Some studies suggest that these characters were written more than 1,000 years ago. Up to now, the handwriting is still sharp, not faded or tarnished.

In addition to the Cham characters, Bi Ky cave was also used by the army as a place to hide from bombs and bullets, to save and treat wounded soldiers during the war. In the cave there are many writings from the war period.

According to explorers, Phong Nha is the only cave in Vietnam that meets 7 criteria: the longest water cave; has the most beautiful underground river; has a high and wide entrance; there are sandy beaches, beautiful reefs; there is a beautiful underground lake; there is a large and beautiful dry cave; There is a system of magical and magnificent stalactites.

Tour ends at nightfall. At the wide sandy beach in front of Phong Nha cave, visitors can enjoy local cuisine with chicken, shrimp, grilled pork, boiled corn, filter cake…

With this new tour put into operation, visitors to Phong Nha cave will have 3 options, including joining the general tour, Phong Nha 4,500 m depth discovery tour and night cave discovery kayaking tour.

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