Like ‘Jurassic World’: Villager Stumbles on Largest Cave in the World Buried Deep in the Jungles of Vietnam

Like ‘Jurassic World’: Villager Stumbles on Largest Cave in the World Buried Deep in the Jungles of Vietnam
(Shutterstock: kid315/David A Knight)
Michael Wing
12/29/2022
Updated:
1/4/2023
0:00

Deep in the heart of Vietnam’s mountainous jungles, there lies a subterranean world that seems lost in time. A gargantuan hollow residing in a limestone mountain, Son Doong cave was once entirely hidden from us but is now considered the largest cave in the world.

A local villager named Ho Khanh stumbled on the gigantic grotto in 1990, while lumberjacking for precious agarwood timber in a rainforest in Quang Binh province, near the Laotian border. Caught in a thunderstorm, he ducked inside a stone cavity that seemed to go on forever. As that area is littered with such formations, he mostly forgot about the discovery until 2008 when he met British cave explorers Howard and Deb Limbert and told them about the cave. From their previous expeditions, they knew something was there; Son Doong was actually what they had been searching for.

So, Khanh retraced his steps, found it for a second time, and led them there.

Light streaming into Son Doong, the world's largest cave, located in Quang Binh province, Vietnam. (David A Knight/Shutterstock)
Light streaming into Son Doong, the world's largest cave, located in Quang Binh province, Vietnam. (David A Knight/Shutterstock)
In 2009, the Lamberts meticulously surveyed the cave. Khanh named it Son Doong cave—Son meaning mountain, Doong being the valley that the ethnic minority Bru Van Kieu inhabit. The survey concluded Son Doong is the most voluminous cave in the world, which Guinness World Records acknowledges. Its cross-section is double the size of the world’s next largest cave, Deer Cave, in Malaysia. Son Doong travels more or less in a straight line for some 5.6 miles, while its volume is over 126 million square feet (38.5 million square meters). It’s so big, it can accommodate an entire New York city block, skyscrapers and all; so big that a Boeing 747 could fly right through some sections.

Today, visitors are welcome to explore Son Doong. At the entrance, somewhat forebodingly, one can feel cool air flowing out like breath. The cave has two entrances—one on either end—allowing air to circulate through. Meanwhile, two massive dolines—sections where the cavern’s ceiling has collapsed, exposing the sky above—allow both air and light to penetrate underground. A fine mist caused by evaporation from roaring underground rivers often drifts through the hollow, adding an air of mystery to the experience.

Visitors make camp within the enormous cave. (kid315/Shutterstock)
Visitors make camp within the enormous cave. (kid315/Shutterstock)
A cave explorer looks over camp in the cave. (kid315/Shutterstock)
A cave explorer looks over camp in the cave. (kid315/Shutterstock)
A cave explorer stands atop a massive stalagmite in the cave. (kid315/Shutterstock)
A cave explorer stands atop a massive stalagmite in the cave. (kid315/Shutterstock)
A cave explorer looks on from atop a massive stalagmite in the cave. (kid315/Shutterstock)
A cave explorer looks on from atop a massive stalagmite in the cave. (kid315/Shutterstock)
Giant stalagmites inside Son Doong cave. (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Son_Doong_Cave_DB_(1).jpg">Dave Bunnell</a>/CC BY-SA 4.0)
Giant stalagmites inside Son Doong cave. (Dave Bunnell/CC BY-SA 4.0)

The rock surroundings of Son Doong consist of flawless limestone that was eroded by waters flowing from two neighboring caves, and this river causes Son Doong to grow in size every year. These waterways also connect Son Doong with other subterranean cavities—such as nearby Thung Cave, whose volume is 1.6 million cubic meters—which means that Son Doong could be even larger than first thought.

Gaining entry into the cavity with help from guides, visitors make camp inside its yawning maw. Here begins a four-day trek to the other entrance on the far end. The sight of tiny tents and people inside the cavernous space makes for a mind-boggling size comparison. Breaking camp, they'll soon hear the roaring of underground rivers, cross icy streams, and reach what is the largest stalagmite in the world. A giant mineral column—built from deposits dripping down from the roof of the cave over the course of eons—towers some 260 feet (80 meters) above the cave floor.

Vegetation thrives in the cave ecosystem of Son Doong. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)
Vegetation thrives in the cave ecosystem of Son Doong. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)
Son Doong cave, located in Quang Binh province in central Vietnam. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)
Son Doong cave, located in Quang Binh province in central Vietnam. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)
A visitor atop a stalagmite inside Son Doong cave. (hyunwoong park/Shutterstock)
A visitor atop a stalagmite inside Son Doong cave. (hyunwoong park/Shutterstock)
A view approaching the Doline 2. (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steps_to_Doline_2.jpg">Thinhakapete</a>/CC BY-SA 4.0)
A view approaching the Doline 2. (Thinhakapete/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Deeper inside, past rivers and fossil-encrusted rocks, light from the first doline can be seen from about a mile away. Meandering through like ants, explorers draw near a surreal sight—like something out of “Jurassic World.” Where at one time a massive section of the cave ceiling collapsed, a canyon-sized window overhead now allows natural light to stream in. At certain times of day, shocks of sunlight angle downward to penetrate the darkness and illuminate mist, thus allowing lush “Jurassic Park”-like flora to thrive in a cave ecosystem. Channeling this prehistoric theme, the doline was dubbed whimsically “Watch Out for Dinosaurs.”

After transiting this wonderland and crossing the cave’s one-mile mark, the adventurers make camp. The next day, they'll reach the second doline, the larger and older of the two, where trees that are 100 feet tall cover an 850-foot-high cone of ancient rubble. The sublime feeling of entering a lost world is palpable. Drawing from this sublimity perhaps, the second doline was dubbed “Garden of Edam.”

Doline 2 in Son Doong is so large that trees grow inside. (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Son_Doong_Cave_DB_(3).jpg">Dave Bunnell</a>/CC BY-SA 4.0)
Doline 2 in Son Doong is so large that trees grow inside. (Dave Bunnell/CC BY-SA 4.0)
Vegetation thrives in sunlight under Doline 2. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)
Vegetation thrives in sunlight under Doline 2. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)
A camp under Doline 2. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)
A camp under Doline 2. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)

Much of Son Doong is permeated by light from these two titanic portals and the entrances on both ends. But beyond the second doline lies the darkest passage, where the cave narrows and a 2,000-foot-long underground lake forces explorers to travel by boat. It was here that the Limberts originally trudged through a hip-deep muddy channel which they dubbed “Passchendaele,” likening it to that World War I battle. Water levels typically rise and fall in Son Doong, depending on the time of year; cave expeditions halt during storm season from September through December, as heavy rains can cause dangerous swells or flooding and water levels may rise by more than 300 feet (some 90 to 100 meters).

Visitors explore an underground lake in Son Doong cave. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)
Visitors explore an underground lake in Son Doong cave. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)
A visitor explores an underground lake in Son Doong cave. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)
A visitor explores an underground lake in Son Doong cave. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)
Cavers climb inside Son Doong cave. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)
Cavers climb inside Son Doong cave. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)
Visitors climb during a tour of Son Doong cave. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)
Visitors climb during a tour of Son Doong cave. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)
Son Doong cave opens into the outside world. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)
Son Doong cave opens into the outside world. (Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock)

Beyond Passchendaele, the Limberts were initially thwarted by a colossal wall of calcite flowstone, barring them from advancing and forcing them to turn back. This natural partition, which they aptly called the “Great Wall of Vietnam,” looms some 300 feet overhead. Gazing upward at this point, no light can penetrate the pitch darkness to find the cavern ceiling above. Today, visitors are helped to scale this challenging obstacle with harnesses, ropes, lamps, and guides. Then finally, they reach daylight and the cavern’s entrance on the other end.

After its discovery, this magnificent lost world was named the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” and was opened to visitors in 2013. To keep the unique subterranean ecosystem pristine, only 1,000 visitors are allowed access per year. Guides may only carry into Son Doong what they can carry out. There are no permanent installations inside, nor is any garbage or waste of any kind left behind. The tour is run by Oxalis, an adventure company operating in Vietnam.
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Michael Wing is a writer and editor based in Calgary, Canada, where he was born and educated in the arts. He writes mainly on culture, human interest, and trending news.
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