Caves are perhaps the most mysterious and beautiful natural creations on our planet and exploratory ventures inside them astound us in unimaginable ways and also show us how tiny we and our problems are.
Fortunately, for all you adventurous souls out there, our world is blessed with a very big number of such caves and many of them sit majestically in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, the heart of Vietnam. Phong Nha is also known as the “Cave Kingdom”.
Vietnam is a land that has been bestowed upon with some of the Earth’s most mesmerizing sights, enchanting culture, incredible history and the world’s biggest and mightiest caves!
The top caves in Vietnam will turn your sci-fi movie dreams into reality.
- Trang An Grottoes, Ninh Binh Province
- Dau Go Cave, Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh Province
- Son Doong Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
- Paradise Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
- Mua Cave, Ninh Binh Province
- Hang En Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
- Tu Lan Cave System, Quang Binh Province
- Sung Sot Cave, Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh Province
- Hang Va Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
- Hang Tien Cave, Quang Binh Province
- Phong Nha Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
1. Trang An Grottoes, Ninh Binh Province
The Trang An Grottoes is a sheer beauty! The landscapes here are popularly referred to as an ‘outdoor geological museum’ with plenty of caves, mountains, trees, water and some historic relics.
The cave ecosystem of Trang An is home to some spectacular sights and couple of the top caves in Vietnam.
As per research and statistics, the Trang An Grottoes has more than 310 species of plants; even fungi and algae.
You’ll also find some rare wood species and numerous trees that are utilized for food and medicines.
Adding to this, this place has approximately 30 species of mammals, 50 species of birds, various species of reptiles and some relatively rare animals like chamois and leopards.
Trang An Grottoes is known to have 48 caves and some of the wet caves are 200m to 350 meters in length such as: Black Cave, Bright Cave, Ba Giot cave, Tran cave, Nau Ruou cave, Son Duong cave, Quy Hau cave and Seo cave. All these caves can be visited by a boat and you’re sure to have a memorable experience here!
2. Dau Go Cave, Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh Province
Based in the Dau Go Island, the Dau Go Cave, also known as the “Wooden stakes cave”, is one of the top caves in Vietnam and is known for its immense majesty and ancient beauty.
This cave has many historical legends and myths about it and that’s what makes it more exciting to visit.
Back in 1938, a prominent French author introduced this cave in his book and called it the “Cave of wonders”.
Formed approximately 2 million years ago, you’ll find this cave located at a height of 27m above the sea level.
Apart from numerous stone pillars and stalagmites, this cave also has a diverse flora and fauna like mosses, ferns and timber trees.
Another amazing thing about this cave is the fact that it has a huge jellyfish shaped formation inside which is blue in color.
The dome of the Dau Go Cave is 25 meters high with many huge stalactites hanging and looks like an unusual waterfall.
The distinct features of the Dau Go Cave make it one of Vietnam’s top caves.
3. Son Doong Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
This is the world’s biggest cave and undoubtedly the no. 1 when it comes to Vietnam’s top caves. Son Doong Cave was explored in 2009 – 2010 by the British Cave Research Association (BCRA).
Exploring the depths of the Son Doong Cave has been commercialized since 2013.
So far, all the research and tourist expeditions to this stupefying cave have been organized and conducted by Asia’s leading Adventure Tour operator, Oxalis Adventure, which is locally based in Phong Nha.
Oxalis conducts Son Doong Expeditions under the permission of the government of Vietnam.
What puts Son Doong at the summit of the top caves in Vietnam is its inexplicably enormous size.
At over 5km long, with sections reaching up to 200m tall and 150m wide, Son Doong Cave is large enough to house an entire New York City block, complete with 40 story skyscrapers.
With a total measured volume of 38.5 million cubic meters, this comfortably surpasses Deer Cave in Malaysia, which was considered to be the previous record holder.
Stalagmites up to 80m high have also been surveyed, the tallest ever encountered.
Visiting and exploring the top cave in Vietnam, Son Doong Cave, is considered a bucket list adventure by adventure enthusiasts worldwide.
4. Paradise Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
“Thien Duong Cave”, also known as the “Paradise Cave” is one of the top caves in Vietnam and has seen an increasing popularity over the years for its aesthetic brilliance in terms of size, diversity, rarity and cave formations.
Visiting Paradise Cave always gives travelers a true sense of awe and helps them feel the exceptional natural beauty of the cave and the region of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park as a whole.
Prior to the discovery and exploration of the Paradise Cave, the Phong Nha cave was known to be and considered the longest cave in the National Park.
However, the Paradise Cave, a part of the 50-km Hang Vom Cave System, claims its spot as the longest cave in the National Park region with 15km long.
Standing 200 meters above sea level, the height of Paradise Cave is estimated to be about 72 meters, while the width is known to be almost 150 meters.
By reading these figures, you can probably imagine how colossal Paradise Cave is.
After detailed comparisons, cave researchers, specialists and experts have also deduced that the limestone formations seen inside are some of the most spectacular ones ever seen and this surely makes Paradise Cave on the Vietnam’s top caves!
5. Mua Cave, Ninh Binh Province
Mua cave is one of the top caves in Vietnam and undoubtedly one of the best must-see attractions in NinhBinh.
Currently Hang Mua acts as an eco-tourism complex surrounded by serene villages and majestic mountains.
Known as the “Dancing Cave”, Hang Mua is designed with nearly 500 steps up a mountain to conquer initially and this is believed to have been constructed following the architecture of “miniature Great Wall” in China.
You’ll find this stone staircase right beside the cave’s entrance.
It is a moderately difficult trek up with several uneven limestone steps, especially nearing the top.
What makes the Mua Cave one of Vietnam’s Top Caves is not just the cave itself, but so the view from the top, as you complete your trek.
You’ll be treated to a mesmerizing panoramic view of Tam Coc, Trang An & Ninh Binh city when you make it to the summit of Ngoa Long mountain.
6. Hang En Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
Hang En is one of the top caves in Vietnam and is the 3rd largest cave in the world by volume after Hang Son Doong and Deer Cave in Malaysia.
Hang En is one of the most recognized and stupendous caverns on Earth.
Deep in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Oxalis Adventure conducts 2 days 1 night adventures in the Hang En cave and it has been said to have the biggest ‘wow’ factor in all of Vietnam, as you even get to camp inside this gigantic cave.
Considered to be one of the top caves in Vietnam, the third largest cave in the world, Hang En, stretches for nearly 2km into the karst of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park. Hang En has three entrances, with the largest and most popularly prominent one being over 120m tall and 140m across.
With the dense jungle forming the backdrop on the outside the cave, it is a sight that must really be seen to be believed.
In some sections, the chambers are 100m high and 180m wide; so huge that even the beams from powerful headlamps barely reach the edges of the walls.
As one of Vietnam’s top caves, Hang En deserves to be on your bucket list.
7. Tu Lan Cave System, Quang Binh Province
Some of the most beautiful and top caves in Vietnam lie in the Tu Lan cave system.
The area of Tu Lan lies 70 km away from Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, next to the minority village of Tan Hoa, just past the fields of grazing buffalo and rapidly growing peanut and cornfields. This cave system was also the filming location for the Hollywood blockbuster Kong: Skull Island.
It’s the adventure of swimming through the river caves that make the Tu Lan Caves system one of the most sought after and one of Vietnam’s top cave systems.
The brilliant limestone formations seen in the caves of the Tu Lan system will amaze you in every way.
The river caves in this system such as Ken Cave and Tu Lan Cave are young, about 3 million years old.
The higher, dry caves (dry Tu Lan and Ton Cave) are older, and date around 5 million years old.
The stalactites and stalagmites are enormous and truly breathtaking.
One of Vietnam’s top caves, Ken Cave, in the Tu Lan cave system, even had it’s beautiful formations featured in National Geographic by world renowned photographer Carsten Peter.
8. Sung Sot Cave, Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh Province
The Sung Sot cave is the largest cave in the Ha Long Bay region. Located on the Bo Hon Island, Sung Sot Cave is also known as the “Surprising Cave”, due to the astonishing beauty seen inside the cave.
As one of the top caves in Vietnam, the total area of this cave is known to be an incredible 10,000 m2!
The Sung Sot cave has a height of almost 30 meters and boasts a 500 meter long passage.
Once you’re inside, you’ll see that the cave is divided into two separate caverns.
The first cavern is akin to a rather small amphitheater kind of area and it is connected to the other cavern by a small passage.
The other cavern is much larger; enough to accommodate 1,000 people or more! When you’re inside this cavern, you’ll be amazed at the brilliant formations that you see, especially the stalactites and the stalagmites.
The interesting folklore about the Sung Sot Cave also makes it one of Vietnam’s top caves.
9. Hang Va Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
Hang Va is one of the most treasured caves in all of Vietnam and the world, home to some of the rarest formations ever seen by humankind. Hang Va is located deep in the park quite close to the Son Doong Cave, and it is thought to be part of the same system.
Hang Va’s jaw-dropping beauty makes it one of the top caves in Vietnam.
The entrance of Hang Va is actually a collapse in the floor of a steep valley, and requires a descent of about 15m down to a small stream passage that averages 5m high and wide to reach the cave.
At the end of the cave, there are fascinating wet and dry gours (pools) with numerous conical calcite formations that have been named as the Tower Cones.
Hang Va is one of the most mysterious and magical of all the top caves in Vietnam.
This cave is home to some fascinating cave formations including the tower cones, spread across an entire passage that reaches a width of about 85m.
There are more than a hundred calcite cones rising from the Earth in some mysterious way.
All this adds to Hang Va being a special member of Vietnam’s top caves.
10. Hang Tien Cave, Quang Binh Province
Hang Tien, which means cave of fairies in Vietnamese, has the surreal natural beauty that makes it one of Vietnam’s top caves!
The vast corridors, amazing karst formations shaped like terrace rice fields, combined with the high-pitched dome illuminated by the sun’s rays are some of the gorgeous natural wonders you’ll encounter.
You will feel tiny while lost in the world of giants. The flora in Hang Tien cave entrance is quite special.
The rays of sunshine crept in the cave with the moisture, becoming the abundant source of life for mosses and mushrooms.
They grow so rapidly that it covers almost the entire cave entrance, even clings to the long-established stalactites & stalagmites.
One of the top caves in Vietnam, the Hang Tien cave is the biggest dry cave of the Tu Lan Cave system, divided in two parts and the enormity of this cave can be understood by the fact that Hang Tien 2 itself is almost 3km long and has a vertical range of about 100m.
The infiltrating water that flows from outside the limestone mountains dripping down to the cave, remaining there and creating extraordinary stalactites of terrace fields.
In addition to this, the incredible swirls seen on the cave’s domes also make it a must-visit cave in Vietnam!
11. Phong Nha Cave, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province
The region of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park gets its very name from the Phong Nha cave.
Not only is the Phong Nha cave one of the top caves in Vietnam, but also one of the most historically significant and legendary caves in the whole world.
With a length of 7729 meters and a 13,969 meter long underground river, the Phong Nha cave is known to be one of the longest wet caves on Earth.
There is an incredibly huge subterranean river system that runs through the cave.
This cave also has some very large dry chambers and is divided in three main sections; it has been declared that all these three sections have distinct species.
The three sections are the entrance zone, twilight zone and the dark zone.
The entrance zone is right at the mouth of this monstrous cave and all the species of the cave that live in sunlight are found here like fish, insects and more!
At the twilight zone, you’ll find that an artificial lighting system has been installed for the guests to be able to see the beauty of the cave; you may get to see shrimps, eels etc. in the water.
As the name suggests, the Dark zone is where you’ll be surrounded by darkness and find the presence of blind species like bats, blind spiders, blind fish and so forth.
Phong Nha cave is one of Vietnam’s top caves and should be a part of your Vietnam travel plan.
Whether you prefer long treks, camping in a cave, sleeping under the stars in the jungle, swimming underground in river caves, explore the huge dry caves or just taking an exploratory day trip, Ancient Orient Journeys can provide the right amount of adventure just for you.