Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park is one of the most well-known destinations in Vietnam’s central. With the combination of the primeval forests, underground water systems, and beautiful caves, the national park has made a strong impression on every tourist. Each of the caves located deep in the national park has its own beauty and ecosystem and different levels of difficulties for you to explore. Below are the top nine stunning Phong Nha caves you should not miss when traveling to this destination. 

Phong Nha Cave

Phong Nha Cave is one of the most impressive Phong Nha caves, 50 kilometers to the Northeast from Dong Hoi city. It belongs to the Ke Bang Limestone mountain area of Quang Binh Province, surrounded by tropical forests. 

Phong Nha Cave

To reach the cave’s mouth, you will take a boat along the Son River, which is about 40 meters wide. Staying by the boat, you can see the beautiful scenery and local people’s daily lives at the riverside. 

Coming to the cave, you will have the chance to admire the cave’s combination of dark and light space, colorful stalactites in various shapes, enjoy the relaxed and mild atmosphere, and listen to the water’s sound. Phong Nha Cave, one of the World heritages recognized by the UNESCO in Vietnam, is a magnificent cave with these elements below.

• Long water cave
• The high and wide cave mouth
• Beautiful sandy and rocky bank
• Appealing underground lake
• Glittering stalactites 
• The long underground river system
• Vast and stunning dry cave

Phong Nha cave’s journey will include exploring some small caves inside the large cave, which are Bi Ki, Tien, and Cung Dinh Cave. There are some impressive caves inside the Phong Nha Cave, showing the Cham people’s culture, with the old text carved on. 

Vom Cave

Vom Cave is one of the largest Phong Nha caves you should visit during your trip to Phong Nha. The cave system is 30 kilometers long, 360 meters above sea level. Along with beautiful stalactites in various shapes, the cave also has an underground water system, the sand and mud layer on the cave floor. 

Vom Cave Phong Nha

The cave system includes these caves below.

• Vom Cave
• Dai Cao Cave
• Duot Cave
• Ca Cave
• Ho Cave (Dai A Cave)
• Over Cave
• Pygmy Cave
• Ruc Caroong Cave

Among these caves, Ho Cave, Pygmy Cave, and Over Cave are the three most famous caves and tourist routes. These caves have beautiful natural landscapes, natural forests on limestone mountains, high biodiversity, and especially a unique and attractive cave system. 

To discover this tourist route, you will have to trek about 20 kilometers in the primeval forest. Spending approximately three days two nights, you can enjoy these experiences below.

• Wading streams
• Climbing steep hills
• Admiring the magnificent and majestic cave system, flora, and fauna
• Camping overnight inside the cave 

These experiences will definitely bring you an unforgettable journey during your vacation in Phong Nha.

Son Doong Cave

Son Doong Cave is one of the Phong Nha caves you should not miss when you come to Quang Binh. Located in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park complex, Son Doong Cave, with nearly 9-kilometer long and 200-meter wide, is the world’s largest natural cave. Visiting the cave, you will have chances to explore these outstanding characteristics inside the cave below.

The cave’s mouth

Your journey to explore Son Doong Cave will start from the cave mouth, located deep in Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. As soon as you climb down through the cave entrance, you can feel the wind blowing through and the sound of the underground river. 

Ban Chan Cho stalactite

Ban Chan Cho stalactite is a massive natural stalactite block in Son Doong cave. From this position, you can admire the panoramic view of Son Doong cave.

Fossil corridor

This area has cave walls filled with coral fossils dating back 300 million years old, right next to the first campsite inside the cave.

The first sinkholes

Coming to the first sinkholes, you can see a large stalactite block called “Wedding Cake,” and a cave called “Rat Run.” From here, you will admire a panoramic view of the sinkholes and the rays of sunlight passing through the cave.  

The first campsite

Son Doong’s first campsite is near the first sinkholes. The camp is located on a relatively flat sandy area and has a beautiful view of the first sinkholes.

The second sinkholes

To reach the second sinkholes, you will climb over a rocky hill filled with ferns and small plants. When you get to this place, you will be amazed by the small forest with trees and vegetation. 

The second campsite

This campsite is located on the cave floor covered with white sand, impressing tourists with the majestic view. 

Vietnam Wall

Vietnam Wall is the highest stalactite wall at the end of Son Doong, with the highest ceiling at about 200 meters.

Let’s come and explore Son Doong Cave on your own!

Son Doong Cave

En Cave

En Cave is also among the most beautiful Phong Nha Caves you should take your time to visit. If you do not have enough time, budget, and health conditions to join the Son Doong exploration tour, you can choose En Cave instead. 

En Cave is the third largest cave in the world, after Son Doong Cave and Malaysia’s Deer Cave. Similar to Son Doong Cave, to reach En Cave, your journey will pass through Doong Village. This is a small village of the Bru-Van Kieu ethnic group, with 40 people living isolated in the forest. With hospitable and welcoming nature, the people in Doong Village have left visitors with nice impressions. Coming here, you can make friends with and learn about the life of the ethnic people. 

Besides, visiting En Cave, you will have the chance to admire these views below.

• The large cave mouth at 120-meter high and 140-meter wide
• The pristine, dense primitive forests surrounding the cave
• The majestic stalactites inside the cave

Passing across the forests, downhill limestone mountains, and following the winding Rao Thuong River to explore and go camping inside En Cave will be your unforgettable experience.

Toi Cave (Dark Cave)

Toi Cave is one of the unique Phong Nha caves that you should not miss. To reach Toi Cave, you can choose to boat along the Chay River or take a Zip Line to the cave’s mouth. Boating along the river, you will have a chance to admire the stunning sceneries of the Karst mountains, cornfields, and flower gardens at two riversides. 

The cave is more than 5000 meters long, 80 meters high, 50 meters wide, including two doors.  The front door is adjacent to the Chay River, with 30 meters high and more than 10 meters wide, while the back door borders the forest, with 50 meters high and  20 meters wide. 

Dark Cave Phong Nha

Unlike other caves in Phong Nha, Toi Cave does not have a garish lighting system. You will have to use the flashlight or headlamp to see the beauties of the cave. Visiting the cave, you can admire many stalactites with diverse shapes and colors. Many old stalactites have turned colors. Some of them are yellow, and some are white lime, others are moss green. Especially, Toi cave owns stalactites with parasitic ferns that you rarely find in other caves.

Besides, coming here, you will have a chance to immerse yourself in the muddy lake and natural freshwater lakes. They are also unforgettable experiences when you come to Phong Nha. 

Thien Duong Cave (Paradise Cave)

Thien Duong Cave, which is 31,4 kilometers long, located deep inside Phong Nha - Ke Bang Park, is one of the popular attractions in Phong Nha. 

Paradise Cave Phong Nha

Among 31,4 kilometers of the cave, only one first kilometer is exploited with modern and safe wooden stairs. The sparkling lighting system in the cave will bring you the most memorable experience. Entering the cave, you will have the chance to use your imagination to see countless stalactites in different shapes.

If you are an adventurous lover and have a good health condition, you can take a tour, follow the tour guide to explore the next 6 kilometers of the cave. The more you go deep inside the cave, the more diverse and unique the stalagmites, the stalactites with various colors and designs are. You can also see many creatures in the cave, such as fish, bat, spiders, and crickets.

After kayaking, you will continue your journey by passing across steep and risky roads along the shallow stream to reach the “Heaven Well,” an outstanding scenery inside Thien Duong Cave. From here, you can admire the sunshine through the mountaintop to the floor and listen to the sound of the murmuring stream. Thien Duong Cave will definitely be one of the Phong Nha caves you should drop in during your trip to Phong Nha.

Tien Son Cave

Tien Son Cave is one of the famous Phong Nha caves. The entrance to Tien Son cave is about 1,000 meters from the Phong Nha cave entrance, about 200 meters above sea level.

The road to Tien Son cave is beautiful, along the winding cliffs. In the middle of the mountain, you can stop to see a peaceful landscape of local villages in the afternoon, of small fields between the winding mountains of the Chay river and Trooc stream.

Visiting the cave, you will feel amazed by the high dynamic dome, marble columns with many colors and shapes. The most outstanding characteristic of Tien Son Cave is the resonant stone pillars found in the cave. When you tap these pillars, they will emit strange noises like the sound of gongs or drums. The deeper you go inside the cave, the more winding the route is, and the more magnificent and magical the stalactites are. 

Va Cave - Nuoc Nut Cave

Va Cave and Nuoc Nut Cave exploration routes are among the most attractive tourist routes in Phong Nha. 

Like other Phong Nha caves, to explore Va Cave and Nuoc Nut Cave, you will have to cross the mountain trail, the dense old forest, and vines. After going through more than 500 meters of the stream and a 15-meter high wall, you can reach the Va Cave.

Coming inside the Va Cave, you will see unique conical tower stalactites, stretching over the entire passageway with a width of up to 85 meters. There are more than hundreds of limestone tower cones here, which are formed mysteriously. The unique type of stalactites makes the Va Cave one of the world’s most special caves. 

Next to the Va Cave, you can find Nuoc Nut Cave with a length of more than 2.2 kilometers. Visiting the cave, you will see beautiful stalactites and pure underground flowing through the cave, forming a clear lake in the heart of the cave. You can take time to immerse yourself in this lake before heading back out of the cave.

Tu Lan Cave

Mentioning Phong Nha Caves, you should include Tu Lan Cave on your list. Tu Lan Cave is 70 kilometers to the Northwest from Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. 

Tu Lan Cave

Visiting Tu Lan Cave, you can see and discover a peaceful picture with lush green fields of corn, tropical forests, steep mountains, underground rivers, etc. 

To explore Tu Lan  Cave, you cannot go yourself but will have to join a local guide tour. Depending on the time you choose for the tour, you will have different experiences and explore various cave sites from one to four days. The more days you choose to explore the cave for your trip, the higher level of difficulty you will try. If you have good health conditions, you can extend your trip and experience more cave characteristics. You can refer to some of the experiences in Tu Lan Cave below. 

• Trekking mountain roads with rocky terrains
• Exploring the caves
• Long and steep hill climbing
• Swimming in the underground rivers
• Stream and river crossings
• Ladder climbing with a safety rope

The Tu Lan cave complex system has ten caves in total. You should not miss some of the caves during your trip to Tu Lan, including Tu Lan Cave, Kim Cave, Hung Ton Cave, Ken dry cave, etc. Let’s come and explore the cave, make friends, and enjoy your adventurous time here!