CAVES AND BOTANICAL GARDENS: PHONG NHA, VIETNAM
During my month traveling Vietnam little did I imagine that I was going to be in the area home to the biggest cave in the world. Yes, the biggest cave in the world known to man is located in the Phong Nha area. I got to know about it while doing some research on which places to visit next during my stay in Hue and I headed towards it as I wanted to visit the biggest cave in the world.
But to my deception when I arrived in Phong Nha I got to know that visiting Han Son Doong is not so easy. Only a company offers tours to the cave and there is a waiting list longer than one year. The visit costs 3000 dollars for a five day tour.
Despite my unpleasant surprise Phong Nha did not disappoint me. In fact, I loved it. It is simply one of those serene places, which chill out vibe is so contagious, that you will get out of the area being a more Zen version of you.
From its silent rice fields to its stunning botanic gardens and the many other caves in the area, Phong Nha is the perfect place to spend a few days exploring or simply relaxing and reading a book.
You can also visit some war memorials as the Ho Chin Minh trail passes by not too far away from the village centre.
Phong Nha was one the highlights of my month in Vietnam and it is still one of those places where massive tourism has not yet spoiled the local vibe.
Caves and botanical gardens: Phong Nha
The Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park is the oldest Karst paradise in Asia.
It dates back 400 million years ago. It is home to around 500 caves and 30 of them are open to visitors. You could easily spend a whole month in the area visiting caves and enjoying the beautiful nature.
The Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park was declared a world heritage Unesco site in 2003 and it comprises an array of caves and underground rivers. There are several endemic cave species in the area such as the white blind fish among others and it is considered the richer biological area in Vietnam.
The Phong Nha botanic gardens are also worth a visit as you will be delighted with trekkings trails, beautiful greenery and manigicient waterfalls.
Boat trip to Phong Nha cave
Phong Nha cave is the most easy cave to visit. The harbor to pick up the boat that will bring you to the cave is in the center of the village, in the Phong Nha tourist center.
The entrance ticket to the cave is 150 000 VND and the boat costs 360 000 VND but you do not need to pay the whole costs as the boat capacity is 14 people so you just need to wait until other visitors will fill up the boat.
The boat ride to the cave take approximately 20 minutes and it is a relaxed trip through the Son river. The river flows in between dense greenery and limestone rocks that kiss the water edge and you can see several minor cavities on the peaks surrounding the river.
At the very end you will see a huge wall with an opening where the river enters and this will be entrance to Phong Nha cave. At the entrance of the cave the boats will queue up and to enter in at small pace and not crowd the cave.
Once inside the cave an impressive cathedral of hanging stalactites comes into view and a beautiful decoration of indirect light gives an arty taste to the cave.
After 20 minutes sailing inside the cave you can step out of the boat and explore a part of the cave on your own.
A not to be missed during your visit to Phong Nha. For me it was my first time entering a cave by boat and it was a fantastic experience.
Visiting Paradise cave
Located 30 km away from Phong Nha, you can either visit this cave on your own renting a scooter and driving there or do it in a tour package. As I could not drive scooters during my visit to Phong Nha I visited the Paradise cave on a tour package that combined visiting Paradise and Tra Ang caves.
I did the tour with Jungle Tours and I can highly recommend visiting these caves with them ( I am not getting paid to recommend them and I paid for the trip myself)
Paradise cave rocks formations and stalactites sculptures are breathtaking so please do not forget to include a visit to Paradise cave during your visit to Phong Nha, you will not regret.
Swimming in Tra Ang cave
This little jewell is many times forgotten and not one of the most visited caves in Phong Nha but for me it was my favorite as visiting the cave involves a little adventure.
After visiting paradise cave the bus that droved us to Tra Ang stopped near a little Buddhist stupa that was exactly located on the Hoh Chi Min trail. We got some nice explanation from our guide on how they transported food through the trail during the Vietnam war times.
After that the bus drove through some green scenery to drop us at the border of a forest.
I kept on asking :- Where is the cave ?
And as the guide laughed he invited me to follow a path through the jungle.
Lunch was provided on a camping spot closed to a river that we later crossed to visit the cave. This camping spot is the sleeping place for longer tours that explore more caves. It must be terrific sleeping on a tent hearing the water flowing and the jungle sounds.
After a delicious lunch we crossed the river and reached the cave climbing through some huge rocks that block the cave´s entrance view. Once we reached the cave that was it. The cave is flooded with water so the only way to get in is swimming in the darkness with a forehead light and getting guided by the sound and voices of other people.
It gets pretty dark in the cave but it is completely save. I only regret I did not have my camera casing to record the adventure as I had never in my life swam inside a cave.
The only photos that I have were taken by some of my tour buddies. Not the best quality but I still have a nice memory. You can see them below.
TIP; Bring a Go Pro or your underwater camera casing when visiting Tra Ang as I think recording the experience is really worth.
Trekking and swimming the Phong Nha botanical gardens
Most people who travel to Phong Nha go there only for the caves and forget visiting these beautiful gardens that deserve on its own a visit to the area.
How to get to Phong Nha botanical gardens
Located 8,6 km from Phong Nha they are easily reachable on a scooter or a bike and of course you can also hire a local guide that will guide you through the gardens. I chose for the last option as for the whole month that I visited Vietnam I had an injury that did not allow me to ride a bike or a scooter. My guide drove me with the scooter and walked me through the gardens, holding my hand when necessary to avoid making me fall due to my injury. I would have loved to drive to the gardens in normal circumstances but I can highly recommend hiring my guide. If you would like to get his contact details drop me a line in the comments.
Phong Nha botanical gardens entrance fee
The Phong Nha botanical gardens are open from 7:00 a.m until 5:30 p.m, so make sure you plan your hike inside the garden with enough time to get to the door at closing times.
The entrance fee is 40 000 VND and there is a parking fee of 4000 VND. You will get a map at the entrance with an explanation of the three possible routes to hike inside the gardens.
If your stomach is really empty and you did not bring food with you do not forget to eat something at the restaurant at the entrance as you will not be able to buy anything inside the gardens.
Do not forget to bring your swimming clothes as there are beautiful waterfalls where you can swim inside the Phong Nha botanical gardens.
READ MORE:
What to do in Chau Doc and Bentre: Mekong delta, Vietnam
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Hiking routes in the Phong Nha botanical gardens
There are three possible routes to trek the Phong Nha botanical gardens.
It takes 40 minutes and it goes up to a waterfall where you can swim. It is very nice to do but I would recommend to continue going and complete route 2 that also includes this one.
This route takes 90 minutes to be completed and it is the one that I did. I highly recommend doing at least this route as you pass buy a couple of really beautiful waterfalls and you will get stunning panoramic views of the park.
I did not this route but I would for sure would like to have done if I had more time.
As a summary, visiting Phong Nha was one of the highlights of my trip to Vietnam. There are several days tours and hikes also you could do sleeping on the jungle. And it has the advantage it is not yet packed by tourists.
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