New Year calendars to feature Son Doong Cave

– Phuong Nam Printing Co. Ltd. held a ceremony last week to unveil its 2016 calendar designs with photos featuring astonishing scenes of the world’s renowned Son Doong Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh.

Nguyen Ha Quoc Anh, director of Phuong Nam Printing Co. Ltd., speaks at the ceremony held last week to present the company’s latest calendar designs for the New Year 2016 - Photo: Ngoc Minh

The company has picked photos of Son Doong for its calendars next year because the cave has made big headlines in both local and foreign media in 2015, especially since the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) aired live the breathtaking scenes inside the cave on its “Good Morning America” program in May.

Nguyen Ha Quoc Anh, director of the company and author of the photos, said the New Year calendars highlight scenic sites inside the biggest cave in the world discovered by the British Royal Cave Explorers’ Society in 2011, and the nearly En Cave.

Other New Year calendars of the company also promote the beauty of Vietnam and its people with photos and paintings about Vietnam’s traditional foods, craft villages, paper kites, transport means and Saigon as well as famous cities around the world.

In addition, the company will also publish more than ten sets of calendars with designs based on graduation projects of students at Van Lang University’s Faculty of Fine Arts. 

The designs include paintings of Vietnam’s traditional water puppetry, tourist attractions and folk games. 

SGT

Va and Nuoc Nut caves through American photographer’s lens

 – Famous for taking photos inside Son Doong Cave, photographer Ryan Deboodt is also well-known for capturing impressive shots of the caves in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, including Va and Nuoc Nut caves.

Tours to explore Va and Nuoc Nut caves will be featured beginning July. It is considered to be new and attractive destinations for both domestic and foreign tourists, alike.

Some photos featuring the beauty of these two caves:

 Va Cave

Nuoc Nut Cave

Ryan Deboodt has lived in Ho Chi Minh City for three years and toured many places of interest throughout Vietnam

Tourism Agency backs Son Doong Cave cable-car project

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said it supports a cable-car project for Son Doong Cave to meet demand by tourists to visit the world's largest cave.

Nguyen Van Tuan, chief of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said Son Doong is now an international brand for Quang Binh Province, but concerns about the cave's delicate ecosystem have meant severe restrictions on the number of people who can visit at any one time.
"Tourists will be able to enjoy an overview of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park from the cable. When they reach designated areas, they can explore in limited areas," he said.
When the project was announced last year, many worried that it would affect the natural beauty of the cave and its environs. The proposed 10.6km-long cable system can carry 1,000 visitors an hour.
Authorities and investors said adventure tours would not be affected, as 80 UNESCO-recognised sites around the world have similar cable systems. 
The cable will improve the provincial tourism industry and create jobs for thousands of people. Moreover, the cable system will also help forest rangers protect the site from illegal loggers and fire.
Dtinews/VNN

The incredible underworld in Vietnam

– The lively and beautiful "underworld" of the caves of Thien Duong (Heaven), Phong Nha or Bich Dong - Tam Coc can surprise any visitor.

 Dau Go is a must-see destination on the tour of Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh.

The stalactites inside the cave are so beautiful that each visitor can tell the story of his own about this fairy world.

Phong Nha - Ke Bang is one of the caves that both domestic and foreign tourists want to see once in their lifetime.

  The mysterious beauty of Phong Nha-Ke Bang Cave.

 Heaven (Quang Binh province) is the longest dry cave in Asia.

Inside the cave, you can imagine you are in a mystical palace with magnificent structure.

 Son Doong has recently attracted world attention as the largest cave in the world.

 

Son Doong ranked first in the list of the new destinations in the 21st Century, organized by Smithsonian.

 

The cave of Tu Lan (Quang Binh) is not as big as Son Doong, but its unique characteristics are also charming.

 The fairy landscape inside Tu Lan Cave.

 Va Cave is located in the heart of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. It was discovered in 2000 but did not open for tourists until July this year.

 

The small door is covered with vines. To enter this cave, you need to have the support of experts. As soon as you step into the cave, you will see a fantastic, unreal world.

 To visit Huong Tich Cave, visitors have to pass the Yen River, climb to the top of the 900m mountain and walk for about 200 m.

 

After that long road, you will enjoy the incredible beauty inside the cave, which is called “the most beautiful cave in Vietnam”.

Cable car a threat to beauty of Son Doong cave

Environmentalists have voiced their concern that a cable car system set up to serve tourists will spoil the natural beauty of the world’s largest cave.

 

Five months ago, the world was overwhelmed with reports about Vietnam’s Son Doong Cave broadcasted television channels in the US and Europe.

Located in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province, Son Doong, or ‘mountain river cave’ attracts people with its natural charm and wonderful primitive landscapes.

At that time, when local and foreign media all focused on describing the beauty and attractiveness of Son Doong, Lao Dong newspaper published an article titled ‘Niem tu hao va moi suy tu’ (pride and worry), warning that Son Doong’s beauty would be spoiled if it is unreasonably exploited for mass tourism.

“Imagine that in the future, people will flock to the primitive land, trample upon the trees and grass, drop litter and pollute the cave with thousands of things they bring. Will the current Son Doong be able to exist then?”

Quang Binh provincial authorities, however, have decided to build up a cable-car system to bring tourists to Son Doong.

VNAT’s General director Nguyen Van Tuan at the press conference on October 9 confirmed that a cable system would be set up to carry travelers to Son Doong. The system is designed to carry 1,000 visitors to Son Doong an hour.

He said that the cable-car system would not affect the landscapes and the ecosystem in the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park.

However, environmentalists do not believe that Son Doong will be safe if millions of people travel by cable car to Son Doong every year. Son Doong is attractive because it is primitive.

Son Doong is a precious treasure which needs to be cherished. Son Doong is attractive because it is behind a mountain to which not everyone can come. It challenges travelers who have a love of adventure and eagerness for discovery.

Son Doong is reserved for those who desire to explore, love travel and those who are willing to walk to reach the remote cave.

Son Doong is not the place for mass tourism, a destination for millions of people coming there in cable car in beautiful clothes just to take pictures, post images on Facebook and drop litter.

Ta Hoa Phuong from the Hanoi University of Natural Sciences said he opposes the plan to build cable car to bring tourists Son Doong, because it would spoil the rare and precious natural heritage of the world.

Lao Dong

Son Doong cave among world’s top 15 unbelievable places

The leading art, design and photography community website has cited Vietnam’s Son Doong Cave among top 15 unbelievable places that look like they are from another planet.

In the article’s introduction, the website wondered why people spend years training to be astronauts while they can explore strange new worlds right here on earth?

Boredpanda also stressed that the following destinations span practically every continent on Earth, so viewers can experience fantastic sites no matter where they live. 

Son Doong Cave is located in the UNESCO-recognized Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province, Viet Nam.

The mouth of Son Doong was first discovered by Ho Khanh, a resident of Son Trach Commune, Bo Trach District, in 1991. In 2009 he acted as a guide for an expedition by the British Cave Research Association led by Howard Limbert and his wife Deb.

That year the cave became known worldwide after being identified as the world's largest.

The five-kilometre-long cave, which is 150 meters high and 200 meters wide, has at least 150 individual caves, a dense subterranean jungle and several underground rivers.

Rounding on the list of top 15 are Fly Geyser of the US, Tianzi Moutains of China, Glowworm Cave of New Zealand, Pamukkale of Turkey, Zhangye Danxia Landforms of China, Baikal Lake of Russia, Dragonblood Trees of Yemen, Monte Roraima of Venezuela, Giants Causeway of Northern Ireland, Grand Prismatic Spring of the US, Naica Mine of Mexico, Red Beach of China, Glowing Beach of Maldives, and Antelope Canyon of the US.

Source: VNS

Famous for taking photos inside Son Doong Cave, photographer Ryan Deboodt is also well-known for capturing impressive shots of the caves in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, including Va and Nuoc Nut caves.

Tours to explore Va and Nuoc Nut caves will be featured beginning July. It is considered to be new and attractive destinations for both domestic and foreign tourists, alike.

Some photos featuring the beauty of these two caves: