Son Doong Cave - The World's largest Cave in Vietnam

Hang Son Doong Cave - Son Doong Cave

The Hang Son Doong Cave was first discovered by a Local Vietnamese man in 1991, but British cavers were the first to explore it in 2009. Now, Touching Indochina Tour is running trial tours of the cave and accepting sign-ups for real six-day tours to take place next year. 

The man who discovered Son Doong didn't go inside the cave because the entrance he found had too steep a drop. On next year's tours, visitors will rappel 80 meters to enter Son Doong Cave.

The Son Doong Cave in Vietnam is the biggest cave in the world. It's over 5.5 miles long, has a jungle and river, and could fit a 40-story skyscraper within its walls.

Getting to Son Doong Cave - The world's largest Cave in Vietnam

The newly discovered cave has been touted as the largest cave in the world, although other caves vie for the title of longest (Mammoth Cave in Brownsville, Kentucky nabs that title with about 400 miles of passageways) and deepest (Krubera Cave in the nation of Georgia).

The roof of the Son Doong Cave collapsed centuries ago, allowing a lush jungle to take root. Monkeys and flying foxes live in what explorers named the Garden of Edam. On their first night inside the cave, visitors will camp near Hand of Dog, a humongous stalagmite that looks like a dog's paw.

Son Doong Cave is a jackpot of rare cave pearls. The pearls form over hundreds of years as water drips down, dries up and leaves layers of calcite crystals on grains of sand. 

Scientists have discovered never-before-seen plant species around Son Doong's waterfalls. Oh, and there's a whole river in there, too.

Source: http://visavietnam.pro/vi/news/Vietnam-Country/World-s-Largest-Cave-in-Vietnam-Son-Doong-Cave-57/