11/13/2023 0 Comments Son doong forestThe introduction of the one-ton ladder decreased the physical impact on the cave and shortened the trek by two days.So far unlucky with my 2021 travel plans due to COVID-19 outbreaks in certain Northern provinces of Vietnam - and with very little time left before my relocation to Indonesia - I decided to attempt an in extremis expedition to a bucket list item for adventure seekers and trekking lovers: an expedition to Hang Sơn Đoòng - The world's largest cave. Before the ladder was installed, trekkers had to turn back and exit through Hang En. The wall is climbed using ropes and a 65-foot ladder. The lake sits near the final push to exit Son Doong, a 300-foot vertical cliff nicknamed “The Great Wall of Vietnam.” In the rainy season, a lake nearly 2,000 feet wide forms in the cave. The fish have translucent skin, and some of the insects no longer have eyes. As they live in total darkness, they do not need color to blend into their surroundings. Seven new species - all of which are completely white - have been found in the cave: fish, spiders, centipedes, woodlice and more. Photography is difficult as lighting must be brought into the cave one photo can take hours and up to 10 people to create.Ĭonversely, the lack of light has allowed new life to develop. The darkness of Son Doong is both challenging and fascinating. They are formed when water droplets rotate grains of sand, turning them over and over causing concentric layers of calcite to develop. He final day gives the best view of Son Doong’s unusually large cave pearls, some of which are as big as baseballs. Son Doong may collapse but not in our lifetimes - maybe in one million years or so,” said Howard. “Caves are really stable they are not like mines. “We don’t have a clue how they got in there,” said Howard.Ĭamp is set up here for the night, where moonlight pours into the cave through the doline, which likely fell some 500,000 years ago. Two types of flightless birds scamper around. Plants and animals flourish here in the jungle known as “The Garden of Edam.” Trees can grow over 150 feet tall, and monkeys, snakes and at least one eagle owl (over three feet tall) call it home. One of the most spectacular sights in Son Doong, this doline is huge - nearly as wide as the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome in New Orleans - and allows enough sunlight into the cave for a jungle to grow 820 feet below the ground. Natural holes develop in the walls that are large enough to walk through.Īn hour later, the second doline appears. A drone captured this image of the doline from above. Nobody has seen the top of Son Doong’s dolines in person the jungle is dense, and the limestone is sharp. The second day of the trek ends at the bottom of the doline, where travelers can bathe in a lake a short walk from the campsite. Sun from the doline heats the river water, which forms clouds within the cave. Son Doong is so big, it has its own weather system. … which let mesmerizing beams of light penetrate the cave. No part of the cave is flat but for the campsites, as evidenced here through “Fossil Passage” where 350 million-year old white fossils stand out against the dark limestone.Īhead is one of Son Doong’s greatest assets – the first of two dolines, or sinkholes … We didn’t know it was going to be famous, so some names are a bit weird,” said Howard. She shouted ‘The Hand of God,’ and the lad who wrote it down wrote ‘Hand of Dog’ instead. “A woman on our original expedition asked if she could name it. This giant stalagmite is called the Hand of Dog. The cave is estimated to be 2.3 million years old - relatively young considering the surrounding limestone is 400 million years old. The rest of the world calls it caving,” said Howard. The size and features of Son Doong make it popular with travelers, filmmakers (notably, as the home of King Kong in 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island”) and world-class spelunkers. Staying dry is not an option on this trek trekkers cross the river two times while in Son Doong. Son Doong’s size is owing to two main factors: the river that runs through it, shown above, and the fault line upon which it sits, shown below. Temperatures are cooler at the bottom of the cave, which typically holds steady at 73 degrees F, give or take a degree or two. Your browser does not support the video tag. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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