Son Doong cave makes NYT travel list

January 16, 2014 | 15:10

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The Central Quang Binh Province has been included in a list drawn up by the New York Times of 52 global places to go to in 2014.

Bucket listed: Thien Duong, which is another cave in central Quang Binh Province. — VNS Photo Bao Huy

The New York Times put the province in the eighth place on the list, behind other destinations in Africa, America, Europe and New Zealand. It has been selected for its cave system, especially Son Doong cave, the world's biggest. It is said to have been created 2 to 5 million years ago due to river water erosion of the limestone underneath a mountain.

The cave, which was discovered in 2009 by British caver Howard Limbert and earlier by a local man, is said to have enough space to accommodate 40-storey high skyscrapers and 100-feet tall trees.

The cave has made headlines in prestigious magazines and on television channels, including the National Geographic in 2011. It has been made accessible to tourists from August last year, thanks to tour programmes organized by Oxalis Adventure Tours, which is the only one authorized by local authorities.

However, an exclusive report from Oxalis said that bookings had been full until the end of this year due to the heat generated in this marvellous cave.

Explorers are recommending an adjacent cave Tu Lan instead, for a more affordable tour and a less busy exploration schedule.

At 35th place on the NYT list is Mekong River's Cambodia-Viet Nam section, on which sailing tours between HCM City in Viet Nam and Siem Riep in Cambodia have been proposed.

Recently, global prestigious magazines have listed destinations in Viet Nam among places that should be visited. Experts believe local tourism authorities should improve travel services to lure more visitors.

VNS

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