Son Doong cave (Photo: Ryan Deboodt) Quang Binh (VNA) – A group of foreign ambassadors to Vietnam, an UNESCO representative and US Assistant Secretary of State landed in the central province of Quang Binh on May 11 to embark on their adventure inside Son Doong Cave, the largest natural cave in the world.
Receiving the delegation at the airport, Tran Tien Dung, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said he hopes that after the journey, the participating ambassadors from Argentina, Sweden, Italy, the UK, Australia and Czech will help promote local tourism.
Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Camilla Mellander said she only hears about the cave through the media and really wants to visit it once in her lifetime.
She expressed her good impression of local conservation of heritage, as Quang Binh has restricted the number of tourists entering Son Doong to minimise the human impact.
Sharing Mellander’s view, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Hugh Borrowman said conquering the world’s largest cave will be among the most memorable activities during his tenure in Vietnam.
Quang Binh is home to the world natural heritage site Phong Nha - Ke Bang with its unique system of caves and diversified ecosystem.
Son Doong is located in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Son Trach commune, Bo Trach district. Formed between 2 and 5 million years ago, the cave is more than 200m high, 150m wide and approximately 5 to 6.5 km long.
Within its caverns lie a jungle and a river. The cave is large enough to fit a 40-storey skyscraper inside. The cave was classified as the largest in the world by the British Cave Research Association.
In 2015, Quang Binh welcomed approximately 3 million tourists, and the figure is expected to reach 3.5 million in 2016.-VNA
