A view of Son Doong Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. (Photo: Internet)Hanoi (VNA) – The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in central Quang Binh province has been named among the top “7 National Parks You Should Visit in Southeast Asia” by GoAsean, an ASEAN-focused travel channel.
The national park was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013, GoAsean said.
Within it rests some of Southeast Asia’s most spectacular underground rivers, along with some of the world’s most unique forms of flora and fauna, including hundreds of different types of birds, it described.
It covers an area of more than 800 kilometres which would take visitors more than a day to experience its cavernous wonders, it noted.
Also on the list are Bromo Tengger Semeru and Komodo national parks in Indonesia, Doi Inthanon and Khao Sok national parks in Thailand, and Gunung Mulu and Taman Negara national parks in Malaysia.
The Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park boasts the 40-ha botanical garden which is an attractive eco-tourism destination with 500 plant species, including 133 rare and precious ones.
It is also home to Son Doong cave which is more than 200m wide, 150m high, and approximately 9km long. It was believed to be formed 2-5 million years ago and discovered by a local resident in 1991.
Within its caverns lie a jungle and a river, and the cave is large enough to fit a 40-storey skyscraper inside. The cave was named the largest cave in the world by the British Cave Research Association. Son Doong cave was also listed among the "52 Places to Go in 2014" by The New York Times Travel.-VNA
