Trip: November 2017
It was my birthday and I haven’t had another as memorable. As we rode on scooters through the Ke Bang National Park known for containing some of the largest caves in the world, surrounded by as tropical and lush a landscape as can be imagined, we had huge smiles on our faces.
The point of the day was cave exploration. We visited two, which made for the perfect self-guided tour. But the surprise experience of the day was the joy of riding scooters around the park to reach the caves. Don’t worry, they’re fully automatic.
The road is more or less a big loop, with access to caves from either direction. We rode for an hour or so between each stop, down and up over hills and around bends. Traffic was light and minimal scooter skills are required, although it is helpful to have some experience prior. It wasn’t raining the day we were there, which I assume would increase the risks. Take it slow, know your route, and you’ll be fine.
Our route and a bit about the caves, is below.
The Ke Bang National Park contains four caves that tourists visit:
- Phong Nha Water Cave
- Paradise Cave
- Hang Toi Dark Cave
- Hang Tam Co (Eight Lady Cave)
And at least three more that are newer and require several days, guides, and often a lot of money to go see:
- Son Trach (the largest known cave in the world)
- Tu Lan Cave system (includes Hang Ken cave)
- Hang En
- Hang Son Doong
- Hang Va
Here was our route:
We started in Phong Nha, a small town that is the jumping off point for cave exploration. It has a popular hostel called Easy Tiger with decent food that we ate the night we arrived. We stayed next door, however, at the Phong Nha Midtown Hotel and would highly recommend it. Big rooms with small prices and a lovely young woman who runs the place.
We rented scooters from our hotel for $5/day and she gave us a map with some basics about the national park and how to maneuver the scooters (don’t ride too fast downhill or around corners). We filled our tanks at a gas station on the opposite side of town (B on the map above), and began our day.
Our first stop was the Phong Nha “Water” Cave which requires a boat, because it is filled with water. The boat takeoff is just southwest of town at the Ke Bang National Park Headquarters (C above). We parked our scooters outside for a couple of dollars and bought our boat tickets at the office. It is cheaper if you go in a group. There happened to be a foursome of Canadians buying at the same time so we all went together.
The Water Cave is wonderful and our experience in November was quiet. It is low season and there were moments in the cave of complete silence, something the Canadian’s guide said was rare during high season, when the voices of loud groups echo off the cave walls. The experience was about 2.5-3 hours in total, after which we hopped back on our scooters and headed to the next cave.
We rode clockwise on highway DT20 around the loop and this next stretch of road was by far the prettiest. There are significant altitude changes, sharp turns, and incredible views. We first rode by the Phong Nha Botanical Gardens, a stop that was recommended to us but we just didn’t have time. Turning right on QL16, about 6kms later we arrived at Paradise Cave.
Perhaps the most important advice to mention about Paradise Cave is the walk from the parking lot to the entrance. It is long. There are golf cart shuttle services offered (at a cost) for a reason. I can’t remember if it took a full hour, but there’s quite a stretch of flat followed by a significant trek uphill back and forth along a pathway of switchbacks. On entering the cave you then descend a long series of stair flights to the cave floor.
And it is stunning. The pictures only give a small sense of the wonder you feel walking from room to room, surrounded by formations you’d never believe were real, all magnificently lit by soft colors.
The national park views from a scooter and the caves are why you must stop in Phong Nha. It was a highlight of our 3 weeks in Vietnam, and everyone we ran into said the same. Skip the Mekong Delta, HCMC, or even Hanoi (notice Ha Long Bay and Hoi An aren’t on this list of places to skip) but don’t miss Phong Nha and Ke Bang National Park.
Exploring Paradise Cave took 2-3 hours to explore, including the walk mentioned above. After finishing we scootered back to town on the longer leg of the loop (but by far a more direct and flatter portion). On the way back to town you’ll pass Suoi Nuoc Mooc Cave, which we don’t know much about but I think is newer, and the Dark Cave. We read a lot about Dark Cave and it seems like more of a playful adventure, with opportunities to swim, get really muddy, and use headlamps. We weren’t in the space to take advantage of this, but if you have two days in the park, this would likely be your next activity and we heard good things from folks who’d done it.
