SON ĐOONG CAVE

THE WORLD'S LARGEST NATURAL CAVE

*Introduce:
 Good morning everyone! My name is Thuong. And I will start my
presentation now.
 As you know, Vietnam is one of the most fascinating countries in Asia with
white sand beaches, limestone mountains,…
 Today, I would like to tell you about one of the most amazing destination in
Vietnam.
 Have you ever heard of a cave that it was recognized by Guiness World as
the largest natural cave? .
 That is Son Doong cave belonging to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National
Park. It was discovered by Mr. Ho Khanh at the cave entrance in 1990.
 In 2009, The British Vietnam Caving Expedition Team led by Mr. Howard
Limbert came to explore, survey and draw a system of this cave.

*My presentation includes 4 parts (read through 4 part)…. I will begin

with The origin of the name “Son Doong cave”

1. The origin of the name: Son Doong cave .

 This is a special name
 When Mr Ho Khanh discovered this cave, many people suggest that this
giant cave should be named Ho Khanh to honor its discoverer.
 However, Ho Khanh and the members of the expedition discussed and
named the cave Son Doong Cave
 This name is a combination of two words: Son is mountain, Doong is the
name of the valley where Rao Thuong stream flows
So what's special about this cave? And Why does Son Doong
become the world’s largest natural cave? There is a main
reason: The magical world inside the cave
2. The magical world inside the cave:
 Son Doong cave located in Quang Binh, a province has been blessed by
Mother-Nature.
 The main entrance of the cave reaches a height of 200 metres with a length
for 9km.
 The area inside the cave is very massive. You can imagine that an entire
New York with 40 skyscrapers or any cave in the world will be fit inside Son
Doong.
 On the ceiling and walls of the cave there are giant stalactites 80m high,
larger than the length of a passenger Boeing they exist for hundreds of
thousands to millions of years.
 Some limestone mines are more than 450 million years old, before the age
of dinosaurs.
 The spacious inside contains many species of plants because of the unique
climate and the variety of landscapes.
 There is even a real forest that grows underground
 In addition to the jungle, there are also many underground rivers or lakes
in the cave, which are formed by rainwater flowing down from holes in the
cave ceiling
Besides the maze and underground river, you can see many other things

3. Unique features of Son Doong cave

 Fossil passage (Hành lang hoá thạch)
 The fossil passage is a corridor where the limestone still imprints shells,
mussels, fish skeletons. These are more than 3 hundreds of millions years
ago.
 It also has an underground lake with temperatures ranging from 65 to 70
degrees
 Cave pearls -Ngọc hang động:
 The cave gems are naturally arranged inside calcium trails and look
beautiful under the lights
 Especially on rainy days when the gems sparkle under the flashlights.
 The great wall of Vietnam
 This is an interesting wall
 Located at the end of Son Doong cave, The Great Wall of Viet Nam is
a majestic wall that difficult to get over.
 In April 2009, after nearly 5 days, the expedition team encountered a
large block of rock blocking all paths. Because they did not bring
appropriate equipment so they can not get over this block of rock. All
members have to turn back the old way to return
 At this time, no one knew what was behind that large rock block and
how far it was, the expedition team decided to name the rock block
"The great wall of Vietnam" is a majesty wall that explorers could not
overcome at that time
 Hành lang Passchendaele (Passchendaele passage)
 It is a lake below the Vietnam wall. When the cave expedition approached
this area, all the water in the lake had drained away
So the expedition members had to work very hard to cross this lake.
 However, during many other months of the year or when there is a lot of
rain, the water will rise to fill the shallow stream, forming a large lake with a
length of 600m and a very beautiful jade green color.
 During the months when the lake is full of water, tourists will use rafts and
boats to move through this Passchendaele area

4. Tourism exploitation activities:

 In 2013, Son Doong cave opened to welcome tourists.
 It is not a simple journey to reach Son Doong cave
 This cave is a great place for people who enjoy an adventure tour
(especially for young people)
 The expedition will last for a few days:
 During the first day and a half, you have to walk in a group 50km
through the jungle, climbing over large rocks small in the cave,...
 After you follow the tour to get there, you will walk down to Doong
valley, then move through the village of the Van Kieu people. There
you will eat and take a lunch break to gain strength to continue going
into En cave
 And the journey will actually begin the next morning when you finish
breakfast. The time to explore Son Doong cave will take about 5 days
and 4 nights for you to freely explore and feel the charming beauty of
the cave
  Inside the cave, you have to abseil, climb, crawl and swim through
under rivers to complete your journey.
 You can meet many species of birds, monkeys and other animals here
during your journey.
 Nowadays, Oxalis Adventure is the only company licensed to organize
Son Doong cave tours. Each year, the number of visitors allowed into the
cave is limited to 1,000 people.
 The cave tour, Son Doong, 4 days 3 nights can be compared to a 10-day
vacation in Europe when considering the cost of $ 3,000 (69.8 million
VND) per person.
 In addition, each tour is limited to 10 guests, but requires 30 waiters.
These included 22 porters carrying luggage, food for the entire journey; 5
security assistants; an international guide; a Royal British cave expert; 2
chefs and a forester.
So if you love an adventure tour and want to see unique beauty of this
massive cave, you should visit Son Doong cave 1 time in your life.