7:30AM: Our car and tour guide will pick up you at your hotel in Dong Hoi City, then transfer you to Paradise Cave– the longest dry cave in Asia (located in Phong Nha – Ke bang National Park’s core zone). It is approximately 75 km from Dong Hoi and an 80 minute drive). -OR- 8:15 Our driver will pick you up at your hotel in Phong Nha village, then transfer you to Paradise Cave. Here your guide will give you safety instructions and cave equipment.
You will then be taken by golf cart (1.6km) from the main gate through the jungle, to where you will then hike an incline to the mouth of the cave; a climb that boasts spectacular views of the mountainous region around the cave.
You will then explore the first 1000m into the cave along a wooden staircase and boardwalk, you can admire hundreds of colourful stalactites and the stalagmites created over millions of years.
Following our experienced and enthusiastic guide, you will continue beyond the boardwalk construction to venture inside more than 6000m of the cave, equipped with your personal flashlight.
Overcoming the cliff path, which challenges the courage and perseverance of the explorer, you will discover and learn about the formation of stalactites systems that are colourful and rich in shape.
The first 500 meters consists of a tube-shaped cave, where it is more than 80 meters high and 120 meters at its widest point. Occasionally we will encounter tall, block-like stalactite structures, glittering in its brilliance.
Deeper inside, the stalactites and the stalagmites are increasingly diverse and unique. You will see rock formations with a variety of colors and designs, as if sculpted directly by a hand of the Creator. Life inside the cave exhibits a rich and biodiverse ecosystem which includes, but is not limited to: fish, bats, spiders and crickets. In the first 3.5 km you may encounter hundreds of bats clinging to the ceiling. Further along, there is the junction of two shallow streams where you can enjoy a cool breeze blowing from the spring. There will be a rest stop at 4000m, where you can take photos in this beautiful location and preserve this unique memory.
After the break, you will continue to kayak over streams. Passing through a small part of the stream requires crouching down in order not to touch the ceiling.
After finishing the small stream, the next journey gives you the opportunity to test your own courage to overcome the steep road and rugged land along the stream bed, where there are only narrow paths to thread through. From here, the cave looks like the labyrinth. Without a guide, it wouldn’t be difficult to find yourself lost amongst the cylindrical stalactites.
After 1 hour, we will arrive one of the more notable sections of the cave, referred to as “the Heaven Well”. According to the oriental concept; this well exemplifies the harmony between heaven and earth to proliferate from the cosmos. Being brought so close to this feat of nature is mysterious and exciting in the simplest of ways. Between the stream is smooth rocks as if shaped by the hands of artisans, with different shapes and different colours; you may feast your eyes.
After enjoying lunch beside the underground stream, you relax, take photographs and prepare for the journey back the same way.
4.30PM - 5.15PM: Tour ends. You will be dropped back off at your hotel or Dong Hoi train station.
