Day 1: Jungle Hiking and Camping (L,D)
The bus will either pick you up in Dong Hoi or Phong Nha to the tour headquarter in Phong Nha. We will brief you and the team on what to expect, and check that everyone is prepared.
After the briefing, we will make the 45min-1 hour ride in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park to the trailhead.
After saying goodbye to the last piece of humanity we will exit the road and begin the jungle hike. While walking through the jungle our guide will teach you about some local plant life, maybe feed you some tasty treats the jungle has to offer and show you some pieces of the minority people’s (the Ruc Ca Roong) culture -the Jungle people who survive off of the jungle resources.
After a few kilometers, we will stop for lunch and a rest, giving you an opportunity to recharge and ask the questions you may have. After lunch, we will continue trekking until we reach Tiger Cave. The sandy bank of the Tiger Cave river will be your home for the night. While you clean up and prepare for the evening our team of porters will prepare a hardy Vietnamese meal with rice, veggies, soup, and meat. Oh, and customary of Vietnamese culture, rice wine will be included, Cheers!; “Mot Hi Ba Zo!”
Day 2: The Tiger Cave Series (5.5 kilometers of cave awesomeness) (B,L,D)
A day Underground: The morning will begin with a solid breakfast and coffee or tea. After the meal our team of porters will clean up camp, making sure to leave nothing behind! Once you have been supplied with filtered locally sourced water, a life jacket, helmet and headlamp the team will begin exploring the Tiger Cave system starting with the swim into Tiger Cave. The swim is optional, with a route around the cave exterior. However, we highly suggest taking the swim!
Tiger Cave is a challenging cave with scrambling and low climbs but very exciting. You will begin your swim only a few meters from camp. Upon plunging into the river your guide will lead you under a low ceiling then into a large open cavern. You and your company will swim, walk, scramble and climb through Tiger Cave.
Once you have explored the passages and made it to the other side of Tiger Cave our porters will meet the team and collect life jackets. After drying off from the swim you will take a short 15-minute walk through the first dole line (cave collapse) to the entrance of Hang Over – 3.2 kilometers of awesome caverns, incredible natural decorations, and features.
Hang Over begins with a long narrow shaft with various cave formations, growing in size and beauty with each step. Eventually, the team will reach a massive grotto, filled with amazing stalagmites and stalactites, speleothems (decorations), and beautiful pools. Here in the grotto, the guide will choose an appropriate location for lunch. After eating some cucumber salad and other snacks next to some amazing cave features you will proceed to the exit of Hang Over.
Nearing the exit of Hang Over you will see the cavern being illuminated by green light bouncing off of the cave jungle. Hang Over and Hang Pygmy were once one large cave that experienced a ceiling collapse, creating 2 caves and a healthy unique jungle inside the cave system! After making the short jungle climb through the doline (the collapse) you will come to the massive chamber of Hang Pygmy. Here our guide and porter team will equip you with appropriate abseiling safety gear, brief you on safety procedures, and rig your harness with a fail-safe system. Taking turns, one by one everyone in the company will descend into the bottom of the cavern, an 80-meter descent, with 23 meters done via abseiling. Once everyone is safely on the floor of the chamber the group will make a short walk, and turn the corner to the MASSIVE cathedral-like exit of Hang Pygmy. Here will be your home for the final night of the trek.
After some rest and washing up you will have the remainder of the day to relax, wander the massive chamber that is the 4th largest cave in the world and recall the amazing day you just experienced.
As night falls a Vietnamese dinner will be served, with the option of rice wine.
Day 3: Goodbye to the Tiger Cave Series and the trek home (B,L)
After breakfast and cleaning up camp you will exit the cave system and begin the half day trek home. On the trek home, we will again stop a few times for rest and some light snack breaks, with the opportunity to marvel at the amazing jungle valley you hiked out of. Upon exiting the jungle trail you will be greeted at the road with some cold beverages and a bus ride back to your hotel in either Phong Nha or Dong Hoi city.
