Travel bucket list idea:
Son Doong Cave
Quang Binh Province, Vietnam
Last updated: 15 May, 2025
A subterranean world of staggering scale and surreal beauty, Son Doong Cave is the largest known cave on Earth – so vast it has its own jungle, climate, and cloud system. Hidden within Vietnam’s Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, the cave stretches over 5km and soars 200m high, dwarfing even skyscrapers.
Inside, it’s a landscape of underground rivers, mist-veiled skylights, ethereal rock formations, colossal stalagmites, eerie sinkholes, fossil-lined walls, and lush vegetation that thrives where the roof has collapsed. Gigantic chambers echo with silence, broken only by birdsong and dripping water. You’ll camp beneath an ancient, cathedral-like vault – utterly silent but for the echoes of nature.
Accessible only via a guided expedition, visiting Son Doong is more than a tour – it’s a multi-day, once-in-a-lifetime adventure through an untouched underground wilderness. It’s a place that redefines scale, solitude, and the wonder of the natural world.
Don't miss
Look out for the towering 70m stalagmites, dubbed ‘Hand of Dog’, and the cave’s jungle-cloaked dolines where sunlight streams through collapsed ceilings.
Did you know?
Discovered in 1990 by local jungle guide Ho Khanh, and later explored by the British – Vietnamese Cave Expedition Team, Son Doong was revealed to the world as the planet’s largest natural limestone cave. Its awe-inspiring scale was officially recognised in 2009 and later confirmed by National Geographic in 2011. The cave captured global imagination when it starred in a breathtaking episode of Planet Earth III – a cinematic tribute to one of Earth’s most extraordinary natural wonders.
Logistics
Price from: £2,500
Minimum age: 18
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around
Getting there & doing it
Access to Son Doong Cave is strictly controlled and available only via Oxalis Adventures, the exclusive operator of permitted expeditions. Tours depart from Phong Nha village in central Vietnam, reached by road from Dong Hoi (1 hour) or Hue (4–5 hours).
Visitors must book well in advance and meet fitness requirements for the multi-day trek (usually around 6 days and 5 nights). Expect to trek through forest, cross rivers (10 to 50 meters wide with knee-deep water in normal conditions) scramble up rocks and sandbanks, climb up and down ladders, climb up and down ropes.
You’ll need sturdy hiking boots, breathable clothing, and waterproof dry bags – gear is often provided. Guides, porters, and safety experts accompany every tour.
Tours will also include a stop at Doong village, where ethnic minority Bru Van Kieu people live simple lives in harmony with the forest.
When to do it
The best time to visit Son Doong is between February and August, when conditions inside the cave are safe and dry enough for trekking. The clearest light and most dramatic mist-filled shafts of sun typically occur mid-morning, especially near the dolines. Avoid the monsoon season (September–January), when tours do not operate.
Those seeking truly cinematic lighting and fewer crowds often favour the shoulder months of February and May. Night owls sh0uld expect early morning starts, both for pacing and to make the most of cooler temperatures.
