Vietnam’s Kingdom of Caves launches river tour

By Nguyen Quy   February 25, 2019 | 09:41 pm PT
Vietnam’s Kingdom of Caves launches river tour
A boat cruises along the Son River to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province. Photo by Shutterstock/minhanh
Quang Binh taps yet another tourism strength with a river tour through its natural landscapes and traditional villages.

The tour, starting February 20, is organized by Oxalis, the only company licensed to offer adventure tours to the world famous Son Doong Cave.

The one-day tour is boat ride that explores hidden gems along the Son River and enables visitors to visit  traditional craft villages that produce rice paper and the non la (conical hat), a Vietnamese cultural symbol.

Tourists will also have a chance to ride bicycles past small villages to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a world heritage site and a major tourist attraction in the central province.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province is one of the country’s largest national parks. Photo by Michael Tatarski

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province is one of the country’s largest national parks. Photo by Michael Tatarski

Each tour is limited to around 15 passengers, said Nguyen Chau A, general director of Oxalis.

Son Doong, part of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in central Vietnam, has hogged the international spotlight since it opened to tourists in 2013, four years after members of the British Cave Research Association finished their exploration and declared it the world’s largest.

Local resident Ho Khanh first discovered the cave in 1991, and rediscovered it almost 20 years later, opening it up for exploration.

Last year, Quang Binh welcomed a record-breaking 3.9 million tourist arrivals, up 18 percent from the previous year. 

The province has over the past years proposed several developments, including a cable car system to boost tourism in the area, but these have met with strong opposition from environmentalists and the public.

Watch a video on the beautiful Tu Lan Cave in Quang Binh, known now as the Kingdom of Caves.

 
 
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