Cave in to the wonders of Tu Lan in central Vietnam

The Mouse Cave with its impressive heart-shaped entrance is the first destination during the three-day exploration.

The Tu Lan cave system, comprising more than twenty caves, was first explored by British caving experts in 1992. The system nestles among rice, peanut and corn fields around 70 km away from the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park next to Tan Hoa Village.

Currently, Oxalis Adventure is the only private company in Quang Binh licensed to explore and conduct tours to Tu Lan.

According to local tour guides, the cave gets its name because hundreds of rodents would come out during the flooding season in the past. Now the cave is completely dry and one of the easiest caves to enter during the exploration tour.

The Ken Cave is a beautiful river cave in the Tu Lan system. Visitors can go rafting or go swimming, wearing life jackets.

Inside the Ken Cave are giant stalactites with many unique shapes.

The dangling stalactites in Tu Lan Cave, which the entire system is named after, is an amazing sight.

Originally discovered in 1992, this cave system became famous when a photograph of one of the cave’s impressive stalactites and stalagmites amidst iridescent green pools of water won National Geographic’s 2011 Photograph of the Year contest.

Tu Lan Cave lends itself to great visuals and tourists set up lights to take some special shots.

The exit point at Tu Lan Cave is another favorite place for group photos.

Visitors have to swim in and out of Kim Cave which has lovely cascades.

The Song Cave is the most recently discovered one in the system, in 2017. To get there, visitors have to go trek up a steep, rugged mountain. The Mouse and Song caves are the only two dry ones in the Tu Lan system.

The Song Cave hosts unique and rare coral stalactites.

The coral reefs in the Song Cave look like a topographic map of miniature kingdoms.

The three-day tour of Tu Lan costs VND7.2 million ($315.33) per person, including transfers from Phong Nha village, two nights of camping, meals, snacks and all necessary equipment including headlamps, helmets, lifejackets and gloves.