Han Son Doong grotta piu grande del mondo vietnam

Hang Son Doong: the largest cave in the world is in Vietnam and could house a cathedral

There largest cave in the world discovered so far is called Son Doong (in Vietnamese Hang Sơn Đoòng“Mountain River Cave”), and is located in the heart of tropical forest of Vietnamin Quang Binh province. It’s one karst formationoriginating from the erosion of an ancient underground river which, over the course of 2-5 million yearssculpted the limestone substrate creating vast tunnels and natural cavities. The erosive action of water, both mechanical and chemical, has given shape to an extensive system of tunnels, some of which have expanded following structural collapses of the limestone. Son Doong Cave is located within the Phong Nha-Ke National Park which houses approx 200 km in length of caves and natural formations still largely to be mapped. The surface cracks let sunlight filter into the cave, allowing a unique ecosystem and microclimate to develop inside, with lush plant formations that create a “world within the world” worthy of Jules Verne’s adventure novels.

The record size of Son Doong Cave

Son Doong Cave is considered the largest discovery so far in relation to its volume 38.5 million cubic metersso much so that it was also included among the Guinness World Records In the 2013 like “world’s largest natural cave”.

The cavity has an estimated extension in length of approximately 9km and the tunnels that compose it have an average size ofeighty metersin width and height, but in some cases they can reach truly cyclopean dimensions, exceeding 200 metersalways in width and height. We are talking about cavities so large that they can house a cathedral or an entire village inside them, and equipped with a microclimate own with ecosystems autonomous.

Han Son Doong interior largest cave in the world

The discovery of the Cave

The entrance to the imposing formation was discovered by chance in 1990: a local woodsman, by name Hồ Khanhwhile searching for agar in the depths of the jungle, he was surprised by a storm and had to run for cover in a cavity at the foot of a rock face. Nearly 20 years later, Hồ Khanh told a couple about British explorers and speleologists that at that point he heard the loud noise of a stream that must have wedged itself between the rocks at an unclear depth. After returning to the mouth of the cave, whose exact position he had forgotten in the meantime, he gave precise instructions to the European speleologists, who led the first real expedition into the depths, in collaboration with the Department of Geography, Hanoi University of Science. In a short time the team realized that they were faced with something never seen before: a cave of unparalleled dimensions and even including an autonomous ecosystem. From that moment on, news of the discovery of the largest cave in the world spread across the globe.