Phong Nha: The Kingdom of Caves
Phong Nha is the kind of place that makes you wonder why you ever booked time in a city at all.
Think cliffs dropping into rice paddies that look like something straight off a screensaver, scooters humming past, and the air feels a little softer. Life is a little slower. Hidden in the hills are caves the size of cathedrals, jungle trails, and rivers you can spend whole afternoons drifting along – but it’s the easy pace of the town itself that you quietly align with. This is the perfect spot to relax in after the Ha Giang Loop.
The main attraction to Phong Nha is the famous Duck Stop and cave tours.
The Cave Tour
I stayed at Central Backpackers whilst in Phong Nha. Here, they provided their own perfect cave tour. We explored Ke Bang National Park’s Dark Cave and Paradise Cave, an inflatable water park and The Duck Stop.
Our first stop of the day was in the Botanical Gardens. Which at first, admittedly, sounded a little boring, until we reached the top of a waterfall, which we were able to hike down.
Paradise Cave
This is one of the largest caves in SE Asia, running for 32km from Phong Nha all the way to the Laos border.
Fair warning: the hike up to the cave mouth is steep, and it was about 35°C outside, so it was a little challenging. But once we entered the cave, it was very rewarding, especially when we entered the cave and the temperature dropped to 18°C. As a tourist, we could venture about 1km through the cave.
Dark Cave
To get to Dark Cave, you have to zipline across the river. It is about 2 stories high and 400m long. As a girl who isn’t into heights or speed, I was a little nervous, but I loved it!! Once off the zipline, you swim into the cave armed only with a headlamp.
Then we tracked through the cave through the narrowest tunnels until we reached a sort of giant natural mud bath in the middle of the cave. The mud is supposed to promote skin rejuvenation, so this was the perfect, almost spa-like adventure.
The Duck Stop
The Duck Stop in Phong Nha is chaotic and joyful. Pop on a traditional Vietnamese straw hat and stroll on down to meet the ducks. We fed them from our hands, and they pecked at our feet before being able to be their leader around the enclosure and even holding some of them. It is a little weird and a little cute, but all around fun.
After we ate some simple traditional dishes like crispy spring rolls and rice pancakes.
Phong Nha’s natural beauty is just incredible, with the contrast of calm vibes and dramatic scenery.
