In 2006, a six-person team of British cavers returned to the Quang Binh jungle to continue their exploration of the Ke Bang Massif. Accompanied by 2 members of the Faculty of Geography and Geology at Hanoi University and some local junglemen, the team spent weeks navigating across difficult terrain of sharp limestone and dense forests.
Key Achievements:
Hang Cha Rao: With a surveyed length of 2,622 meters, Hang Cha Rao offered a long swimming section of 300m.
Hang Nuoc Duong: Exactly as its name suggests, Hang Nuoc Duong is a 488-meter cave known for its very still, flooded tunnels. To explore this cave, you must swim almost the entire way through. Surveying here is difficult because measurements and notes must be taken while floating on the water's surface.
Hang Thoc: Located near the Son Trach area, Hang Thoc features a discreet entrance at the base of a limestone cliff, leading into a spacious passage with a finely sculpted ceiling. During the wet season, the cave's sump discharges a stream that eventually feeds into the Hang Toi overflow.
In 2007, a significant highlight was the discovery of Cha Lo River Cave located near the border with Laos, alongside several smaller caves around the Ban On Area. In the Hung Thoong region, the team mapped a new river cave and successfully reached the bottom of a formidable deep shaft known as Nightmare Cave, situated between Hang Thung and Hang Tra Ang.
The explorers also investigated other vertical locations, such as the massive Vuc Tang shaft, though full exploration was limited by the amount of equipment available at the time.
The total cave exploration of this year is 7km.
Key Achievements
Hang Cha Lo: The cave was surveyed for 4,483 meters. This impressive cave consists of two main levels: a lower section featuring a wide, active river passage and an upper section is a massive dry cave used by the military in the past.
he dry section inside Cha Lo Cave.
Hang Tron (Circle Cave): Hang Tron was found near Hang Thung region with a recorded length of 1,251 meters. It is a part of Phong Nha System, alongside Hang Thung, Nightmare Cave, and Hang En. It is a river cave featuring swimming sections for cavers, yet also contains some impressive dry passages.
Hang Nightmare: Nightmare Cave is a vertical cave that presents a thrilling challenge for explorers., extending 782 meters in length with a dramatic depth of 149 meters. The cave is defined by its deep, imposing shafts that require advanced technical rope skills to descend into.
Hang Vuc Tang: Vuc Tang is a massive vertical shaft that captured the team's attention during the 2007 trip. While its full horizontal length remains partially unexplored, it is recognized for its immense depth and the scale of its entrance pitch.
Vuc Tang Cave resembles a giant well with an immense depth.
In 2009, a British caving team conducted a four-week expedition across several key areas in Quang Binh, including Cha Lo, Minh Hoa, and Chay River areas. The mission focused on exploring a variety of terrains, from deep vertical caves like Vuc Tang to river caves such as Ruc Ca Xai and Hang Lau.
The most significant achievement was the successful location of Hang Son Doong. Guided by local jungleman Mr. Ho Khanh, who first found the entrance in 1990, the team finally explored this elusive cave after a 10-year search. They surveyed over 6.5km of the passage before being stopped by the "Great Wall of Vietnam." With its massive dimensions, Son Doong was officially recognized as the largest cave passage in the world.
By the end of the 2009 trip, the team had surveyed a total of 11,506 meters of new cave sections. Despite these results, many caves remained unfinished, leaving several passages open for future exploration.
Key Achievements
Hang Son Doong
In 2009, a seven-member British caving team, guided by Mr. Ho Khanh, officially discovered the entrance to Hang Son Doong. Operating from a base camp at Hang En, the team surveyed 6.5 kilometers of cave passages. The exploration revealed enormous corridors, of which many over 100 meters wide and two massive dolines where jungles thrived deep underground. This initial journey ended at the "Great Wall of Vietnam," a 60-meter-high calcite barrier with a thick, muddy floor at its base that made further progress impossible at the time.
In addition to mapping the dry sections, the team conducted a challenging "wet trip" to explore the cave's river system. Wearing wetsuits to navigate powerful and noisy currents, they swam and surveyed over 200 meters of the active river until reaching a terminal sump. Despite severe weather nearly flooding their camp, the expedition successfully documented the immense scale of what is now known as the world's largest cave passage.
Reflections of caver next to giant calcite formations
Ruc Ca Xai
Located in the Cha Lo Area, Ruc Ca Xai was a memorable exploration during the 2009 expedition. The team trekked through dense jungle to reach a spectacular sink entrance at the base of a massive limestone cliff. They used ropes to descend a pitch into a river passage filled with boulders and cascades. Although it had great potential, the cave was surveyed to only 578 meters, ending at a terminal lake that blocked further progress.
Vuc Tang
During the 2009 expedition, the British cavers conducted two major surveys of Vuc Tang, a deep vertical system in the Hang Vom Area. Initial explorations revealed a challenging cave characterized by steep pitches and significant depth.. The team successfully explored the cave to a total length of 1,310 meters and a depth of 325 meters. Despite reaching these impressive dimensions, Vuc Tang was possibly "continuing," as the team required more rope and specialized equipment to navigate further into its deep, unfinished shafts. It remains one of the notable discoveries of the 2009 expedition.
Hang Du
Hang Du is a 336-m long cave characterized by its steep, grippy calcite ramps and gour pools. The cave features solid, mud-free passages and scenic formations. The exploration successfully reached a length of 336 meters and a depth of 166 meters, navigating several pitches and breakdown chambers.
Hang Lau
In 2009, Hang Lau was explored to a length of 510m and a depth of 100m. However, the team had to stop at the top of a short pitch due to a lack of both time and rope.
The British cavers returned to continue exploration of Hang Son Doong. The Great Wall of Vietnam wall was climbed for 95m and an exit was discovered deep in the jungle. National Geographic film and magazine were involved in the expedition and the cave became world famous with the 21-page publication in the National Geographic magazine.
In 2010, the British team continued exploration of a cave system now called Tu Lan in Minh Hoa District. They explored Hang Ken and Hang Tu Lan, both river caves.
The team explored a number of well decorated, high level dry caves above Hang En with Ho Khanh. The terrain to reach these caves is very difficult.
Exploration also continued west of the Chay River, with the discovery of Hang Noi Bu 660m long and 165m deep, and the extension of Hang Lau to 1032m long and 234m deep.
Key Achievements
Hang Son Doong
Following the 2009 achievement of successful exploration of Hang Son Doong, the British caver team returned to Son Doong in 2010 with better gear & equipment to finish what they started. The of this mission was the Great Wall of Vietnam (NatGeo wanted to do it - on of the objective of NG is climbing the GWOV) - a massive barrier that had blocked them the year before. While they originally thought it was around 20 meters high, it turned out to be a 90-meter wall of calcite. It took a grueling 10-hour climb to finally reach the top, but once they did, they found a second exit leading straight out into the jungle.
The Great Wall of Vietnam, a 60-meter-high calcite barrier with a thick, muddy floor.
The team surveyed about 9 kilometers of passage, with the main passage averaging 80 meters wide and hitting a massive 163 meters at the "Garden of Edam." To put the scale in perspective, the cave roof at the Great Wall towers at 199 meters, and the whole system reaches a depth of 440 meters (all was measured 2009). Beyond the records, they found an alien-like world with white scorpions and a passage filled with rare cave pearls. Formed along a tectonic fault 2 to 5 million years ago, these discoveries solidified Son Doong’s reputation as the ultimate natural wonder.
Floating clouds forming beneath the stalactite terraces near Doline 2.
Hang Ken
Hang Ken is a river cave located in the Tan Hoa Valley. The cave begins with a 15-meter-high entrance arch that leads into an interior lake. Its surveyed structure extends over 3 kilometers, consisting of a network of active river passages and large dry galleries.
Exploration of the cave requires swimming through high-ceilinged river sections, climbing over rock faces, and navigating underground waterfalls. The interior contains various calcite formations and large stalactites within the dry passages. These upper levels eventually connect back to the main underground river, which maintains a consistent flow throughout the system.
Massive stalactites and an underground river inside Ken Cave.
Hang Tu Lan
Hang Tu Lan is the centerpiece of a massive cave system in Minh Hoa District.. This cave is famous for its incredible 1-kilometer-long continuous swim through a giant river passage. The cave is defined by a series of massive "calcite dams" or gour barriers that create magnificent double cascades and waterfalls, some dropping as far as 12 meters. While the dry entrance is a haven for swarms of moths and flies, the inner river stays exciting with strong currents and sightings of cave eels. Though the team pushed deep into the system, the cave continues to surprise explorers with high-level traverses and unexplored inlets, making it one of the most significant and fun discoveries in the Minh Hoa Region.
Waterfall inside Tu Lan Cave
Hang Noi Bu
Hang Noi Bu is a high-level cave located in the Ke Bang massif at an altitude of about 550m. Explored in 2010, the team descended through massive boulders into a large chamber nearly 100 meters deep.
The cave is characterized by its impressive entrance and interior filled with giant calcite pillars and flowstone columns. While the survey encountered local wildlife like snakes and rats, the passage eventually ends in a solid calcite choke. It stands as a significant example of the region's ancient fossil cave systems.
