According to Guinness World Records Organisation Son Doong cave, situated in Vietnam, is world’s largest natural cave in terms of length and volume. It was discovered by Ho Khanh, a local from the Phong Nha jungle in 1990 .
Son Doong Cave stretches nearly 9 kilometers in length, boasting a volume of up to 38.5 million cubic meters, thus earning the distinction of being the largest natural cave on Earth.
This cavernous expanse surpasses Deer Cave in Malaysia, formerly hailed as the largest natural cave with a volume of 9.5 million cubic meters prior to the discovery of Son Doong. However, Son Doong’s global renown stems not just from its immense size but also from its extraordinary hidden subterranean realm.
Beside its gigantic size Other spectacular features that make Son Doong an amazing place are underground rivers, huge formations, dolines or skylights, ancient fossils, unique species of fish and insects, plants and trees inside the cave.
Chronicals of Son Doong cave
- The British-Vietnam Cave Expedition Team, led by Howard Limbert, officially surveyed and measured Hang Son Doong in 2009, determining its volume to be 38.5 million m3. These measurements were corroborated by prominent karst geologists, including Dr. Tony Waltham, and endorsed by National Geographic magazine, which declared Son Doong Cave the largest naturalist’s limestone cave on Earth in the same year.
- In 2013, the Guinness World Records Organisation officially recognized Son Doong Cave as the world’s largest natural cave.
- In 2014, Son Doong was voted by The New York Times as one of the 52 most attractive tourist destinations in the world.
- In 2015, the world’s largest cave was filmed and live broadcast on ABC News ‘Good Morning America’.
- In the same year 2015, National Geographic magazine published a 360-degree photo series and interactive website taken inside Son Doong cave.
- In 2019, DJ Alan Walker made a music video titled Alone P.II in Son Doong Cave and released it on youtube on December 27, 2019. By October 2022, this MV reached over 275 million views
- In 2020, the Cave was voted by Business Insider as one of the 20 outstanding natural wonders.
- In 2021, Son Doong 360 photo series on National Geographic became a hot virtual reality tour in the world during the Covid pandemic.
- On April 14, 2022, Google Doodle honoured Hang Son Doong Cave on its search page in 18 countries around the world, including Vietnam, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Greece, the Republic of Guatemala, Republic of Honduras, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, U.S. Virgin Islands, United Kingdom, and Brazil.
- November 26, 2023: Son Doong Cave was featured in episode 6 of Planet Earth III – Extreme, a popular BBC nature documentary series.
Unique Characteristics of Son Doong Cave:
Within its confines lie a plethora of remarkable features, including intricate and colossal
1. Gigantic Size
Hang Son Doong is bigger than any other cave on the planet. To help put things into perspective, some of the chambers in Hang Son Doong are taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Cairo.
2. A secret lake
Toward the cave’s exit sits a gigantic lake in the winter and spring months. The lake is so big and so deep that you’ll glide across it on small row boats.
3. Underground jungles
Beneath these vast holes in the ceiling lie underground jungles. As the microclimate of the cave is different to that on the surface, the jungles are also different, with flora species that you won’t find outside the cave.
5. Prehistoric stalagmites
Hang Son Doong’s towering stalagmites are nothing short of extraordinary. Some stalagmites are taller than the Arc de Triomphe, and others form outlandish and mesmerizing shapes.
6. Ceiling collapses
Hang Son Doong is 9km long, and yet it’s rarely pitch-black. That’s because it’s punctuated by two huge ceiling collapses that invite light to pour into the cave.
7. Animal planet
It’s often said that Hang Son Doong has its own ecosystem, and in some ways that’s true. You may come across an array of wildlife while inside the cave, including howling monkeys near the ceiling collapses, translucent cave insects, squeaking bats and blind fish.
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