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| A tourist rides a dragon boat back from the cave |
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Just over the DMZ on the Ho Chi Minh Road, 40km west of the beach town of Dong Hoi, Phong Nha cave in Quang Binh Province is an exception. The boat ride into the dripping depths of the mountain is truly mystical. The boat costs VND220,000-250,000 depending on whether you see one cave or two and the experience of being rowed by a silent boatman or woman through the long dark cavern is well worth the outlay. The price of the boat is the same no matter how many passengers so it’s good to share. Ticket prices for the caves are an additional VND40,000 each. It’s a popular Vietnamese tourist destination so it’s best to avoid weekends and holidays.
The boat ride from the wharf along the Son river to get to the caves is quintessential-Vietnam. But there is more to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park than just caves and the hectic wharf and ticketing office. The riverside town is surprisingly unaffected by the whole tourist thing, affording a glimpse at small northern-town life and some outstanding che (sweet soups) and chau luon (eel and rice soups).
Some of the hotels such as Phuong Ha Hotel along the river offer cheap rooms with dreamy views of sunset and sunrise on the river and the sugarloaf mountains (karsts) along the banks.
Phong Nha – Khe Bang National Park is one of the world’s 200 most important eco regions and has 10 primate species, making it the most diverse site for primates in Vietnam.
If you are very lucky, the eco-trail at Nuoc Mooc natural springs 25km from Phong Nha Town is one place where you can view some of these primates including doucs and langurs. The best time is early morning or late afternoon when they are feeding on the cliffs above the hut.
For a VND50,000 ticket, the eco trail is exceptionally well done and takes in a surreal lapazuli blue spring that feeds into the stream. The conga line of butterflies (buom) that fly around the trail with its bridges and bamboo walkways make it into a literal fairy land.
There is a swimming hole there and a cool dip in the waters that well up from the bedding planes and joints that make up the area’s limestone geology is not to be missed.
The eco-trail is a part of a collaborative international effort to create a national park that provides sustainable employment to local people, so every dong you spend will help preserve one of the world’s most important natural heritages.
Michael Smith
(Source: MONRE)