In an accidental find, 39 new caves with a total length of 17 kilometers have been discovered at Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh recently. The new grottoes were found during a survey conducted by exploreres from the British Royal Cave Association and the Hanoi College of Natural Sciences from March 16 to April 25.

 

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is an UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Site announced as such in 2003 because of its great geological value and rich biodiversity. It gained worldwide recognition as well because of its cave and grotto systems which totalled to 300 at present with a total length of 70 kilometers. It is home to Son Doong Cave, currently the world's biggest cave and has a big, fast-flowing underground river inside. It is located about 500 kilometers South of Hanoi and situated in a 2,000 kilometer square limestone zone in Vietnamese territory.

 

Some of the newly-found caves contribute largely to the development of the study of caves and grottoes while the others equally hold an important value in terms of geomorphologic and geological factors. May or Cloud Cave is 1,100 meters long and 200 meters wide; Vuc Moi or New Chasm Cave is 213 meters deep; while Lan or Orchids Cave is 1,230 meters long.

 

A Ky Cave was found on the East side of Trail 20. 1,260 meters long, it is special among the other caves discovered because it has a spring inside. At the opposite side is Vong Phu Cave which is situated on the upper region of a limestone mountain. It is 840 meters long and 146 meters deep. Khe San and Vuc The Caves were also found on the West part of Trail 20, about 24 kilometers away. The latter, which is 207 meters deep, is considered a new type of grotto.

 

Like Son Doong Cave, Thach Sinh and Khe Dung Caves have sinking holes but with an additional entrance below the holes. To note, Khe Dung Cave is unusually located in an area with very little limestone mountains. Bang Cave is 662 meters long but has a small opening, but is also surprisingly capable of storing a big volume of water in the rainy season.

 

Experts in the joint survey also recorded measurements and took pictures which were submitted to the park's grotto map. This was the 16th survey conducted in 24 years. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was established in the first place in order to preserve one of the world's biggest karst regions composed of 300 caves and grottoes, as well as the Annamite Range region's limestone forest ecosystem located at the North central coast of Vietnam. The discovery of the new caves which now covers a total area of 200 kilometers is a significant development to cave and grotto research.