Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park: Caves, Hike & Beauty

It was only until I was in front of a huge gaping opening of a cave deep within Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park that I learned that silence could even roar. No, this was not a resort vacation, and neither was it a sandy beach on steroids. This is nature in a wild and breathing state. The type that puts humbleness in you. The type that hangs around.

I had arrived in Dong Hoi early in the morning, still on a sleepy bus ride after a night ride to the north, with only one bag over my shoulder and the undisputed desire to see this place. Phong Nha was my last-minute Vietnam plan after a fellow traveller told me that, “If you do not go to Phong Nha, you will not have seen Vietnam.” He did not speak in exaggeration.

Visiting Phong Nha: It is More Than a Beautiful Destination

Vietnam is visited by the majority who find their way to either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, yet little do they know that the true spirit of Vietnam lies within the Vietnamese central territory. The park belongs to one of the World Heritage Sites of UNESCO, and the moment you enter, you cannot be wrong about the title. Karsts of limestone jut into the sky. Caves along the river go deeper than the imagination. And the rainforest? It’s alive.

I stayed in a homestay in the country when the Son River family fed me simple pho and mango stick rice. They also used very broken English, and I knew nothing about Vietnamese, and yet it was home. The actual journey has not yet started.

Dante, In the Dark Cave: Creeping In the Bowel of Earth

The Dark Cave was one of the first adventures that I registered for. It was not only a tour, but it was also daring. We were rowing through a quiet river in the scorching sun, across the water and through the cold and darkness of the cave.

We walked, we jumped, we crawled. Still, at one moment, we were up to our knees in heavy mud, laughing like children. Nor had I ever been so grime-covered, nor ever so happy. The Dark Cave was cool, but not only cool; it was earthy.

Paradise Cave: Architecture of nature exhibited

Paradise Cave was a stone art class, whereas Dark Cave was rough on the edges. When I went down deep inside it, stalactites and stalagmites had created giant pillars, as though it was a gothic cathedral chiseled by time. It was cool, and there was a fierce silence in the air. I walked slowly, and the silence sank in.

Here, there is no rush as there is in most tourist destinations. You are talking at your own feet. You absorb. You are also included in the stillness of the music of the cave. This is where nature speaks, not shouts.

Jungle Trekking in Phong Nha: Whoever Said that the Wild is Lost?

I was not able to leave before taking a full-day jungle hike. With a native as a guide, we tramped along narrow paths, crossed rivers barefoot, and rested to drink bamboo shoots.

The further down the mountain, the more separated I was, not only by noise, deadlines, and my phone. No direct feeding or filters. Nothing but a green canopy and some gibbons’ screams breaking through the hills.

Coming Face To Face With The Locals: Chats On Steaming Bowls

During one of the evenings, I was around a bonfire together with a bunch of natives and two other backpackers. We drank hard, booze that scared our throats, and we told stories that closed the gap between our universes. We met one of the former cave guides, who shared the story of Son Doong, the biggest cave worldwide, and the way it changed his life.

At that moment, I knew that Phong Nha is not only about rocks and river boats. It is about people who coexist with nature rather than exist around it.

Activities in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park

When you manage to decide to run away yourself to this neglected heaven, make sure that you do not forget about:

Visit the National Park

• By boat, visit the Phong Nha caves
• Zip lining and mud-bathing in the Dark Cave
• Check out Paradise Cave and enjoy its size
• Take a nature walk with the local guides across the jungle paths
• Go on a boat on the Son River
• Hire a bike and go discover the countryside
• Explore the history of the place during the war at the Phong Nha Tourism Center

The most suitable time to go to Phong Nha

The best time is the dry season from March to August. Rivers are peaceful, caves are available, and trekking paths are clear. I went there early in May and enjoyed clear skies and warm breezy nights.

The Way to go to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

Take a flight or a train to Dong Hoi. It takes a scenic 40-minute drive to reach the village of Phong Nha. One can easily book the bus and the personal transfers. Shared vans or motorbike rentals are very adventurous and cheap for solo travelers.

The IMPORTANT lesson: Phong Nha IS not a stopover, it is a destination

You go to some places and they leave you with pictures. Some others, such as Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, make your hair stand up.

It is not refined. It is not marketed too much. And possibly that is precisely what can make it magic.

So when you travel and have Vietnam on your map and you decide where to go next, make some days open. Have the caves with you, have the rivers in you, and have the jungle to test you.

Phong Nha does not beg the audience. It is worth it.