Photo by: Getty Images

Getty Images

Son Doong Cave Is So Big It Has Its Own Rainforest

By: Ashley Gabriel

This amazing cave also houses an impressive eco-system.

August 01, 2019

The Son Doong Cave in Vietnam is the largest cave passage in the world. This huge and intricate cave system was created by water that percolated down from a rainforest above, ultimately carving into the rock. Deep inside the cave sits a flourishing jungle, which grows 200 meters below ground level in an area where the cave roof has collapsed. Home to an impressive eco-system with a dangerous system of pathways, this rainforest is quite the destination. To date, only explorers and very few tourists have laid eyes on it. Would you dare to be one of them?

Photo by: Getty Images

Getty Images

An Accidental Discovery

For a cave that's located inside of an UNESCO listed park, Vietnam's Phong Nha-Ke Bang, it's quite shocking that it was first discovered only 3 decades ago - on accident by a local farmer. In 1990, while seeking shelter from a storm in the jungle, Ho Khanh stumbled upon this 3-million-year-old natural wonder and reported it to the British Caving Research Association. Unfortunately, however, Khanh lost track of the cave's exact location and it took almost 2 more decades for Son Doong cave to be rediscovered. Unbelievably, in 2008, Ho Khanh stumbled upon the elusive cave once again! Luckily he remembered the location this time around and experts finally began exploring, eventually determining Son Doong to be the largest cave in the world.

Inside of a Rainforest, Inside of a Cave

Appropriate to its record-breaking size, Son Doong also houses an impressive eco-system. Not only does it have its own localized weather system, but this massive cave is home to the largest stalagmite ever found, nicknamed "Hand of Dog," and a cave floor littered with rare limestone pearls. But all of that isn't even close to everything Son Doong has to offer — this fascinating cave system has its very own rainforest, the Garden of Edam.

With time, collapsed ceilings have created holes called dolines, allowing lush foliage to grow and creating a remote and dangerously inaccessible jungle. Son Doong's rainforest is home to flying foxes and endangered tigers, as well as rare langurs and trees as tall as buildings. On bright days sunbeams stream through the dolines, illuminating carpets of moss below on a section of the cave nicknamed "Watch Out for Dinosaurs." Since 2012, one tour company called Oxalis has been taking a strict number of tourists per year into Son Doong — a treacherous five-day trek that only a lucky few will ever experience.

This article first appeared on Curiosity.com.

Next Up

Want to See Area 51? Tikaboo Peak is the Closest You Can Legally Get

Catch a glimpse of the goings-on at the base from this picturesque view.

Can You Name the New Seven Wonders of the World?

Millions of people voted these magnificent places as the "new" seven wonders of the world.

How to Build the 7 Different Campfires You'll Need This Summer

Learn how to master the flame with one of these fires.

Allegedly, There Is a Secret Underground Alien Base in Dulce, New Mexico

This little town is home to unimaginable experiments and technologies.

The City Of Troy Was Real. The Trojan Horse? Not So Much.

Turns out the epic wooden horse that gave the Greeks their victory was all a myth.

Austria's Grüner See Has A Park That's Underwater All Summer

This emerald-green lake is one of Austria's most beautiful bodies of water.

Jacob's Well Is a Dangerous Natural Wonder

This natural spring has claimed the lives of many divers.

There's A Hidden Beach In Mexico Called Playa del Amor

This exotic beach is invisible from the outside.

North Sentinel Island Is Home to the Last Uncontacted People on Earth

This area is one of the last uncharted places left on the map.