Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park was nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. It is home to the oldest karst mountains in Asia as well as largest cave in the world by volume – the expansive Hang Sơn Đoòng cave. The most popular and easily accessible caves in this area are: Phong Nha Cave, Paradise Cave, and Black Cave. You can visit all 3 on your own without hiring a tour guide.
In this post, I will share my experience on Paradise Cave and all the information you should know before exploring this beautiful cave!
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What is Paradise Cave?
Locally known as Thien Duong Cave, Paradise Cave is a beautiful wonder houses magnificent beauty of stalactites and stalagmites that will have your creative mind spinning. With a length of 31.4-kilometers and a height of 60-meters, it is the longest dry cave with the longest wooden bridge in Asia. Paradise Cave was a recent discovery in 2005 by a local man and further explored by the British Cave Research Association. It became accessible to the public in 2010, but only first 1-kilometer can be explored without a guide. However, if you take an official guided tour you can explore further for another 7-kilometers.
Getting to Paradise Cave
Motorbike: From Phong Nha village, it’s about an hour ride to Paradise Cave. Going by motorbike will give you incredible views of the surrounding nature and mountains of the area.
Taxi/Private Car: You can book a driver through you’re accommodation who will take you, wait, and bring you back to town for a set rate. Otherwise, you call use Grab bike/car.
Group Tour: There are many tours agency in Phong Nha village to all the large caves. You can choose to do a single cave tour, or make it part of a tour package with other activites. Booking this is easy through your guesthouse/hostels, or by using Klook.
Best time to explore Paradise Cave
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is situated in region of the high rainfall with an average of 2,000 mm to 2,500 mm per year. The rainy and typhoon season is from July to December with highest rainfall during September, October and November. The dry season is from January to June but temperature can be unbearable. Therefore, the ideal period to visit the cave is from February to August.
Tickets information
Entrance Fees
The entrance fee to the Paradise Cave is 250,000 VND (US$10.70). You can buy tickets on the site on the day, just make sure to have some cash with you. There will be additional parking fee of 5,000 VND if you ride a bike there.
From the ticket counter, it is a 10-minutes flat walk follow by another 15-minutes up a ramp that zig zags its way to the top. You can top-up another 60,000 VND (US$2.60) to take a buggy ride straight to the ramp.
If you’re interested in the Ultimate Paradise Cave tour – US$115
For info and to book check out Phong Nha Discovery.
Opening Hours
Paradise Cave is open daily from 7:00 a.m to 4:30 p.m. I recommend visiting the cave as early as you can to avoid crowds from tour groups.
Inside the cave
Being inside the cave feels as if you’ve just landed on the moon and you can’t help but marvel at its massiveness and the power of nature. There are stalactites and stalagmites all around with many formations. Even though i only did 1-kilometer of the cave, it’s enough to impress me to come back next time to explore another 7-kilometers!
Lastly, if you want to keep a track of all my photos and travels, remember to follow @wanderrsaurus on Instagram!
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