Each January, the editors of the newspaper’s Travel section publish their Places to Go issue. This year, Quang Binh was ranked the eighth among 52 places, thanks to its Son Doong Cave – one of the world’s largest caves which is now, for the first time, accessible to tourists.
As described by the New York Times, huge shafts of light penetrate Son Doong’s vast caverns, allowing forests of 100-foot-tall trees to thrive in spaces big enough to accommodate 40-story skyscrapers. Colossal 260-foot stalactites are also present. Monkeys, hornbills and flying foxes have all been spotted in this surreal habitat, first fully explored in 2009.
While trips into Son Doong are limited in number (only 220 permits for the year) and only available to visitors with deep pockets (over US$6,000 per trip), the nearby and more affordable Tu Lan Cave is also now open to adventurous travelers, according to the Times.
Son Doong, which is 150 meters high and 200 meters wide, became known worldwide in 2009 when it was explored by members of British Cave Research Association led by Howard Limbert and his wife Deb Limbert, guided by local resident Ho Khanh.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/01/10/travel/2014-places-to-go.html
