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Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, Son Doong Cave among world’s most beautiful places

Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, Son Doong Cave among world’s most beautiful places

Thursday, December 11, 2014, 18:06 GMT+7

Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay and Son Doong Cave have been listed among the world’s 10 most beautiful places to visit by a website specializing in providing travel tips and inspiration, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said Wednesday on its website.

Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh and Son Doong Cave in the central region ranked third and seventh on the list of the 10 most breathtakingly beautiful places on the planet, respectively, compiled by British website Globalgrasshopper.

“Located 165 km from Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, Ha Long Bay is an area comprising 1,600 islands and islets. The majority of these land masses has not been touched by humans and has managed to retain their beauty since their creation,” the site said about the Vietnamese bay.

“It is interesting to note that in the past, Ha Long Bay has been [sic] a theater of war and many naval battles were fought there,” it added and showcased a flashy photo in which the World Heritage Site was covered by a mysterious, stunning purple light at sunset.

Besides UNESCO recognition, the bay has also received other titles and is among the most popular travel destinations in the Southeast Asian country.

In February this year, it was chosen as one of the Top 10 Valentine’s Day Retreats, among other romantic destinations around the world, by National Geographic’s book “Four Seasons of Travel” and was described as “a vision of astonishing beauty.”

On June 5, Ha Long Bay ranked fourth among the top eight green spaces and national parks with an average mark of 4.23 out of 5, as graded by world-renowned hotel booking website Agoda.com.

It was also selected as a natural wonder of the world in the New 7 Wonders poll in 2012.

In describing Son Doong Cave, Globalgrasshopper said: “For centuries, men have mulled upon the existence of hollow Earth – a theory that states that the Earth is hollow. If hollow Earth did exist, than the Hang Son Doong caves would be a testament to its existence. The caves are so large that humans exploring them would look like ants.”

The cave, which has a large fast-flowing underground river inside, was found by a local resident named Ho Khanh in 1991.

It became famous after a group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, which was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in April 2009, in Quang Binh Province.

According to Limbert, Son Doong Cave is five times larger than Phong Nha Cave, which was once considered the biggest cave in Vietnam. The largest chamber of Son Doong is more than five kilometers long, 200 meters high, and 150 meters wide.

With such large dimensions, Son Doong has overtaken Deer Cave in Malaysia as the world's largest cave.

Besides Ha Long Bay and Son Doong Cave, other places on Globalgrasshopper’s list include Fiordland National Park in New Zealand, Vaadhoo Islands of the Republic of the Maldives, and Antelope Canyon in the U.S.

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