Zipline opens at UNESCO-recognized site in Vietnam
Monday, September 15, 2014, 15:36 GMT+7
A new tourism service has been established at a well-known UNESCO-recognized site in Vietnam, in an effort to attract more tourists, the Vietnamese government said Wednesday on its website.
The management board of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO-recognized site in the central province of Quang Binh, announced the site’s new “zipline” last Tuesday.
Running from the Chay River to Toi (Dark) Cave, the service allows tourists to glide into the cave or plunge into the river by swinging on a modern 400-meter cable line.
Besides diversifying the site’s tourism services, the activity also aims at bringing tourists a new, adventurous experience.
People who choose to try the zipline, which cost VND7 billion (US$331,000), will be guided by a team of well-trained employees to assure their safety.
The Dark Cave, which is nearly 5.3 kilometers long and 80 meters high, is located around 20 kilometers from Phong Nha Cave. The cave was first explored in the 1990s by Howard and Deb Limbert, who were members of the British Cave Research Association.
Along with the Son and Trooc Rivers, the Chay River is among Phong Nha-Ke Bang’s three main underground river systems, which have a total length of 20 kilometers.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, some 500km south of Hanoi, is situated in a 2,000km² limestone zone in Vietnamese territory that borders another, similarly sized limestone zone called Him Namno in Laos.
The region is noted for its over 300 caves and grottos with a total length of over 70km, with 39 new ones discovered earlier this month.
Prior to the discovery of Son Doong Cave in Vietnam, the world’s current largest cave, Phong Nha held several world cave records, as it boasts the longest underground river, as well as the largest caverns and passageways in the world.
The park was listed among UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in 2003 for its immense geological value and rich biodiversity.
En Cave is one of the park’s most resplendent, most visited grottos.
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