Two local travel bloggers, Quy Coc Tu (Ngo Tran Hai An) and Duong Vu, went on an expedition tour to Hang Va (Va Cave), which features a diverse range of stunning stalactites and stalagmites in Quang Binh Province, north-central Vietnam.

With a total length of 1.7 kilometers, Va Cave is part of the cavern system found in the UNESCO-listed Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. 

The cave is some 50 meters away from the exit of Son Doong Cave, which is considered the world’s largest known cave.

Va Cave is home to numerous cone-shaped, unique, and strikingly beautiful stalactites.

When the rainy season ends, rainwater seeps into the ground and through underground waterways to enter the cave, forming extremely unique underground waterfalls over time.

Quy Coc Tu, who joined many expeditions to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, decided to embark on the Va Cave expedition after being told that a series of spectacular waterfalls just appeared deep inside the grotto.

“Imagine bathing under those waterfalls in the million-year-old cave! It’s like magic,” he said.

For convenience during an expedition tour, each caver is recommended to carry baggage weighing no more than seven kilograms.

Quy Coc Tu, meanwhile, had to carry nearly 20 kilograms of equipment along with him, in addition to other types of lights to photograph the cave.

“It’s lucky that other cavers gave me a helping hand [to carry the equipment],” he recalled. 

Crossing jungles, swimming through rivers to reach Va Cave

His 10-guest Va Cave tour had one tour guide, safety assistants, porters, and one chef.

To reach Va Cave, the cavers firstly walked through jungles and arrived at the entrance of the cave at noon, from which they began wearing harnesses to move downward to the grotto.

They then swam and waded in crystal-clear yet bitterly cold water to reach their destination at the end of the cave.

Along their way, they were many times amazed by the surreal beauty of water dripping through the cave ceiling which formed million-year-old stalactites shining brilliantly like diamonds.

It required enormous efforts of the photographer to capture the most stunning photos of the cave formations, including finding appropriate spots to set up photography lights and cameras to avoid affecting the caving ecosystem, he said.

The travel blogger also had to shoot constant photos to capture a precious moment of two drops of water falling concurrently from the cave ceiling.

Aside from taking the magnificent photos of the cave, he photographed rare species of flora and fauna in the cave, such as mushrooms and insects of various types.

Some flora and fauna species in Va Cave in Quang Binh Province, as captured by photographer Ngo Tran Hai An:

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