Posted on 09/16/2014 8:13:52 AM PDT by BenLurkin
In 1991, a local farmer by the name of Ho Khanh was walking along a stretch of lush forest within the heart of the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province, near the border between Laos and Vietnam....when suddenly the jungle floor opened up beneath him and Mr. Khanh only barely managed to hold on as the ground crumbled beneath him.... By pure chance and blind luck, this man had discovered an entrance that had remained hidden from man for millions of years into what would turn out to be the largest cave in the world, a behemoth five times larger than the largest known cave at the time.
...
It was not until 2009 that members of the British Cave Research Association undertook an expedition to penetrate into the mysterious jungle cavern and explore the darkness below.
...
Using ropes and harnesses, the team rappelled down a 260 foot vertical drop before they finally reached the bottom...Upon reaching the bottom, the team did not get far before they came up against a 200 foot wall of muddy calcite, which they called The Great Wall of Vietnam, that prevented any further progress.
In 2010, the frustrated team was finally able to traverse the enormous wall and continue their journey. What they found within thoroughly amazed all present; an alien world the likes of which none of the experienced cavers had ever seen. The cave, now known as Son Doong Cave, or the cave of the mountain river was far larger than anyone had ever imagined. The largest cavern stretched for over 5 km (about 3 miles), was 650 feet wide, and had walls that soared upwards over 200 m (656 feet), high enough to comfortably fit a modern day skyscraper.
(Excerpt) Read more at mysteriousuniverse.org ...
pics at the link
OMG! He didn’t cause the release of trapped see-uh-O2 did he? Amazingly, there’s still stuff right here on gaia that we don’t know a thing about.
Was there a date etched into the cave, something like "Cave, built 2 million bc by little people from No China, with parts made in Japan"
Or are just guessing an a wild effort to sound smarter than they average McDonalds manager for the day.
watch out for the Horta!
“No Kill I”
Amazing cave.
Like something out of a Niven novel
Thank you!
By pure chance and blind luck, this man had discovered an entrance that had remained hidden from man...
...
From the pictures it looks like there are multiple entrances, some huge. I find it hard to believe that nobody knew about them.
Sounds like this is a remote area. Maybe one of our FReeper VietNam vets knows something about the vicinity.
All in all though, I tend to agree with you. Somebody must have fallen in at one time or another.
Thanks for posting this...what a fantastic place! Beauty and mystery all in one.
Brilliant! Was unaware of it’s existence, thanks for the link!
Wow! Just Wow!
If someone finds a plain golden ring, they need to keep it secret, keep it safe.
I wonder if they found any mynochs in there.
The article says that the locals were spooked by the strange roaring noises (river rapids) and "eerie mist" and stayed clear of the place.
“Somebody must have fallen in at one time or another.”
Maybe, but dead men tell no tales.
“How can they say there is no God when all around creation calls”
Thanks for posting. I read some other articles about this cave, but this one is the best so far.
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