Howard Limbert: Quang Binh still has many undiscovered things

(QBĐT) - With more than 30 years of deep attachment to Quang Binh, Mr. Howard Limbert and his colleagues from the British Royal Cave Research Association (BCRA) have explored and researched more than 300 large and small caves, contributing to the development of Quang Binh tourism. That journey has not stopped yet. Their feet are still tirelessly following trips into the forest, searching for caves in Quang Binh.

In late March, information about a cave system recently discovered by BCRA in Tuyen Hoa and Minh Hoa districts has sparked hope for a future of tourism development, creating jobs for people in these poor localities.

- Most of the hundreds of caves found in Quang Binh were discovered by local people who went into the forest and reported back. What about the recent caves?

- This survey trip by scientists from England, Australia, and New Zealand lasted 3 weeks, divided into 3 phases. We searched in Minh Hoa and Tuyen Hoa areas with the support of a few guides in Phong Nha. Some of them had friends living there.

Exploring newly discovered caves in Tuyen Hoa district. (Photo: BCRA)

This person is a fisherman and often fishes inside caves. After hearing about the new caves from him, we decided to go and explore them right away. We found many caves in Lam Hoa commune (Tuyen Hoa), Hoa Son and Hoa Phuc communes (Minh Hoa). This time, BCRA also discovered 2 more caves in Bo Trach district, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (PN-KB National Park). The total number of caves explored during this expedition is 22 with a total length of 11.7km.i

- That's a very impressive result! And surely these trips will continue?

- Yes! There is a 278m deep cave with a waterfall flowing down and it is definitely deeper but we don’t have enough rope to get to the bottom. So we will go back there to survey. And there are still many caves to explore in Lam Hoa (Tuyen Hoa).

- Surely Lam Hoa has brought many interesting things to the experts?

- Extremely interesting. We had 14 days to survey the caves in this area. Around a mountainous area between Lam Hoa and Hoa Phuc communes, we found 11 large and small caves with a total length of more than 10km. And there will certainly be more than that number. That means there will be a lot of work for us to do and research here.

Tectonics inside the new cave (Photo: BCRA)

- Compared to hundreds of previously discovered caves, what is special about the geology and geomorphology of these new caves?

- These are quite young caves and mostly wet caves. They are small but quite interesting, especially compared to many caves we have found in Quang Binh. While Son Doong, Hang En and many other caves have only one main entrance, this new cave system has many different entrances. Some caves are connected, creating many horizontal passages, making the journey around inside very interesting.

- What about the construction?

- There are some parts of the passages that are not completely flooded, they have very beautiful structures. It would be interesting to explore them by sup boat.

- Interesting but in your opinion, are they suitable for tourism exploitation?

- There are many caves that are completely unsuitable for tourism. But there are some caves that we believe from experience will be very interesting for tourists to explore. Unlike Hang En or Son Doong, these caves will be very suitable for the experience of SUP rowing inside the cave. I think those will be great exploration trips. However, before organizing tours, we need to research and carefully check the safety, ceiling height, flow... We want to go back to that area to make suggestions about which caves can exploit tourism activities, such as: Camping in the cave, organizing 1, 2 or 3 day tours.

However, I also hope that Quang Binh can enrich its tourism products, not just stop at cave exploration, but let visitors come here to experience many other activities, such as: Kayaking, cycling, mountain climbing, trekking. We have enough potential to do that.

British Cave Research Association (BCRA) expeditions are always supported by local people. (Photo: BCRA)

- But to exploit tourism, potential alone is not enough!

- Of course! Exploiting the potential for tourism development must be associated with safety, conservation, environmental protection and the participation of local communities. If you do not have the local community on your side, creating jobs for them, providing them with a livelihood, then you certainly will not be successful.

For the caves we have just discovered, if they are put into tourism exploitation, it will create more jobs for the people here. But that is not something that can be done immediately, it takes time, from setting up, building tours to training and coaching them. After 3 weeks of working with the people here, I believe they will be great companions for tourists. Because there is nothing more interesting than going into the forest with someone who knows about the forest.

- Based on your experience researching caves around the world, how do you evaluate the value of the cave system in Quang Binh?

- Do you know how lucky you are? Because in England, the temperature in the cave is only 5oC, no one wants to go there. But the cave in Quang Binh is 22oC, very suitable for exploring and experiencing activities. And moreover, there is no place in the world that can compare to Quang Binh in terms of cave size, especially in the PN-KB National Park area, where there is En Cave, Son Doong Cave...

Interesting formations inside the new caves (Photo: BCRA)

Some provinces in Vietnam have also discovered many beautiful caves, such as: Lang Son, Cao Bang, Thanh Hoa... The caves in North Central and Northern Vietnam are as beautiful as anywhere else, if not the most beautiful in the world.

- The most beautiful in the world?

- Yes! I'm sure of it. It's not that I'm biased, I'm completely objective. (laughs)

- Do you think there will be an undiscovered cave in the world that is of similar value or even better than Son Doong?

- I don't think there's anything like Son Doong in the world because it's really special. And usually caves that are this big have already been explored because it's not hard to find.

- What about in Vietnam?

- In Vietnam, this is the most likely area, because there are still so many things that have not been discovered. Up to 70% of the area of PNKB National Park we have never set foot on and searched for caves because it is too large and very remote. Looking at the map, based on geology, I would say no. But you can never say no to caves. And interesting things are waiting for us ahead.

Mr. Howard Limbert talks with Quang Binh Newspaper reporter.

- What are your plans for the near future?

- In the near future, around May or June, we will work with representatives of PN-KB National Park to work with national parks in the UK to share how to operate and develop the value of national parks. After that, I want to return to Lam Hoa to continue my research work.

- You once shared that you wanted to have Vietnamese nationality. Has that plan been successful?

- I have applied for Vietnamese citizenship but encountered some problems. However, I will not give up on that idea.

- Thank you for sharing this interesting information! Wishing you good health and more success!

Dieu Huong ( performed )

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