Phong Nha - the long journey of the country

The Long March of Water
Phong Nha is a river cave, part of a water cave system that is more than 79km long, with Phong Nha alone being nearly ten kilometers long. It is a cave that some scientists like Le Quy Don had mentioned in the past, and the French also discovered it by torchlight exploration in the first few dozen meters. This cave really showed off when in the 90s of the 20th century, the British Royal Cave Expedition set foot to explore and they were truly amazed by its magnificence, more magnificent than any other cave in the world.

Water creates the majestic Phong Nha cave wall

Nowadays, people are searching for other famous caves, but Phong Nha still holds many secrets that have not been fully discovered. One of those mysteries is that many people wonder why in the exploration of the “mysterious depths” there are many eroded rocks shaped like evenly-sized tea cups as if they were meticulously chiseled and polished by a stone carver. There are dense rocks with cups that are all in harmony. There are places where the rocks are carved into thin lines like strangely sharp sword blades.

Exploring the “mysterious depths” deep into the cave with local explorers, we were equipped with LED lights, seeing the shapes of those “cup” holes was amazing. No human hand made tens of thousands of “cup” holes like that, but they were created by the long march of water. It was the water that eroded the rock.

The fluidity of the water creates stalactites inside the lake section hanging above the cave.

How many questions have been raised and wondered why water, so flexible and soft, can create such magical shapes? Experts explain that the flexibility of water is also the strength of this soft substance, and that softness has created the extraordinary attractive power that our ancestors once concluded "first water, second fire".

We often jokingly call it the wisdom of nature or the intelligence of water. That is the extreme power of water when it turns softness into submission. Floods are like a master of carving, it creates the mysterious legend of Phong Nha that the deeper you go, the more sophisticated it becomes beyond human imagination and description. That is the story of a legend in Phong Nha that we discovered, floods can destroy villages, but also create the masterpiece of Phong Nha - a part of the great heritage that is respectfully recognized by the world .

Magnificent new contemplations

Many people believe that Phong Nha cave has been fully explored , however, the space inside still holds many mysteries. New discoveries of the cave chambers inside and 2 hanging lakes inside the cave prove the opposite, which are considered new insights into this magnificent cave. Entering Huyen Khong cave, people witness the stalactite curtain architecture on both sides of the cave wall, more than 50m long and up to 20m high, bringing strange surprises. A stalactite curtain seems to hang loosely on the wall with many elaborate blocks, on which are dotted countless small bamboo shoots like a fairy world with many vivid senses.

Small people in Phong Nha cave

Going deeper, a giant stalactite stands alone in the middle of a large cave. This stalactite is hundreds of millions of years old. The stalactites are clearly visible under the LED light, countless veins tightly woven by old calcium, its shape becomes more and more beautiful thanks to the addition of countless water jets from the cave ceiling and humid air. Looking at this great stalactite, people think it is exactly like the linga symbol, created from calcium-rich water drops over hundreds of millions of years to have the giant shape it has today.

Next to the stalactite block about 30m are two other very majestic stalactite towers, they are likened to the famous twin towers of Malaysia. In mid-2012, the local survey team discovered 2 hanging lakes decorating the cave. One small lake is about 70m2 ^, the other is larger about 300m2 ^. On the edge of the hanging lake are many slender stalactites and concave and convex holes which are sediments left by floods that have carved deep into the rock. This proves that the water flow is very strong, it is so strong that even the rock has to be defeated by erosion.

Hanging lake inside Phong Nha cave

Water is also the soul of life in Phong Nha cave. The underground river here is nearly ten kilometers long. In the past, the river was a fishing ground for the locals. Since becoming a heritage site, the fish in the cave have been preserved, no one can enter to catch them. The fish species hidden deep in the underground river, adapted to the darkness, if they can be seen, the LED light will make their eyes pop. Especially abundant here are the grass carp and eel, there are natural grass carp individuals up to 25kg. Phong Nha eels are so numerous that when the sun sets behind the mountains and tourists leave, schools compete to splash around, creating a very bustling space inside the cave. In the river here, species of sea bass, purple mullet... appear every late afternoon.

Fish in Phong Nha do not need eyes

Inside the cave, scientists also found invertebrates, they do not live by eyes but by antennae and legs with structures that sense surrounding vibrations to avoid predators and find prey. The blind scorpion was discovered here with a new species identity, further showing that Phong Nha space has many mysteries. The attraction of this cave, in addition to its magnificent beauty, is also a place that contains knowledge about geomorphology as well as zoology.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/phong-nha-cuoc-truong-chinh-cua-nuoc-post800675.html