The Son Doong Cave in Vietnam is the biggest cave in the world. It’s over 5.5 miles long, has a jungle and river, and could fit a 40-story skyscraper within its walls.
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But nobody knew any of that until about six years ago.
The recently discovered cave has been touted as the largest in the world, although other caves vie for the title of longest (Mammoth Cave in Brownsville, Kentucky nabs that title with about 400 miles of passageways) and deepest (Krubera Cave in the nation of Georgia).
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A local man discovered the cave entrance in 1991, but British cavers were the first to explore it in 2009. Tour company Oxalis has been running trial tours of the cave since two summers ago.
The lucky people who have entered Son Doong so far, like photographer John Spies, have emerged with some amazing photos.
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The man who discovered Son Doong didn’t go in because the entrance he found had too steep a drop. On tours, visitors rappel 80 meters to enter Son Doong.
On their first night inside the cave, visitors camp near Hand of Dog, a humongous stalagmite that looks like a dog’s paw.
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The roof of the cave collapsed centuries ago, allowing a lush jungle to take root. Monkeys and flying foxes live in what explorers named the Garden of Edam.
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Fields of algae from ancient pools blanket parts of the cave’s interior. Son Doong is a jackpot of rare cave pearls. The pearls form over hundreds of years as water drips down, dries up and leaves layers of calcite crystals on grains of sand.
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Scientists have discovered never-before-seen plant species around Son Doong’s waterfalls. Oh, and there’s a whole river in there, too.
Photos by John Spies and Carsten Peters/Getty Images.
I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to
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understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia.
I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine.
I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan"
I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy
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