About Phong Nha

Phong Nha-Ke Bang (Vietnamese: Vuon quoc gia Phong Nha-Ke Bang) is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Bo Trach and Minh Hoa districts of central Quang Binh Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam, about 500 km south of Hanoi. The park borders the Hin Namno National Park in Khammouane Province, Laos to the west and 42 km east of the South China Sea from its borderline point.

The National Park Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is in a limestone zone of 2,000 km2 in Vietnamese territory and borders another limestone zone of 2,000 km2 of Hin Namno in Laotian territory. The core zone of this national park covers 857.54 km2 and a buffer zone of 1,954 km2.

The park was created to protect one of the world's two largest karst regions with 300 caves and grottoes and also protects the ecosystem of limestone forest of the Annamite Range region in North Central Coast of Vietnam. The park derives its name from Phong Nha Cave, containing many rock formations, and Ke Bang forest. The plateau on which the park rests is one of the finest and most distinctive examples of a complex karst landform in Southeast Asia. This national park was listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in 2003 for its geological values. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is one of the world's two largest limestone regions. In comparison with 41 other world heritage sites which have karsts, Phong Nha has dissimilar geomorphic, geologic and biotic conditions. The karsts of Phong Nha can be traced back to Palaeozoic era, 400 million years ago. This makes Phong Nha the oldest major karst in Asia.

Caves and grottos Phong Nha-Ke Bang is noted for its cave and grotto systems as it is composed of 300 caves and grottos. A 2009 survey brought the total discovered length of the cave system to about 126 km, with many areas still not well explored. Son Doong Cave, which was discovered in 2009 by British and Vietnamese explorers, is considered the largest cave in the world. Even before this discovery, Phong Nha held several world cave records, including the longest river as well as the largest combined caverns and passageways. The cave, from which the name to the whole system and the park is derived, is famous for its rock formations which have been given names such as the "Lion", the "Fairy Caves", the "Royal Court", and the "Buddha". This cave is 7729 m long, contains 14 grottos, with a 13,969 m-long underground river. The scientists have surveyed 44.5 km of grottos in this cave so far, but tourists can only penetrate to a distance of 1500 m.

Phong Nha Cave, like most of the caves in this area, has been continuously shaped by the Chay River. As one gets farther into the cave, the more illusory the stalactites and stalagmites look as they glitter when bright light is shone on them. The Son River flows into the mouth of the cave and keeps flowing underground, where it is referred to as the Nam Aki River, then this river emerges at a site 20 km to the south near Pu Pha Dam Mountain. The main Phong Nha cave includes 14 chambers, connected by an underwater river that runs for 1.5 km. Secondary corridors branch off in all directions. The Outer Cave and some of the Inner Caves have roofs that tower between 25 and 40 meters above the water level. From the 14th chamber there may be other corridors leading to similarly large chambers, but this area proves more dangerous for explorers because of the ongoing erosion of the limestone of the cavern. The Shallow Cave is located 800 meters from the cave mouth, where there is a spectacular landscape of sand and rock. Stalactites and stalagmites jut out like strange trees, exciting visitor's imaginations.

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About Greenfield Ecostay

We are situated in the middle of beautiful green rice fields with stunning views of the nearby mountains (watch the sun go down over the hills!) and about 500 meters away from the local village market. The Greenfield Ecostay is located between Phong Nha Town (5 km) and scenic Bong Lai valley (2 km) and only a few hundred meters from the Son river. Admire the idyllic surroundings and scenery, enjoy the quietness of the place and breath-in nothing but fresh air!

As an Ecostay we are using sustainable techniques and organic food from our vegetable garden. We offer breakfast and dinner at Greenfield Ecostay.

There are bicycles and scooters for rent to use during your stay with us. We're more than happy to help you with booking local tours or getting to your next destination. The infinity pool is the perfect place for a refreshing swim after a day of visits, or just the ideal area to relax when you want to take it easy. Our bar, overlooking the swimming pool and flower garden, is the ideal place to have a great view of the National Park's hills.

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Quang Binh

The Vietnamese newspaper VN Express recently published an article about Quang Binh province. Click on the picture above to read the article.

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