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Phong Nha caves
 The
world's longest underground river winds through
Vietnam's Phong Nha (Phongnha) cave system, the name of which translates as " The
wind's fang". Entering this cave is like venturing into the
mouth of a giant beast, all the more mysterious since the cave rings
with strange noise. Locals say it is music from a banquet hosted by
the mountain God, but the acoustic tricks are actually echoes, which
bounce off the limestone cliffs of the cave.
Shaped
like a tube with a roof curved like the hull of a boat, this cave
has acoustics properties similar to those of the fingal cave in
Scotland, most importantly, all the primitive stone caves were preserved in
their original form. Thus, visitors almost feel like they are going on
a trip to the center of the earth.
The Son River
flows into the mouth of the cave and continues underground, where it is known as the Nam Aki River. It emerges 20 km to the south near Pu-Pha-Dam Mountain.
Phong Nha Caves, also called Troc Caves, lie in the limestone cliffs of Ke Bang in
Quang Binh province, 50
km northwest of
Dong Hoi
town. Like most of the caves in this area, the
Phong
Nha
Caves
were shaped by the
Chai
River
. The farther  onne
gets inside the
Phong
Nha
Caves
, the more illusory the stalactites and stalagmites look as they
glitter when bright light is shone on them.
The
main cave system contains 14 chambers, linked by an underwater river
that runs for 1.5km. 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.
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