Discovering The New "Son Doong" Cave In A Ba Be Trip

Tham Phay Cave is a new water cave in Hoang Tri Commune, Ba Be District, Bac Kan Province. Newly discovered, the cave still looks wild, mysterious with beautiful stalactite marvels.

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 1

Our group has 2 cars, 3 motorbikes and 13 members (including 3 girls) as everyone is so eager to discover this new and mysterious cave.

The cave pouring out to the Ba Be Lake system. Through the cave entrance, the group caught the stream flowing deep down from the cave, the water is very clear and cold but has a very swift flow. It is the last time before the upcoming rainy season that we can explore this mysterious cave.

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 2

Took at least millenniums that nature can create new stalactites like this. Inside the cave, the air humidity is very high so we do not feel thirsty, but it will be very harmful to electronic devices such as cameras, lights ... So all of them must be water-resistant so double check carefully before venturing into the cave.

 To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 3

A live cricket inside the cave. After passing a long distance, the group even has to dive together through a small hole in order to get into a large space, an area of approx. 300 m2, with the sun is shining down. It turns out that there is a light well, above the dense forest and trees.

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 4

Catching water from stone filaments as we never touch these stone filaments and stalactites in the cave, because sweat can affect the process of creating these beautiful natural stalactites.

Often during the cave exploration, our group will prioritize the main branches or follow the cave branches with water and all the main axis before heading to the sub branches of the cave. The two branches in the front are large and have the water streams, so the group decides to go inside the left side first.

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 6

Deep inside, we encountered a huge stone reflector, beneath is the countless strands of stone glittering beautifully.

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 7

Research of "stone filaments” specialties in the water cave.

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 8

After a long and deep tunnel, we have to crawl on a rock but still have to carry a bag of full equipment.

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 9

Stalactites under the light of the explorers.

Crawling through the low section, we encountered a wide space to rest and decided to have lunch. Some members went ahead to find the way.

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 12

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 10

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 14

We continue to explore the remaining branches, the road is also deep and there were many difficult branches. Exploring has been the most interesting thing because we do not know what awaits us ahead - sometimes difficult, even dangerous, or some beautiful scenes that dazzle us! We went to the light well to be the last discovery point after 8 hours of observation. The whole team opened the champagne for celebration, then collected all the garbage and finished our wonderful discovery.

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 11

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 13

To da, nhu da hang chuc nghin nam trong hang 'Son Doong cua Ba Be' hinh anh 15

Location of Tham Phay Cave in Hoang Tri commune (red marking), Ba Be district, Bac Kan province.

Photos: Google Maps & Internet