To be one of UNESCO World Heritage Wonders, Phong Nha National Park is really a speleologists’ heaven on earth because of its beauty.
Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park contains the oldest limestone mountain in Asia, which was formed about 400 million years ago. Besides, there are over hundreds of cave systems – many heroic scale and time – and the spectacular underground rivers.
Location and acreage
Located in the North Truong Son ecosystem, Central Vietnam, The Phong Nha Nature Reserve with an area of 50 km2 was officially declared by the Vietnamese government on 9 August 1986 and was extended to 411.32 km2 by 1991. The purpose of this protected area is to protect forest resources, biodiversity within the boundary of this national park and to preserve scientific values of fauna and flora. The park covers a total area of 857.54 km2 which are divided into three zones, a “strictly protected zone” (648.94 km2), an “ecological recovery zone” (174.49 km2), and an “administrative service zone” (34.11 km2).
Ecosystem diversity
Phong Nha- Ke Bang World Heritage Site is the largest nature reserve in Vietnam. About 84 percent of its area is covered by humid tropical primary forest on limestone. The high biodiversity of fauna is proved with the existence of 464 species of invertebrate and 825 species of vertebrate belonging to 489 genus, 151 families and 40 orders. Three of the newly discovered animals are amphibian species and another 15.The park is the habitat of two new bird species (Pycnonotus hualon, Phylloscopus calciatilis). Five new species of arachnids consist of Paradise scorpions, Vietnam scorpions and other three spider species.
The Park is also a home of 2,935 species of flora which are in 1,002 families and 198 genus. The feature of the park is the richest biodiversity in Vietnam. Especially, 28 new species have been found here recently, including 25 animal species and three plant species of which 2 narrow endemic species only exist in Phong Nha – Ke Bang.
Tourist activities
The number of tourists has increased dramatically since the park was listed in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Quang Binh Province has invested in upgrading the Phong Nha-Ke bang visitor site to turn it into one of Vietnam’s major tourist destinations.
Explore Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, tourists are organized by local travel agencies following these activities:
• Tour for expedition of caves and grottos in boats and with professional cave expedition means.
• Ecotourism, discovering the flora and fauna in this national park in the Ke Bang Forest.
• Mountain climbing, trekking…
