Swinging and rowing to explore the 'underground palace' in Lang Son

Mong Bong Cave (in Vu Le commune, Bac Son district, Lang Son province) is located on the tourist route of Lang Son Geopark No. 02. Lang Son Geopark stretches through districts and cities such as Bac Son, Chi Lang, Huu Lung district, Lang Son city, etc., with a total area of nearly 4,900km2. In September 2024, Lang Son Geopark will be recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark. For more than 8 hours in the cave, the group moved through many terrains: Trekking to admire the magnificent stalactite system; immerse yourself in crystal clear calcium pools; swimming in underground rivers; dive through secret cracks in the ground to reach Phoenix Cave (Thai Nguyen). Before this expedition, the members of the delegation also had a 1-day experience of 120m adventurous rope swinging, conquering the "Yen Son gate of heaven" (also known as Hong Cave, located in Yen Son commune, Huu Lung district, Lang Son province). To reach the mouth of Mong Bong cave, the expedition team had to trek through trails, heading deep into the forest. The cave has a quite special location. The cave entrance is a small crack of a limestone mountain block with a diameter of about 60cm, only one person can enter, located in Mong Bong village, Vu Le commune, Bac Son district, Lang Son. And the exit is Suoi Mo Ga cave in Phu Thuong commune, Vo Nhai district, Thai Nguyen province.  To enter the cave, visitors need to use harnesses and safety belts. Passing through the cave entrance is a hole about 3m deep. Entering another 20m is a deep wall, visitors have to use a rope to swing down 60m to reach the cave floor where they can walk. After about 2 hours of travel, the members stopped for lunch in the cave and then continued trekking, swimming about 3km through the cave. The cave is like a palace with all kinds of unique terrain. Visitors have to swing, swim, even crawl on the ground or paddle SUP to be able to move through different specific areas. Mold Bong is a very beautiful cave with a natural fossil and stalactite structure, there are many small lakes and waterfalls flowing vertically and in the shape of a ladder in the cave, converging a variety of elements for adventure tourism and cave exploration. At the end of the cave, the stalactite system is diverse and intact, so there is a lot of potential to exploit and develop adventure tourism," Mr. Manh said. It is expected that Lang Son Geopark will be exploited for tourism along 4 routes with 38 destinations. The journey to explore the routes mainly passes through the axis of National Highways 1A, 1B, 4B and 279. Each route has from 7 to 11 attractions with diverse experiences.  Photo: Vietnam Expeditions Source: VNN