Inside The World's Biggest Cave System | eBaum's World

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Inside The World's Biggest Cave System

Taking spelunking to a whole new level.

By Nathan Johnson

Published 10 years ago

Taking spelunking to a whole new level.

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The huge temperature difference creates moving clouds of mist, especially near the two karst windows, which gives the cave its magically surreal atmosphere.

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A caver sits inside the Hang Son Doong cave in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam.

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A caver stands near the entrance of the Hang Son Doong cave in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam.

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Taking a rest inside the huge cave.

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A caver stands outside one of the entrance of the Hang Son Doong cave in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam.

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A water body inside the Hang Son Doong cave.

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Cavers near one of the entrances of the Hang Son Doong cave.

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A caver at the entrance of the Hang Son Doong cave in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam.

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Cavers gather around their site for a rest.

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John Spies: I have spent many nights camped deep inside dark caves and it makes you feels very vulnerable, being so far from light. With our cave camps set on sandy beaches near the karst windows, it is easy to forget you are many kilometres underground."

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Photographer John Spies: "There are some sections you could safely jog through. However, there are some more challenging sections where you cross massive boulder-piles and pass under house-sized chunks of limestone.

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But this is no easy trip and visitors have to be physically fit and able to cope with the demanding conditions inside.

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A torch-wielding man casts a tiny shadow as he stands in the vastness of the world's biggest cave, the Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam.

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It was formed between 2 and 5 million years ago by river water eroding away limestone underneath the mountain above.

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The cave is five times the size of Malaysia's Deer Cave, which previously held the title of the world's biggest cave.

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The cave tours are run by Ho Khanh, a local farmer who officially discovered the cave entrance in 1991.

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Photographer John Spies: "It is amazing to be 3-4km inside the cave and have daylight illuminate the cave formations. The dimensions of the cave are incredible - and to camp for five nights in the biggest cave in the world is not something most of get to do in our lifetime."

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A river flows through the Hang Son Doong cave.

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The entrance to the cave is quite small, and mist from the cave, caused by the cooler air inside meeting the hot air outside, rises into the surrounding forest. Visitors must descend 260 feet down a steep wall with the use of harnesses and ropes.

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British cavers first entered Hang Son Doong in 2009 but it has only been open to tourists since late last year.

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"With ceilings towering over 200 meters high in places, the cave is a humbling and belittling experience," said John, who has lived in Thailand since 1977 and runs the Cave Lodge guesthouse.

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Australian photographer John Spies spent a week photographing the natural wonder and the handful of tourists who pay up to 3300 each to marvel at its beauty.

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At more than 650 feet high, almost 200 feet wide and 3.1 miles long, the Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam is so big it has its own river, jungle and climate.

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