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Sep 12, 2018 / 10:50

Son Doong Cave welcomes 873 visitors in Jan-Aug

The Son Doong tour will be closed from September to December 2018 for restoration of cave ecosystem.

The number of tourists to Son Doong Cave in the first eight months of 2018 is estimated at 873. Of the total, 290 people came from the US, followed by 154 people from Vietnam, 76 people from Australia, according to Oxalis, the travel agency that hosts the tour.
 
Son Doong Cave. Photo: CNN
Son Doong Cave. Photo: CNN
The Son Doong tour will be closed from September to December 2018 for restoration of the cave ecosystem and set to reopen from January, 2019. The Son Doong tour has begun to receive bookings from July this year until 2020. According to Oxalis, the travel agency that hosts the tour, there are still many slots left.
The tour to the largest cave in the world has reduced its original duration of six days and five nights to four days and three nights, and the number of tourists allowed has been doubled.
In this US$3,000 tour price, 10% of tax is already included, US$660 is the environmental service fee that will be transferred to the management board of the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park.
Earlier, the Son Doong Cave has been recognized the largest of its kind in the world by three international organizations, including Guinness (based in the UK), the Association World Record (based in Hong Kong) and WorldKings (based in the US and India).
The cave is located in the heart of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province. It was discovered by a local in 1991. It was first explored in 2009 by the British Cave Research Association and has been open to the public since 2013.
The 1,645m-long cave system, which extends through a mountain, was named one of the most captivating caves on earth by National Geographic.