Vietnam’s Son Doong Cave captioned ‘An Alien World’ on famed U.S. site

Vietnam’s Son Doong Cave is called “An Alien World” and its photo has been published on well-known U.S. magazine National Geographic Traveler‘s website, which promotes beautiful landscapes around the world, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration said on Wednesday.

The photo, featuring some people climbing up one of the most impressive parts of the cave, which is surrounded by a stunning landscape and large jungle floor, was named “An Alien World” by foreign photographer Chris Miller.

Son Doong Cave, which was explored for the first time in 2009, was also introduced as “the world’s largest cave and is now opening up to very limited tourism,” according to the caption of Miller’s photo.

Miller’s shot is one of the many outstanding pictures submitted to the 2014 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest and has been released by the organizer to attract more participants to join its event.

The 26th annual competition, which comprises four categories including travel portraits, outdoor scenes, sense of place and spontaneous moment, kicked off on March 18 and will be closed on June 30.

The winner will be awarded an eight-day voyage for two to experience the remarkable beauty of southeastern Alaska.

Besides Son Doong Cave, other famed venues were also pictured and introduced on the National Geographic Traveler website including Hawaii’s Big Island, Mo’orea — a high island in French Polynesia — and southern Iceland, which featured an impressive Aurora Borealis scene.

The Vietnamese cave, which has a large, fast-flowing underground river inside, was found by a local resident named Ho Khanh in 1991.

It became public after a group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in April 2009.

According to the Limberts, Son Doong Cave is five times larger than Phong Nha Cave, previously considered the biggest cave in Vietnam. The biggest chamber of Son Doong is more than five kilometers long, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide.

With such large dimensions, Son Doong overtakes Deer Cave in Malaysia to take the title of the world’s largest cave.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Vietnam’s Son Doong Cave captioned ‘An Alien World’ on famed U.S. site Releated Image(s)