Thiên Đường Cave

Thiên Đường Cave, also known as Paradise Cave, is a massive limestone cave located within the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Vietnam. It lies approximately 60 kilometers northwest of the city of Đồng Hới, in Sơn Trạch Commune, Bố Trạch District, Quảng Bình Province. The cave sits at an elevation of 350 meters above sea level, near the western branch of the Ho Chi Minh Highway.

Discovered by a local man in 2005, the cave was initially explored by members of the British Cave Research Association later that year, who surveyed the first five kilometers. Subsequent exploration revealed the cave’s full length of 31 kilometers, making it longer than Phong Nha Cave, which had previously been considered the longest in the national park.

The cave’s dimensions are impressive, with a height reaching up to 72 meters and a width of 150 meters. The British explorers were particularly struck by the beauty and complexity of its stalactites and stalagmites, which they deemed more spectacular than those in Phong Nha Cave, leading them to name it Thiên Đường, or Paradise Cave. In 2012, a new species of troglobiontic scorpion, Vietbocap thienduongensis, was discovered within the cave.

The cave was opened to tourists on 3 September 2010, following the construction of access and internal roads by the Truong Thinh Group. The car park is situated 1.6 kilometers from the cave entrance, and visitors can reach it via golf cart or a paved walkway. Without a guide, only the first kilometer is accessible to tourists; however, adventure tours allow travel up to seven kilometers into the cave.