New-found caves unlock mystery of majestic Son Doong

In a ‘kingdom of caves’ like Quang Binh, there is no gurantee that even the world’s biggest known cave Son Doong will hold on to its title for long. 57 new cave entrances, a five-million-year-old underwater cave and transparent fish and crustaceans have recently been explored in the area surrounding Son Doong, and may hold the answer to where the water that created the vast cave system originated from.

The entrance to Hoa Huong cave

The expeditors learn from the locals to drink water from indigenous trees.

These caves have been pinpointed using GPS and added to a cave map of Quang Binh

Hoa Huong Cave, named after the couple that found it.

Together with new caves, many vertical sinkholes were also found, with one in Km 17 Cave dropping 150 meters deep, the deepest one surveyed this time.

New species of fishes and scorpions with transparent shells and bodies were also discovered during the expedition.

Since 1990, cave expert Howard Limbert has led 17 expeditions in Quang Binh, mapping 311 caves with a total length of up to 200 kilometers.

Tien Cave in Minh Hoa District is 2,519 meters long.

Photos by British Cave Research Association

Source: http://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/new-found-caves-unlock-mystery-of-majestic-son-doong-3424356.html