Unique "floating" lake inside a cave in Quang Binh
Báo Lao Động•26/09/2024
The Floating Lake in Thung Cave has become a new unknown on the Quang Binh tourism map, with an estimated depth of 6.5m. The water source is unknown but is full throughout the summer.
Hung Thoong cave system is one of the most pristine places, located in the strictly protected area of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. Currently, Hung Thoong has been exploited for tourism with many levels of exploration from easy to difficult. Photo: Le Luu Dung According to Mr. Le Luu Dung, director of Jungle Boss Company, an adventure tour operator in Quang Binh, last May, an expedition team exploring Thung Cave in the Hung Thoong Cave System discovered Lo Lung Lake. Photo: Le Luu Dung A member of the group, while climbing down the rope into the sinkhole of Thung cave, moved through the underground river of the cave and shined a flashlight to see the vast darkness that the flashlight could not reach. Then, following the rocky gorge halfway up the cave wall, they approached the mysterious lake. The rocky gorge leading to the lake was later named Lung Trung Gorge. Photo: Le Luu Dung The Floating Lake is located halfway up the cave, the water level is about 15m higher than the underground river of Thung Cave. On the surface of the lake there are many giant stalactites that look like they are floating, so the lake is named after this feature. Photo: Le Luu Dung The newly discovered lake in Thung Cave has a frog-shaped structure. The surface of the lake is smaller than the bottom of the lake. The surface of the lake is about 100 square meters wide, but the bottom has not been measured because the water level is about 6.5 meters deep. "This depth is considered very unusual for a calcium lake in a cave, normally calcium lakes are only about 2 - 3 meters deep," said Mr. Dung. Photo: Le Luu Dung The Floating Lake, like other cave calcium lakes, appeared during the formation of the cave. The limestone system and minerals that penetrated the cave ceiling after hundreds of thousands of years created stalactites and the calcium lake is also a type of cave stalactite. Photo: Le Luu Dung However, the special feature of Lo Lung Lake is its depth and location. According to Mr. Dung, observing during the past summer, most of the other calcium lakes in Thung Cave were dry, but Lo Lung Lake was not dry. Therefore, at any time of exploring Thung Cave, visitors can experience this lake. Photo: Le Luu Dung The Floating Lake has a magical, emerald green water color. Not only does it provide a unique experience for adventure tourism, this lake also holds many values for geomorphological research on caves in Quang Binh. Photo: Le Luu Dung Currently, visitors can only access Lo Lung Lake by walking into the Hung Thoong campsite, continuing to walk into the Thung cave sinkhole, swinging 25m down the sinkhole and then following Lung Chung alley. Visitors can explore Lo Lung Lake as well as explore Thung cave all year round except for stormy days and high water levels. Every year, the flood season in Phong Nha - Ke Bang, Quang Binh falls in late September and October. Photo: Le Luu Dung In addition to the newly discovered Lo Lung Lake, visitors to Hung Thoong can also explore many other caves and calcium lakes. An indispensable activity on trips here is swimming in the calcium lakes, admiring thousands of stalactites with many interesting shapes. Photo: Le Luu Dung Visitors to Hung Thoong can experience trekking through the primeval forest, camping by the lake, diving, exploring dry caves with unique stalactites and stalagmites, swinging on a rope in a sinkhole... Photo: Le Luu Dung
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