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PHONG NHA KE BANG NATIONAL PARK, WORLD HERITAGE
Viet Nam's Phong Nha - Ke Bang national park has
been recognised as a world natural heritage site
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at its 27th
general assembly session being held in Paris
from June 30-July 5.
At the session, delegates from over 160 member
countries of UNESCO World Heritage Convention
agreed to include Phong Nha-Ke Bang park and 30
others worldwide to the list of world heritage
sites.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang park is now the fifth UNESCO
recognised site in Viet Nam after Ha Long Bay,
the imperial city of Hue, the ancient quarter of
Hoi An and the My Son historical site.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park, located to the
north of the majestic Truong Son range in
central Quang Binh province, is one of the
world's two largest limestone regions.
The over 200,000 ha of parkland includes
beautiful limestone formations, grottoes and
caves, and boasts lush forestland covering 95
percent of the park area.
The area is considered a paradise for
researchers and explorers of grottoes and caves,
and Vietnamese and British scientists have so
far surveyed 20 with a total length of 70km. Of
them, 17 are in the Phong Nha area and three in
the Ke Bang area.
The Phong Nha cave itself which lends its name
to the whole system is probably the most
beautiful of all, containing many fascinating
rock formations, enchanting visitors with
evocative names such as Lion, Fairy Caves, Royal
Court and Buddha.
Besides the grotto and cave systems, Phong Nha
has the longest underground rivers, the largest
caverns and passageways, the widest and
prettiest sand banks, and the most astonishing
rock formations in the world.
According to initial statistics, the primitive
tropical forest in Phong Nha-Ke Bang houses 140
families, 427 branches, and 751 species of
high-rated plants, of which 36 species are
endangered and listed in the Viet Nam Red Book.
The forest is also home to 32 sets, 98 families,
256 races and 381 species of four land backboned
animals. Sixty-six animal species are listed in
the Viet Nam Red Book and 23 other species in
the World Red Book. In general, Phong Nha-Ke
Bang's animals are more diverse than in other
natural reserves and national parks.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang also boasts dozens of mountain
peaks of over 1,000 metres still unexplored by
men and seen as ideal sites for activities like
climbing and exploration. Worthy of note are
Peak Co Rilata with the height of 1,128 m and
Peak Co Preu, 1,213 m. Lying between these peaks
are valleys which promise tourists exciting
eco-tours.
In addition to the diversity in the ecosystem,
Phong Nha-Ke Bang is home to archeological and
historical relics, such as an ancient
hieroglyphic script of the Cham ethnic minority,
King Ham Nghi's base built for the resistance
war against French colonialists in the late 19th
century, and the Xuan Son ferry station, Ho Chi
Minh Trail and Road 20 used during the US
resistance war.
Central Quang Binh province has poured heavy
investment into upgrading the Phong Nha-Ke Bang
visitor site to turn it into the country's major
tourist destination.
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