Exploring the world’s largest cave in Vietnam

HANG SON DOONG, or “mountain river cave,” is 2.5 miles long with a max width of 300ft and a max height of 600ft, making it the largest cave passage in the world. Exploration of Hang Son Doong and the surrounding system began in 2009, and a year later National Geographic writer Mark Jenkins and photographer Carsten Peter accompanied the mapping team on its second visit. The story and photos of the expedition appear in the January issue of the National Geographic magazine, and Matador Trips was lucky enough to be granted permission to share some of the images here. Make sure to check out the full gallery.