A cave festival will be celebrated in the central province of Quang Binh, the home of World Heritage site Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, from July 15th to 21st.

The opening ceremony of the festival will be held at Bao Ninh Sea Square with an artistic performance, entitled “Quang Binh – Kingdom of the caves,” and accompanying fireworks on July 17th.

The highlight of the festival will be a program entitled ‘Quang Binh Spectacular Cave System Discovery Week,’ with many interesting activities such as the launch of new tourist destinations, promotions and tourist discounts and farm trips.

Within the framework of the festival, food and handicraft fairs will be held in Son Trach commune in Bo Trach district from July 15th to 19th, and in Bao Ninh commune in Dong Hoi city from July 15th to 21st.

Located in Bo Trach district, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park covers 85,754 hectares with a 195,400-hectare buffer zone. It is among the 238 most important ecological zones in the world.

The park won UNESCO heritage recognition in 2003 thanks to its system of 300 different caves and grottos which date back some 400 million years.

With the length of 7.7 kilometers, Phong Nha cave system is said to have the longest water cave and the most beautiful grottos.

Meanwhile, Son Doong, which was first explored in 2009, is considered the largest natural cave in the world.

It has a length of at least 8.5 kilometers and is at least 200 meters in height (while its very largest chamber is an incredible 250 meters in height, enough space to accommodate 40-storey skyscrapers).

The cave festival in July is part of efforts to promote local culture, tourism and the uniqueness of the caves to attract both international and domestic investors and tourists.