UK experts to promote tours exploring caves

The central province of Quang Binh has invited two leading cave researchers from the UK to help publicise cave tours as a way to develop the province’s adventure tourism sector.
The Director of the company Oxalis said on November 4 that Howard Limbert and his wife will help to train the company’s tour guides and also conduct a health and safety assessment on Oxalis designed trekking tours.
Both experts will also target film makers from North America and Europe to go to Quang Binh to film the network of caves system for advertising purposes.
Limbert helped with the making of a promotional film on Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park , before it was recognised as a world natural heritage site for its unique geological formations in 2003 by UNESCO. He also assisted with a global publicity campaign for Son Doong, the biggest cave in the world in 2009.
The Limberts and their associates have spent 20 years exploring caves in Vietnam and discovered nearly 200km of caves in Quang Binh.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang has numerous grottoes and caves and the subterranean network was formed from the largest area of limestone in Southeast Asia. It is extremely old, dating back to from between the late Devon period 377 million years ago to the Permian period, 250 million years ago.
Son Doong Cave is at least 6.5km long and is estimated at 200m wide and 150m high. The largest of the cave’s chambers is at least 250m high.
Scientists have also discovered large numbers of stalactites, formed into extraordinary shapes, as well as primitive forests in the cave.