The Best Experience In Vietnam: Phong Nha – Hang En Cave
If you’re heading to Vietnam this is 100% something that should be on your list – this was our favourite experience in Vietnam! Located in Phong Nha is some of the most epic caves in the world just waiting to be explored. For our trip, we wanted a quick introduction to the caves, and decided to trek and explore the Hang En Cave! This two day trek to the Hang En Cave included so much adventure, scenery, and overall it was such a unique experience that we highly recommend.
What Is the Hang En Cave Trek
The Hang En Cave trek brings you through the jungle’s deep in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park to a cave which is said to be about 3 million years old. The main highlight of trek is definitely the change to sleep in possibly the worlds coolest campsite? Located next to the cave’s blue water (yes! you can swim in here), the campsites are set up to look out at one of the cave’s entrances.
The trek itself is so well organized, and along the way you will learn so much about culture, the cave system, cave formations, the jungle, and Vietnam’s rich history. They provide almost everything for you – making the only thing you need to do is the trek itself!
Hang En Cave: The Highlights
- Who to book with: For this trek you absolutely have to go with a tour operator and Oxalis runs this tour (and some similar ones that look just as epic).
- What’s included: For this trek, all gear, food, and camping gear is included. What you need to bring yourself is really limited as they really include so much!
- Trek details: This trek included alot of river crossings, was quite muddy, and was a pretty flat walk. However, after the first 30 minutes of the trek, the views start to open up and you really feel like you are in the middle of the jungle! You will see some AMAZING scenery and potentially some cows and water buffalo. You also walk through a local village on your way through (and have lunch there).
- Difficulty: easy – moderate. Overall the trek is really flat so it’s not hard – the hardest part is the end of the trek when you’re walking up to the road to meet transport as that’s pretty steep, but you can go at your own pace!
- Day One: Downhill at the very beginning then the rest is super flat. Approx 11-12km.
- Day Two: Cave exploration is easy, just some climbing up rocks. Super flat until back uphill at the end which you can go slow on. During the winter you go in and back out the same way, during the summer you may go a slight different way. Approx 13km-14km.
- What to pack: Oxalis includes a packing list on their website that’s really helpful – eventually I will link a packing list to help. I would highly recommend light trekking shoes and quick-dry trekking pants (I wore some athletic Lululemon leggings and they were completely dry the next day which was awesome) as you will 100% be wet for the entire duration of the trek!
Our Experience on the Hang En Cave Trek
We arrived in Phong Nha super early in the morning – about 0200 the day of the tour (which we regretted the next morning!). We prearranged with Oxalis to have a driver pick us up that morning and take us to the hostel as it was quite a far walk (especially with all of your luggage), and to stay in their hostel for the night. They had a room that they use for people that are arriving late at night / early in the morning before the tour to give them somewhere to rest for a few hours – luckily it had a shower and everything so after a crazy amount of travel it was so nice. The room is shared – so you may run into some other people arriving late too!
The next morning we woke up around 0730 to get ready and be downstairs for 0800. There we ordered a quick breakfast and coffee downstairs where the tour brief was also happening. We had a tour briefing where they go over what you’ll be doing and can expect for the next two days. They give you a dry bag to put all of your overnight clothes in / things you won’t need until the evening, they offer secure storage for smaller valuables (i.e. iPad, earphones, etc), they give you a water bottle you can use, and then you pack your day bag with whatever else you want access to (we brought phones / cameras / medication, etc). They have a whole section on what they provide and what you need to bring online.
Once we were ready to go, we hopped on a bus and they drive you to the trek starting point. For us it was rainy, cold, and super muddy. I opted for a really light weight pair of trekking boots that would 100% get soaked but were easy to trek in, Lulu leggings which were perfect for quick dry after they got wet, and some high trekking socks – high is essential and make sure your ankles are covered as there are leeches! I also wore a long sleeve shirt and a rain jacket as it was a little chillier.
We arrived at the trekking start point, they handed us our equipment that we needed to put in our bags (helmet, gloves), and we were off (starting at around 1030 am)! The first bit of the trek is really downhill – combined with a ton of mud made it super interesting. After some thick forests on your way down, things eventually start to open up after about 1 hour and you really get to see what the Vietnamese jungle is all about – and start your river crossing journey. We got soaked from the first river crossing only about 1 hour into the hike for the day, so expect to be wet.
After hiking through the jungle for about 2 hours, we arrived at the Doong Village – where we would be hosted for lunch. This was actually our first true Vietnamese meal as we had just arrived and the food did NOT disappoint! We were welcomed with some Bahn Mi, lots of sides (noodles, rice, vegetables, proteins, cheese), and some more water to pack up for the road. After fueling up, we were back out hiking for another 2 hours. The hike gets even more stunning – you see the cliff faces, the awesome river crossings, and jungle around every corner. The views are amazing here.
We arrived in the cave and had to gear up (helmets, lights, gloves) as we were about to do some minor rock-climbing (just climbing up a stack of racks) in order to get to where we were sleeping. This included a raft pulled by a rope to get across the water to where the tents were! They gave plenty of opportunities for everyone to get their photos in, and made sure everyone took their time around the rocks to be careful. We rocked up, chose our tent for the night, and even had the chance to get a sauna (a lemongrass sauna that was super warm, only available during winter months) and a dip in (yes, you can swim in the water) while we waited for dinner. Dinner was another great selection of food, followed by a campfire to end the evening! As the website mentions, Day One was about 11-12km of hiking (including the cave) and it’s relatively flat – we found day one really easy in terms of difficulty level. To note, there was only one washroom on the way, but it is a jungle with not many people so interpret that information as you wish!
The next morning they will wake you up if you’re not already awake (we were awake super early as the jet-lag was still in full effect). You can have a coffee by the fire (Vietnamese coffee is STRONG) and admire the view – it was SO peaceful in the morning – before yet another amazing meal (this one was ramen/noodle type breakfast AND crepes with chocolate sauce). Today is another big day and super educational. We took the morning to explore the cave system itself – including the many different types of cave formations, tons of great photo opportunities, and even the filming location for Pan: The Neverland (2015) movie. It really did feel like a movie scene as you can see in the pictures and river crossings in the cave in the dark were a super cool experience!
We headed back in to the campsite for lunch, packed up our gear, then headed back out the same way to start the journey back home. Much of the same sights, but still just as awe-inspiring, you get to see a different side of them on the way back. This hike was such a cool experience for the views, the people, the culture, the food, the unique activity, and a great way to lean into a cave experience! The dreaded part was the uphill portion (they give you some snacks right before you start). They tried to keep the group together and they took many stops, so you never really felt super tired but it was definitely a slight challenge depending on your fitness level.
We got back to the van in the late afternoon where they rewarded us with some coke/beer/water and a medal for completing the trek! After a few group photos we hopped on the bus ready to get back! After the bus ride, we packed up our luggage again, grabbed our valuables, you have the opportunity to leave a tip for everyone involved back at the hostel (they have a tip box), and you have the opportunity to take a shower there (if you don’t have accommodations for the night or are heading on a bus somewhere else).
This is really a quick summary of an amazing two days, but this was by far our favourite experience in Vietnam and we would highly recommend this to anyone thinking about it!