Hi there,
Today I am back with our adventure for Tu Lan 2 days tour, and today is our second day.
I awoke at 7:00 a.m., and it was a little chilly outside the tent because it had rained the night before. When I opened my tent, I observed the blue sky, which indicated that it would be sunny today. We did a lot of swimming on the second day of the expedition, so I loved the sun.
I walked out to the kitchen to assist Toan, the cook, in making breakfast for everyone. For us, Toan prepared pancakes and quick noodles. The first few people awoke at 7:30 a.m. and went to the table for some coffee to wake them up. We all ate breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and were ready by 9:00 a.m. after packed our belongings.
The second cave we visited was Tu Lan cave, which was first discovered in 2010 by the British Caving Research Association and a local man named Nham from Tan Hoa village. It's also the valley's last downstream river route to be explored. Hang Ken and Hang Kim provide the majority of the water used to create Tu Lan. This cave is roughly 2 km long, and it was thought that the water would continue to flow out to join the main river in the other valley from the cave's end, then sink and not be seen again until the river near Tien valley.
We traveled through the valley from the campsite to view gorgeous jungle and breath-taking waterfalls. It took us roughly an hour to get to the dry Tu Lan passage's entrance. The cave entrance was rather modest at first, but as we progressed, it became considerably larger. Hundreds of bats were suspended from the cave ceiling. We walked to the cave's center, where the cave formations all around us were just stunning.
We continued walking until we reached the end of the dry passage, where we could see the river on the right hand side. It was a brief ascent, but the terrain was fairly difficult to descend. To get out of the cave, I swam about 180 meters, then 200 meters back to the camp. To go to Kim cave, we used the backpack. Because of the adventure activities, I really enjoyed this cave. We walked, swam, and walked our way through the cave, eventually swimming out and seeing the second valley, To Mo Valley. We were starving and looking forward to having lunch here. Rice noodles were served alongside delectable fried spring rolls. I had a cup of ginger tea to make my stomach warmer, everyone else got coffee and some biscuits.
After lunch, I informed the group that there were two possibilities for exploring Ton Cave, the concluding cave of our journey. The first alternative was to swim for 100 meters, then walk on the dry channel until we reached a cave with a ladder, which we would all climb up by clipping on to the lifeline. The second option is to swim out the other side. The second option was chosen by everyone. It was a great decision and a lot of fun. At the last 100 meters, we came upon a little passage that looked like a tunnel and led us out of the cave against the stream. It was a thrilling experience.
We continued trekking back to the first river crossing on day 1 and returned to the basecamp, where we were treated to a fantastic hot shower.
Everyone looked so different after a shower, with their new clothes.
The porters assisted us in loading our goods into the vehicle. We proceeded to a local restaurant near the Tu Lan office for some delicious Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) and chilled beers.
We said our goodbyes to our beautiful porters, and the driver brought us back to Phong Nha on the Ho Chi Minh Highway to end our incredible two-day adventure.
I could give the following suggestions in order for you to be able to make this trip:
- The caves are not very difficult, but the trek would be difficult, and it would be even more difficult in the summer because it could be hot while traveling. You should work on your fitness a little; if you can climb 200 meters, you'll be OK.
- For a two-day, one-night trip, I only bring the absolute necessities:
- One set of trekking gear, long trouser to keep insects and mosquitoes in the jungle. You can put these back on the next day.
- 2 sets of clothes (shorts are fine). One will be utilized at the camp, while the other will be used at the basecamp
- Some other personal items like: sun hat, sun glasses, mosquitoes pray.
- Camera/ cell phone
- Trekking shoes
I hope this will help for those who would love to do caving and trekking.
Photos were taken by my friends and me!
Thanks for reading my posts.
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