On June 3, 2026, a local resident exploring the forest in Quang Tri Province noticed an unknown opening hidden deep in the jungle and reported it to Jungle Boss, a specialist cave expedition company. The Jungle Boss team mobilised immediately and in close coordination with the Management Board of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, carried out six full days of exploration and surveying.

The result: a brand-new cave, officially announced this morning and named Hang Thắng — “Thang Cave” — in honour of its local discoverer.

Inside the Cave: What the explorers found

Reaching the interior required a 20-metre abseil descent. At the bottom, the cave opens into a space the team of cavers immediately likened to a palace: 3,000 metres long, an average of 70 metres wide, with some passages stretching up to 100 metres across. The cavity splits into two distinct branches and has two entrances – one wide enough to walk through, the other so narrow that adults must squeeze through sideways.

Almost the entire length of the cave is blanketed in a sweeping system of stalactites and stalagmites formed over hundreds of thousands of years. Limestone columns rise as high as 50 metres, stone curtains hang from the ceiling, and clusters of stalagmites stand like natural fortifications. The team also documented an exceptional concentration of cave pearls- rare, white, lustrous spheres formed by mineral deposits suspended in water – whose size and density were described as unprecedented even by Jungle Boss’s most experienced cavers.

“Every cave I’ve explored so far has had a large entrance opening into a grand chamber. Hang Thắng is the opposite: the entrance is small, but inside it opens into an immense space. The stalactite system is continuous, multicoloured, and extraordinary.” Lê Lưu Dũng, cave expert and member of the exploration team

Opening to visitors: What’s next

Following the exploration, Jungle Boss submitted an official request to the Park Management Board to incorporate Hang Thắng into its existing Ma Da Valley – Trạ Ang Cave expedition circuit, currently offered as a 2-day/1-night adventure. The Board has given its agreement in principle.

Thang Cave lies along the trail between Hang Voi Cave and Ma Da Lake, deep within the strictly protected core zone of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.

Phong Nha – Ke Bang continues to reveal its secrets. Thang Cave may well be just the latest in a long line of discoveries still to come and that is precisely what makes this park so compelling to visit right now, before its depths are fully mapped. If you dream of a Vietnam that goes beyond the beaten track, this is where the adventure begins.