As many as 58 new caves have been discovered in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang cave system in the central province of Quang Binh, according to the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park Management Board.

Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, known as "Cave Kingdom", still has many undiscovered caves. (Credit: Oxalis)

Le Thanh Tinh, Director of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park Management Board, revealed that the newly-found caves have never been announced before, and are located in the buffer zone communes of Minh Hoa district.

Rangers and officials from the national park organised independent surveys, without the participation of the British Cave Research Association (BCRA).

Using the initial recognition method, then comparing cave data that the BCRA experts have identified and then eliminating duplicate caves, the final list of 58 new cave records has been compiled and published for the first time.

Some caves have been surveyed by the staff of Phong Nha - Ke Bang Park, but most have not been explored yet due to limited technical conditions.

According to Tinh, the profiles of the 58 caves will be transferred to the BCRA to continue surveying in the near future and details will be published when the survey team have discovered the size of each cave.

The Phong Nha - Ke Bang system belongs to the districts of Quang Ninh, Bo Trach, and Minh Hoa in Quang Binh province. Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park was declared a World Natural Heritage by UNESCO twice in July 2003 and July 2015.

It is also home to the world’s largest cave, Son Doong. With the opening of Son Doong Cave in 2013, Quang Binh was instantly catapulted onto the bucket lists of travellers all over the world.

The New York Times named Quang Binh as one of the most attractive destinations in Asia and ranked it eighth out of the world’s 52 must-see sites for 2014, while U.S. magazine Business Insider included Son Doong Cave in its list of the 12 most impressive caves./.

VNF/NDO