Phong Nha, Vietnam
Kong Collapse Top Adventure
- Length
- 5D4N
- How hard is it
- Extreme
- Group size
- 10
- Minimum age
- 16+
Only here: The only tour that descends the 100 metres to the floor of Vietnam’s deepest sinkhole.
A 100 metre rope descent into the deepest sinkhole in Vietnam, over five days, with a medical check before you are allowed to book.
What you actually do
- A 100 metre rope descent to the floor of the Kong Collapse sinkhole
- Around 450 metres deep, the deepest sinkhole in Vietnam
- Found by drone survey in 2019 and opened to visitors in 2021
- Tiger, Hang Over and Hang Pygmy caves across the five days
- Groups capped at 10 people
- Two free nights at the operator's lodge either side of the trip
Is this the right tour for you?
Worth reading before you book. Age limits and group rules rule people out more often than fitness does.
Book it if
- You are an experienced hiker in good condition and want the hardest trip here
- A 100 metre rope descent is the appeal rather than the obstacle
- You can give five days to one thing
- You are 16 or over and will pass a medical check
Look elsewhere if
- You have any heart, joint or breathing condition that a medical check would flag
- You are unsure about heights. Everything about day three is vertical
- You want flexibility. Departures are Tuesday and Friday and groups cap at 10
Day by day, all 5 of them
Into the forest
The trip starts with the briefing, a gear check and the walk in. The first days build towards the sinkhole rather than rushing it, working through the cave system that surrounds it and camping in the forest.
Tiger Cave and Hang Over
The route works through Tiger Cave and the long Hang Over passage, the same caves the three day tour covers, with river sections and scrambling underground.
The descent into Kong Collapse
The day the tour is built around. The safety team rigs the sinkhole and takes the group down roughly 100 metres in staged sections rather than one continuous drop, each managed with a backup line. At the bottom the scale only registers once you look up: the walls close over a river running through the base of the collapse.
The floor of the sinkhole and Hang Pygmy
Time at the bottom of the collapse and through the connected passages, then on towards Hang Pygmy, where the campsite is inside the cave.
Out
The climb and trek back out to the road, and the drive to Phong Nha.
What the price covers
- Guide, trained safety assistants and porters
- All rope work and rigging, harness, helmet with headlamp
- Camping equipment and all meals
- Two free nights at the operator's lodge, either side of the tour
- PVI travel insurance
- Transfers within Phong Nha town
Not included: tips, personal spending, transfers from outside phong nha.
When to go
Runs year round. April and May are considered the best months for it.
Questions worth asking first
What does the medical check involve?
You submit a health statement and are then assessed by the operator's medical staff before the booking is confirmed. This is the only tour in their catalogue with that requirement, which tells you how seriously they take the physical demand. Do not book flights around it until you are cleared.
How deep is Kong Collapse and how much do you descend?
The sinkhole is around 450 metres deep in total. The tour descends roughly 100 metres of that on rope, in staged sections with a backup line on each, rather than one unbroken drop.
How was it found?
By drone survey in 2019. The operator then worked with American caving specialists for over two years to survey the sinkhole and secure the operating licence, and the first tours ran in 2021. It is named for the resemblance of the collapse to King Kong's head.
Is there a cheaper way to see Kong Collapse?
Yes. The three day Tiger Cave Series camps at the edge of the sinkhole for 12,500,000 VND, so you see it and sleep beside it without descending. The 100 metre drop to the floor is only on this tour.
What are the free lodge nights?
The price includes two nights at the operator's own lodge in Phong Nha, intended for the night before and the night after. Useful, since you will not want to travel on either end of five days in the forest.
How the price compares
Every tour here, cheapest first. Bars use a compressed scale so the shorter trips stay readable next to the expeditions.
- Tra Ang Excursion$30
- Phong Huong Adventure$50
- Elephant Cave and Ma Da Valley Jungle Trek$75
- Phong Huong Excursion$75
- Phong Huong Adventure Overnight$130
- Bach Ma Discovery$175
- Ma Da Valley Jungle Camping$200
- Victory Cave Expedition$295
- Hang Pygmy Exploration$305
- Hang En Cave Adventure$340
- Hang Tien Exploration$420
- Do Quyen Waterfall Top Adventure$435
- Hung Thoong Exploration$460
- Tiger Cave Series Adventure$480
- Kong Collapse Top Adventure$1,345
- Son Doong Cave Expedition$3,060
Approximate figures, per person; the operator bills in VND. Cheapest is 800,000 VND (about $30), dearest is 79,500,000 VND (about $3,060).
If this is more than you wanted
Jungle Boss
Tiger Cave Series Adventure
3D2NThree connected caves and nearly seven kilometres underground, camping at the edge of the Kong Collapse sinkhole without doing the full expedition.
The only way to camp at the edge of Kong Collapse without committing to the five day expedition.
Oxalis Adventure
Son Doong Cave Expedition
6D5NSix days to the largest cave on earth: jungle trek in via Hang En, three nights camped inside Son Doong, out over the 90 m Great Wall of Vietnam.
The largest known cave in the world, and this is the only tour licensed to enter it: roughly 1,000 permits a year, one operator.
Jungle Boss
Hung Thoong Exploration
3D2NFour caves in three days across a system opened in 2023, including a swim through Tron cave and a zipline over a sinkhole.
The only trip with a kilometre-long swim through a flooded cave, and a zipline over a sinkhole.
Photographs by Jungle Boss.
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