Phong Nha, Vietnam
Victory Cave Expedition
- Length
- 2D1N
- How hard is it
- Moderate
- Group size
- 15
- Minimum age
- 9+
Only here: The newest cave open to visitors in Phong Nha, surveyed in June 2026 and running within weeks.
The newest cave open to visitors in Phong Nha, surveyed in June 2026 and already running: two rappels into a chamber floored with rare cave pearls.
What you actually do
- Hang Thang, announced in June 2026, making it the most recently opened cave here by years
- Two rope descents of 20 and 25 metres into the cave
- Thousands of cave pearls, from mung bean to table tennis ball size
- Roughly 3,000 metres long, with chambers over 100 metres across
- Camp at Ma Da Lake and a 300 metre swim through Tra Ang cave
- Age 9 and up, which is remarkably low for a tour with rope descents
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 want to see something almost nobody has photographed yet
- You want rope work without a serious expedition commitment
- You have older children: age 9 is unusually low for a tour with abseils
- Cave formations interest you more than distance covered
Look elsewhere if
- You are frightened of heights or enclosed spaces. Two rope descents into the dark is the tour
- You want a long trek. This is chosen for the cave, not the walking
- You want lots of published reviews before you book. It is too new for that
Day by day, all 2 of them
Into Ma Da Valley and down into Hang Thang
Pickup, kit and briefing in Phong Nha, then the drive and walk into Ma Da Valley, the strictly protected zone where the cave was found. At the entrance the safety team rigs the ropes and takes you through the descent one at a time, first a 20 metre drop and then a 25 metre one deeper in. Inside, the floor in places is covered with cave pearls, which form where dripping water spins grains of sand in shallow pools over a very long time. The chambers are wide enough that headlamps do not reach the far wall. Camp for the night is at Ma Da Lake.
Tra Ang cave and out
After breakfast at the lake the group walks to Tra Ang cave and swims about 300 metres into it before heading back out to Route 20 and the vehicle.
What the price covers
- Guide, trained safety assistants and porters
- All rope and rigging work, harness, helmet with headlamp
- Camping equipment and all meals
- 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 driest.
Questions worth asking first
How new is Victory Cave really?
A local resident spotted the entrance in 2023 and reported it to the operator in June 2026. A six day survey with the national park board followed, and the discovery was announced on 25 June 2026. It went on sale within weeks. So you would be among the earliest visitors, which is the appeal and also the reason there are almost no independent reviews yet.
What are cave pearls?
Small round stones that form when water drips into a shallow pool and keeps a grain of sand turning, coating it in calcite layer by layer over centuries. They only survive where nobody has walked, which is why they are so rare in caves that have been open for years. The ones here range from mung bean to table tennis ball size.
Is a 20 metre abseil hard if I have never done one?
No experience is needed. The safety team rigs everything, clips you in and controls the descent, and you go one at a time. What matters is whether the idea of hanging on a rope in the dark appeals or terrifies you, because you do it twice.
Why is the minimum age only 9 when other rope tours start at 15?
The descents are short and fully controlled by staff, and there is no long trek to reach the cave. Compare that with Hang Pygmy at age 15, which involves 3.5 km underground and a night camped in the cave, or Kong Collapse at 16, which requires a medical check.
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 you want something bigger
Jungle Boss
Ma Da Valley Jungle Camping
2D1NThe gentlest way to sleep in the jungle here: the same caves as the day trek, plus a night camped on the sand at Ma Da Lake and cliff jumps if you want them.
The only overnight here with no rope work at all, and the lowest age limit of any camping trip.
Jungle Boss
Hang Pygmy Exploration
2D1NSleep inside the world's fourth largest cave, after 3.5 kilometres underground through Hang Over and a rope descent into the chamber.
The shortest route to sleeping inside the world’s fourth largest cave.
Jungle Boss
Bach Ma Discovery
1DA day trip from Hue that puts you on a 130 metre suspension bridge across a waterfall, up 301 steel rungs beside it, and then on a zipline back over the top.
The only way to cross the waterfall bridge, climb the via ferrata and ride the zipline in a single day from Hue.
Photographs by Jungle Boss.
Plan the rest