About ten kilometers from the city of Kuala Lumpur are the Batu caves (karst caves), with a 42-meter statue erected at the entrance in honor of the Hindu god Murugan.
Marble Caves, Chile
The main attraction of Lago General Carrera, the Marble Caves in bluish hues, is one of the unique and beautiful places in the world, located on the border between the countries of Chile and Argentina. beautiful music for relaxation
Son Doong Cave (Hang Son Dong)
The largest and one of the most beautiful caves on the planet is located in Vietnam and is called Son Doong. The cave is striking in its scale - its height is about 200 meters, and its width is up to 150 meters.
Thamlod Cave
Located in the Thai province of Mae Hong Son, Thamlod Cave is one of the oldest in the country. It is very popular among archaeologists and tourists.
Mendenhall Glacier Caves
The picturesque Mendenhall Glacier, located in Alaska, is famous for its amazing ice caves with its own fantastic world.
Cave of Giant Crystals
In the Mexican desert, at a depth of three hundred meters, lies an amazing world of giant crystals.
Kyaut Sae Cave in Myanmar
Another one on the list of amazing caves is the place where a Buddhist temple was built, the Kyaut Sae cave, which amazes with its views and size.
Vatnajokull glacier and its caves
The impressively sized Vatnajokull glacier in Europe (which means “glacier that gives water”) is home to picturesque caves in the ice.
Phraya Nakhon Cave in Thailand
Not quite a cave, but rather a valley 50 meters wide and 65 meters deep, over which hang walls covered with vegetation and stalactites.
Muntovsky volcano cave
This cave of indescribable beauty, created by lava, ice, geysers and light, is located in Kamchatka, not far from the Muntovsky volcano.
Reed Flute Cave in China
Fabulously beautiful, similar to fantasy world The karst cave is located in Guilin, China.
Our planet is a place of amazing wonders and unusual mysteries. It would seem that man has mastered even the most remote corners of the Earth, but has not yet discovered all its secrets. In addition to those known to everyone, there are a huge number of man-made and natural objects that capture the imagination and minds of all mankind. Among them is the largest in a unique formation with its own ecosystem. Let's talk about where it is, when it was discovered and what distinctive features possesses.
Shondong: size statistics
Shondong is the most big cave in the world. Such a statement by local residents was supported by facts obtained by a research expedition from England in 2009. According to dry statistical figures, the formation has a volume of about 38.5 million cubic meters, a height of about 200 meters, and a width of about 150 meters. Once in such an underground kingdom, willy-nilly, any person can be confused by the grandeur, size and scope.
History of discovery
The unofficial history of the cave begins in 1991; it was from this period of time that the local population mentioned its presence; before this date, no information was provided. At the same time, we should not forget that the underground grotto of colossal size was formed by the water element for at least two million years in a row. Evidence of the cave's considerable age are huge stalagmites, as well as other bizarre stone formations.
How to get to the cave?
Where is the largest cave in the world? Vietnam, Quang Binh Province - this is the address you will have to follow to visit it. Not far from the border with Laos in these places there is a national natural Park called Phong Nha - Ke Bang, this is where a unique natural formation is located. Finding the entrance to the cave is quite difficult, this is due to the fact that it is located in a rather wild area, in the kingdom of mountains and jungle. Perhaps this fact explains the fact that for a long time the underground formation was not discovered and was not explored even after its discovery at the end of the 20th century. Descent underground is carried out using ropes, which is also a rather serious obstacle and test.
Beauty and features of Shondong
What is the largest cave in the world famous for? Photos of the formation amaze with their amazing beauty and scale. First of all, most travelers are amazed by the water that flows in the bowels of the earth and in solid rocks for several kilometers. The most desperate daredevils even pitch tents on its banks, but you won’t be able to enjoy the silence away from civilization here either. The splash of water and the howl of the wind in the depths of the cave create a frightening atmosphere worthy of any horror film.
In addition to the river, Shondong also has its own green spaces and jungle, in which indigenous inhabitants may also be present. So, various insects and snakes are found here, a little less often birds and even monkeys. A unique feature of the local ecosystem is the unique underground climate. Fogs and clouds that are familiar to us are found even underground, which in itself is very unusual and intriguing. In fact, this is explained quite simply: a significant temperature difference between the surface and the underground leads to the formation of clouds and other similar phenomena.
You can visit Son Doong at any time, except during the rainy season. During this period, the caves are filled with water to a dangerous level, which means that visiting them can be extremely dangerous for the lives of researchers.
Other contenders for the main title
IN different time The title of largest cave in the world was claimed by:
Unique dungeons of the world
Now that you know the name of the largest cave in the world, you can talk about other unique underground kingdoms that are popular among lovers of extreme recreation and unity with nature. So, the list of the most interesting formations can include:
Kingdom of Ice
The world's largest ice cave is located in New Zealand and has the complex name Isrisennvelt; its area is approximately 300 square kilometers, which allows it to be the absolute record holder in its category in terms of size. Beautiful and cold ice formations are found in Iceland (Vatnajekull is prohibited from visiting in the warm season due to the high risks of melting and collapse), in Russia (a grotto in Austria.
Movie about a cave
Delight and inspiration - this is what the largest cave in the world evokes in people. Sanctum, a 2011 science fiction film about a cave, tells the story of a group of explorers descending into the depths of uncharted dungeons. A brutal struggle with a dangerous and unknown element leads to very disastrous consequences, reminding viewers not only of the beauty of the caves, but also of the threat to life hidden in their unknown nature.
The largest cave in the world is currently located in Vietnam, but research in order to understand our world is carried out regularly and systematically, which means that unique finds will not be long in coming. It is likely that very soon we will become acquainted with new natural phenomena, no less fantastic and beautiful than those already known to mankind.
Research into caves has been going on for years, with expeditions finding more and more natural formations. Some caves are considered beautiful, others are difficult to navigate, and there are some of the largest caves.
The longest cave in Russia
There are many caves in Russia, both dry and flooded. The Botovskaya Cave is considered the longest. It is located near the village of Konoshalovo in the remote taiga of the Irkutsk region. To date, more than sixty-eight kilometers of underground passages have been explored, however for a long time It was believed that the length of this natural object was about seven kilometers.She was discovered by chance by a local hunter following the scent of a bear. This cave has a grotto containing lakes. The uniqueness of the Botovskaya cave is that it consists not only of limestone, as is most often the case in karst caves, but also of sandstone. The type of this object is horizontal.
The cave was first explored in 1947. It has about twelve thousand intersections and many intricate passages. In 2013, an expedition discovered a map of this cave carved into stone, which exactly repeats the passages. The size of this “map” is relatively large.
While studying the passages, it became clear that the Botovskaya cave was visited more than once by Neolithic researchers.
The opportunity to get into the cave appears only in winter, since it can only be reached by tractor on the ice of the Lena River. The path on the ice is almost ninety kilometers.
But the Orda Cave is recognized as the longest underwater cave in Russia. It is located in the Perm region, eighty kilometers from the city of Kungur and received its name in honor of the nearby village of Orda. It was discovered when the high left bank of the Kungur River collapsed.
Scientists first explored the cave in 1993. It is a plaster horizontal labyrinth. Most of it is filled with water. The length of the cave is four kilometers six hundred meters. Being the largest water cave in Russia, it is in second position in Eurasia.
Large and beautiful caves
Since there are many caves in the world, we can highlight several of the most beautiful and largest ones. Such is the caves of Zakynthos, located on the Greek island of the same name. The caves reflect the color of the sky and ocean. They are also called blue caves. The Cave of Melessani, or as it is also called, the Cave of the Nymphs, is also located in Greece. 
In the southwestern part of Slovenia there are the staggeringly sized Škocjan caves. The underground halls and gorges are immense in shape. In fact, this is a whole network consisting of eleven caves.
In Chile Chico there are the most beautiful Marble Caves. The amazing thing is that they are entirely made of marble. The beauty of the naturally formed caves mesmerizes visitors who come there.
In America there is National Park with the name "Mammoth Cave". The park was founded in 1941 and is located in Central Kentucky. The cave system is recognized as the longest in the world.
It is impossible not to say about the caves of Cenota Yucatan. They formed on the Yucatan Peninsula. Even the Mayan Indians considered them sacred.
In 2000, the Crystal Cave was discovered in Mexico. Its second name is the Cave of Crystals. It contains many huge selenite crystals. You can visit the cave only with special equipment, since it is located at a depth of three hundred meters, and with a humidity of ninety-nine percent, the air temperature there reaches fifty-eight degrees.
The most amazing and unique is the Romanian cave Movile. Its uniqueness is that it is a closed ecosystem. For five million years it existed separately from the Earth's ecosystem. This was the reason that several dozen unknown plants and living creatures were discovered in this cave. It was opened only in 1996.
On the island of Borneo there is Ila National Park. There is a cave there, discovered in 1980, reaching a kilometer in length, two kilometers in width, and its height is two hundred meters.
In the USA, in the state of New Mexico, there is a large cave - Big Room or “Big Room”. Its length is five hundred and fifty meters and its height is seventy-seven meters.
The largest cave in Vietnam
It is in Vietnam that there is a cave that is recognized as both the largest and most beautiful in the world. Its name is Hang Son Doong or Son Doong Cave. The location of this natural site is Quang Binh province, five hundred kilometers from Hanoi, near the border with Laos in national park Phong Nha-Kebang.Local residents have known this huge cave since 1991, and it was discovered by speleologists in 2009. Finding her was not easy, since she is located in an impenetrable jungle. Its width is one hundred meters. The length of Shondong has been studied for six and a half kilometers, while in some places the height reaches two hundred and forty meters.
The deepest cave in the world
Among all the caves in the world, the deepest is the Crow Cave or Krubera Cave, located in Abkhazia in the Gagra ridge. The cave is branched, there are two branches in it. The depth of one is one kilometer three hundred meters, the other is two kilometers one hundred and ninety-six meters. 
The cave was discovered and explored for the first time in 1960. The last expedition dived in 2012. Each subsequent expedition tries to reach greater depths than the previous one.
The caves surprise not only with their size, but also with their beauty. But there are others in Russia Beautiful places. .
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Always connected with caves a large number of secrets and mysteries, because this is a whole world of magic, silence and silence. Even in ancient times, caves were used to shelter humans and animals, and some were even considered the abodes of the gods. In nature, no two caves are identical, because some have lakes, others have halls with grottoes, wells, glaciers and waterfalls. Many thousands of years rainwater destroyed the stone, forming stalactites and stalagmites of bizarre shape. In some caves, calcite forms in the form of pearls, flowers, and thin twigs that crumble at the slightest touch. We present to your attention a rating of the most amazing and beautiful caves in the world.
1. Cave of Giant Crystals, Mexico
A cave of giant crystals in Mexico was discovered by ordinary miners working in the south of the country. At the depth of a three-hundred-meter shaft, they discovered a cave literally strewn with huge crystals from the inside. The crystals in the caves are translucent, and their color varies from bright white to golden. Crystals have a rectangular or cylindrical shape, and their length reaches several meters. The base of the cave is stone, which indicates its ancient origin. The huge crystals in it were formed by nature over several million years. Apparently, the room of the Crystal Cave was previously filled with rock, which was gradually washed away by underground waters, after which such unusual formations remained.
2. Na Pali Coast Cave in Kauai, Hawaii
The Hawaiian island of Kauai was created more than 5 million years ago as a result of volcanic activity in the area. One of the island's most spectacular attractions is the Na Pali Coast. Here the rocks practically hang over the sea, and on their surface grow exotic plants and various birds nest. In addition to the picturesque volcanic mountains and evergreen beaches, tourists are attracted here mysterious caves. Over the course of many centuries, sea waves methodically carved out volcanic rocks, thus forming the caves of Hawaii. In the caves you can enjoy virgin nature and sea views.
3. Melissani Cave, Greece
Located on the Greek island of Kefalonia, the Melissani Cave was forgotten for several centuries and was remembered only in 1951, when the Greek Giannis Petrohelios found and opened it again. After all, still in Greek mythology this cave was mentioned as the home of nymphs. The reason for such a wild imagination of the ancient Greeks is quite clear - the cave with its turquoise lake, surrounded by a dense forest, looks truly fabulous. The Melissani cave has a stone base on which there are shallow azure waters, at the top there is a huge stone dome with a huge hole through which sunlight enters deep into the cave, creating amazing reflections on its walls. The entrance to the Melissani cave is also very picturesque - it is overgrown with greenery, and the “door” is decorated with natural brownish stone “plaster”.
4. Skocjan Caves, Slovenia
One of the most famous karst cave systems on our planet are the Škocjan Caves. On the beautiful Kras Plateau, located in the southwest of Slovenia, are these wonderful caves, officially recognized as a nature reserve and a World Heritage Site. The Škocjan Caves owe their appearance to a local river flowing through it called “River”, which over the centuries has “cut down” the caves in the karst deposits. However, as a result of water erosion, several vaults of the cave collapsed, forming the “Mala Dolina” and “Velika Dolina” karst sinkholes, separated by a natural bridge. On the territory of the “Velika Dolina” the River goes underground, appearing on the surface after 34 kilometers already in Italy. In addition, on the territory of the Škocjan Caves there are many dangerous sinkholes, sinkholes and small waterfalls. The largest European grotto, the Martel Hall, is also located in the caves.
5. Marble Caves in Chile Chico, Chile
High in the Andes lies one of the deepest lakes in the world - Lago General Carrera (Chilean name) or Lago Buenos Aires (Argentine name), since the lake is located on the border of Chile and Argentina. Not far from the Chilean city of Chile Chico are the famous Marble Caves. Although the walls of the caves are not made of marble at all, but of limestone, against the backdrop of turquoise water its vaults, which have white and blue tones of color, look very impressive. Thanks to this natural beauty, thousands of tourists come to see the Marble Caves every year. Small pleasure boats bring tourists here, allowing them to see all the splendor of the colors of the cave, as well as look into the natural windows, as if they had melted in the walls of the labyrinth of Marble Caves - boats can no longer pass there. In addition to the amazing Marble Caves, fishing lovers also come to the lake, because its waters are rich in trout and salmon, as well as some other types of fish.
6. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, USA
Mammoth Cave is located in the US state of Kentucky. This unique karst cave has a unique microclimate. The cave was discovered about 4,000 years ago, and remains of ancient torches are still found in it. The cave was used by local tribes for various purposes. American scientists have discovered the mummy of a man who died in this cave more than 2,000 years ago. After numerous studies, scientists came to the conclusion that people were engaged in gypsum mining here. A rare species of shrimp, crayfish and blind fish were discovered in the underground river. In addition, flocks of bats live in the cave. Already from the end of the 19th century, Mammoth Cave became a tourist attraction, for which purpose electric lighting was installed along its entire length. However, if you wish, you can walk through the cave as in ancient times - with a paraffin lamp.
7. Prices of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Coenotes are peculiar formations in caves that appear in rocks under the influence of water. South of the Mexican resort of Cancun, located on the Yucatan Peninsula, there is one of the most beautiful cenotes. According to some data, in ancient times Yucatan was an underwater reef. After the water left, huge caves remained. The caves and grottos of Yucatan are completely underground. There are no land rivers on the peninsula - they all flow underground. The Mayan people once considered cenotes sacred and drank water from them during religious ceremonies. Tourists from all over the world come to Yucatan to swim, dive and admire the underground landscapes. And ancient stalactites and stalagmites make the underwater world truly fabulous. Through the cracks of the caves, sunlight penetrates into the cenotes, giving them a special beauty.
8. Blue Caves, Greece, Zakynthos Island
Zakynthos, one of the largest Greek islands, is home to the amazing Blue Caves. The island has become popular among tourists due to its picturesque surroundings, including beaches and villages. In the village of Volaims there is the Blue Cave, which can only be reached through the sea, as is the case with most of the island. If you visit the Blue Cave at sunset or sunrise, you can enjoy the blue color of the sky and ocean reflected in it. Over many years of water erosion, the rocks have acquired the appearance of amazing natural arches. Thanks to the unusual light effects of the Blue Caves, this place is one of the most visited in Greece. In addition to the beautiful caves, Zakynthos has a famous beach, considered one of the best in the world.
9. Fingal's Singing Cave, Scotland
Over many centuries, on the island of Staffa (the island belongs to the Inner Hebrides group of islands) in Scotland, rain and sea formed one of the largest caves in the world - the Singing Cave of Fingal. The cave owes its name to the famous Scottish poet James Macpherson. According to legend, the giant Fingal, in order to connect Scotland and Ireland, built a dam along which a huge giant walked into his home, while Fingal lay down to rest before the battle with him. However, his wife turned out to be resourceful and said that it was the baby, the son of Fingal, who was sleeping. The huge giant imagined the size of this “baby’s” father and ran away in fear, destroying the dam behind him. According to legend, Staff Island is part of this dam. The second reason for the name of the cave is the Geltish meaning of the phrase “Cave of Melodies”. The name was given to the cave due to the fact that during the surf, the cave hall repeatedly repeats the sounds of the sea, as if singing!
10. Skaftafell Ice Cave, Iceland
Surprisingly beautiful structures - ice caves - often form on the edge of glaciers. In Iceland, on the lagoon of the Svínafellsjökull glacier, there is the famous Skaftafell Cave. Over the past centuries, the glacier has been compressed so much that there are almost no air bubbles, due to which almost all sunlight is absorbed, except for the blue fraction visible inside the cave with the naked eye. Although such blue ice is only possible when washed away upper layer glacier, for example, in winter. However, similar light occurs in floating icebergs and other ice caves. The Skaftafell cave has a seven-meter entrance on the shore. At the end the cave narrows to one meter. However, visiting ice caves is not safe, as it is constantly transforming and can collapse at any time. Only in winter is visiting such caves relatively safe. Because ice caves move with the glacier, cracking sounds can often be heard inside them.
In 1991, in Vietnam (near the border with Laos), a unique Son Doong cave was discovered, recognized as the largest and beautiful cave in the world. Its length reaches nine kilometers, its height is 150 meters, and its age is several million years. Some 150 halls, which would take months to explore, were discovered in the cave.
In 2009 and 2010, speleologists who arrived from the UK worked in Shondong Cave. They spent two weeks underground and described in detail the unusual natural phenomenon. The scientists were amazed by the deep chasms and magnificent stone columns that they encountered along the way. They are confident that modern skyscrapers will fit in the halls of the cave.
Path to Son Doong Cave
In 2015, the cave was officially visited by the first small group of tourists, each of whom did not spare three thousand dollars for the dangerous trip into the dungeon. They had to go down an 80-meter rope and use climbing equipment in dark labyrinths to see 70-meter stalagmites and unusual pearls, underground clouds, jungles and amazing animals, and also hear the roar wild river, the waters of which formed in rocks large premises and carved rock paintings.
How to get to Shondong Cave?
To get to the entrance to the cave you need to move through the impenetrable jungle for more than a day, which not everyone can do. Only the hardiest tourists descend into the cave. Each group of eight people is accompanied by experienced guides and speleologists. Below, a fire is made and food is prepared, and a tent city is created. Tourists will find a multi-kilometer walking route crossing water obstacles.
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