What a wonderful experience to discover Konglor Cave in Khammuan province, the longest and most spectacular cave in Laos.
In the eye of the beholder, the cave is truly an awesome sight.
With a group of friends who are really keen on photography and part of the Lao photography web community (http://www.tamsang.com), we set off to discover Konglor Cave.
Early one Saturday morning at about 05:30 we decided to flee the hubbub of Vientiane and so four of us and a driver set off by minivan hoping to reach the cave by midday, stopping along the way to take a few photos.
Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!
We reached Borikhamxay province just in time to admire a spectacular sunrise, the sky bursting with colour and light and the four of us bursting with excitement to start snapping away.
We then set off again, stopping in Paxkan district for a bit of breakfast.
It took us about three hours to reach Nahin village where we booked into a guesthouse and then had lunch before setting off for the cave which, passing through an incredible landscape of limestone mountains, is situated about one hour from the village.
We reached the cave (part of the National Protected Area Forest Area of Hinboun Mountain) and as it was a beautiful fine day with few tourists in sight, we thought that this was our lucky day.
To the cave it cost us 115,000 kip to hire a boat for three people which included two boatmen, one to steer and one to navigate. They told us that for safety reasons no more than three passengers were allowed per boat. We thought that this was also possibly a way of generating a bit more income for the local people.
One boatman said that the cave was a subterranean limestone tunnel measuring about 7.5 km, was 30m wide and in some places between 20 to 100m high. Once we entered the cave it was cold and completely dark and all we could were the beams from the boatmens’ torches lighting up the walls. No chance of taking photos here.
After about 10 minutes in the dark, we ventured upon an area where lights had been set up. It was awesome, like stepping into another world… a sea world, completely surrounded by so many different stalagmites and stalactites. It was absolutely breathtaking and needless to say, we didn’t stop snapping.
After about an hour we re-embarked on our journey to discover another part of the cave.
Passing through many tunnels we were once again submerged in darkness and so couldn’t make out how big the cave was. At this time of year the water level is low so we had to get out of the boat several times and the boatmen had to drag the craft over the rocks before we could continue.
As the rocks are sharp and slippery, wearing rubber boots or shoes is probably a good idea.
As we travelled through the cave we saw birds and possibly bats and water from the ceiling dripped on us so it is a good idea to protect your camera equipment.
What a relief when after about an hour in the dark we saw a tiny light coming from the end of a tunnel. As we got closer we realised that it was the mouth of another cave.
At this point we were able to get off the boat and relax. There was a restaurant here where you could eat and drink. This part of the area is less attractive and it takes a while to reach so not many tourists come this far.
We didn’t spend as much time getting back to our departure point. As we didn’t want to miss the sunset in the limestone mountains on our back to Nahin, we didn’t waste time heading back to our van.
We got up at 05:00 the next morning, packed our stuff and headed about 10km from Nahin, to a vantage point where we could view sunrise.
For 20 km we then visited a smaller cave, Dragon Cave. We had lunch and headed on our way home.
Only a four drive away from the city, we all thought it was a worthwhile trip and a good way for families and friends to spend a weekend and to escape from the noise and bustle of Vientiane.
The best time of year to visit Konglor Cave in Khammuan province is when it isn’t too hot and the water level is low. Finding a guesthouse or home stay is not a problem.
