Phong Nha has an mesmerizing history, dating back thousands of years. It is sometimes hard, however, to get access to this extremely interesting information. We have created this page as a starting point, hoping that it offers some introductory insight. We plan to develop largely upon the documentation of Phong Nha’s history, culture and stories in the near future through blog articles, interviews and media on this website.
In some caves in the park, pottery has been discovered that is 1000’s of years old. Recently an axe head was discovered in Hang En that dates back to 5000 years ago. The Phong Nha area along with what is now the rest of coastal Quang Binh province, Quang Tri province and Hue province often changed hands between the northern Sino-Vietnamese Empire and the southern Cham Empire during the reigns of these empires centuries ago. The area was never held by either empire long enough for the Cham to build their classic brick temples that can be found scattered around the rice fields from Da Nang all the way south to below Nha Trang, but they did scatter pottery about the province, especially around the rivers and easily accessed caves including Phong Nha Cave. The Cham monks broke stalagmites to make alters and painted graffiti on the walls of the cave too.
More recently, it was discovered that Phong Nha Cave was mentioned in travel brochures for Hue tourism in the early 1900’s. While some caves were used during the wars against the French, Japanese and Americans, other caves like Hang Son Doong have not had anyone venture into them until as late as 2009.
Phong Nha played a major role in the American War between the mid-1960’s and mid-1970’s. The area was a staging point for the Ho Chi Minh Trail and a training ground for the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The area was extensively bombed and many of the American planes were shot down here in a huge surface to air conflict. The NVA were taking recruits and equipment south and the Americans were using aerial bombing to try and stop the flow of traffic. Russia and China amplified this chaos by supplying anti-aircraft artillery to counteract the American aggression. It was a difficult time in the area for all involved, and most children were often kept underground in caves and purpose-built tunnels. Nowadays, a British-based non-government organization called MAG is working around Phong Nha to clean up the unexploded ordnance (UXO) that still litter the region, causing much harm and distress to the local populations. More can be learned about this at Phong Nha Farmstay. There is also a great information centre managed by an non-government organization called RENEW in Dong Ha City, 120km south of Phong Nha in Quang Tri Province.
Visit Phong Nha has published an article about the discovery of the world’s largest cave and there are many more stories about the local area and the caves, but if you are interested in hearing some personally, then get out and talk to the fascinating people who live in this area. There are also many English-speaking Vietnamese and some foreigners living and working in the area who have a keen interest in the history. Chat to the Staff at Phong Nha Farmstay or at Victory Road Villas All of these wonderful people have a wealth of knowledge about Phong Nha, and each have their own area of expertise!
