The Tien Cave is located in the central province’s Cao Quang Commune, Tuyen Hoa District, 70 km to the west of the famous Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. The photographs in this collection were taken this June by Ly Hoang Long, chairman of the Art Council, Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists.

This lake has clean water where visitors can cool off and camp overnight before entering the Tien Cave. The largest dry cave of the Tu Lan cave complex, Tien Cave is nearly 3 km long and divided into two caves separated by a primeval forest. It has been open to visitors since 2017.

The cave entrance is reached after walking and climbing short cliffs. The entrance is about 50 m wide and 100 m high, with unique stripes on the cave wall.

There is a huge stalactite inside that lends material substance to the legend that this is a place where fairies come down from heaven to play and enjoy the stunningly beautiful landscape. Locals consider the Tien Cave a sacred place and use it as a location for important rituals like prayers for rain and peace.

During the rainy and flooding season, water from local streams and rivers pours into the cave, creating underground rivers. When the water recedes, natural lakes are formed, and layers of stalactites that look like terraces come into view.

The visitors wade through an underground river to explore the cave.

This tunnel in the Cha Loi Cave has stalactites of diverse shapes and sizes that invite awestruck contemplation. “The attraction of Cha Loi Cave is the thrill of a space that is constantly changing. You keep going down and down and suddenly, with no warning, the direction changes into a long ascent at the end of which we can see light at the end of the path,” Long said. The photographer said the team was thankful for the enthusiastic support of tour companies that facilitated their discovery of the Tien and Cha Loi caves. He added his photography in the dark caves was also aided by the lighting support team.