Life & Style
Ba Den Mountain – A pilgrimage to the sacred land
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| Racers of the previous Tú Làn Race are swimming in a stream. Photo courtesy of Oxalis |
Viet Nam News
QUẢNG BÌNH — Tú Làn Cave, sister of the biggest cave in the world, Sơn Đoòng, is offering visitors treks, swimming, caving trips and a race.
The race will raise funds to build floating houses that protect locals in nearby Tân Hóa Commune from floods.
According to Nguyễn Châu Á, director of a local company running tour programmes to Tú Làn and Sơn Đoòng grottos, this year’s Tú Làn Race will accommodate 100 visitors, both foreigners and locals, in 10 teams.
Á said the race includes 10km boating upwards the stream of Rào Nan, a local river, a 17km run across sweet corn fields in the commune, trekking in the jungle and swimming in an underground stream inside the cave.
The race will take place from March 31 to April 3 around and in Tú Làn cave system, which is similar to Sơn Đoòng, though smaller.
This year’s race features one team from the Người Bất Tử (The Immortal) movie crew. Vietnamese-American director Victor Vũ’s movie was largely filmed in the caves of Tú Làn and Phong Nha, and nearby scenic landscapes.
The winning team will be awarded VNĐ150 million (US$6,700).
Á said the race will help raise funds to build five floating houses and a library in the commune with a total cost of VNĐ210 million ($9,400).
The commune is in a low-lying region, surrounded by mountains and several streams, making it vulnerable floodwater during monsoons. The houses are in ordinary structures but with large buoys underneath and a rope to hold them still from rising floodwaters.
The races held annually since 2015 have helped build 40 floating houses, but more are needed, according to Á. — VNS
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| View of the area that is for the marathon race. Photo courtesy of Oxalis |
