Unique Campsites On The Hang Ba Deep Jungle Expedition

Unique features of each campsite

Hang Ba Deep Jungle Expedition tour visits remote areas with rough terrain, therefore the logistics and services provided are more limited. However, guests are still provided with tents, sleeping bags, and inflatable mattresses,... but it will not be as “luxurious” as other Oxalis tours. Campsites will be set-up for each use, with no permanent structures, and using caves such as Dai Cao Cave, Light Cave and Vinh Dai Cave as a place for guests to spend the night. One of the important features of the Hang Ba Deep Jungle Expedition tour, as a wildlife conservation tour, is that guests and Oxalis staff do not have direct contact with animals. Instead, hidden camera traps will capture images and videos of animals going about their normal activities.

The unique features of the campsites in Hang Ba Deep Jungle Expedition expedition include:

• Although the most beautiful places have been left for the wildlife, the campsites are still in special areas. They are a definite highlight for customers exploring the Hang Ba ecosystem.
• Each camp has unique features so that the customer will have an unforgettable experience.
• The location of the camp is chosen carefully to ensure safety even when there is unexpected flooding.
• Limited facilities, but all campsites are still fully equipped with tents, sleeping bags, inflatable mattresses, and camping gear.
• The dining area is fully equipped with tables and chairs. Guests can sit back, relax and enjoy some tea or coffee.
• The comfortable and environmentally friendly composting toilet is also prepared.
• All the equipment at the campsites is dark coloured so as not to attract the attention of wild animals.
• The average temperature at each campsite in winter is from 15 to 23 degrees and could get from 30 to 38 degrees in summer. Customers will be provided with sleeping bags in winter or portable fans in summer. In addition, customers are provided with red-mode lights to use at the camp.

Dai Cao Cave Campsite

After swimming into Hang Dai Cao Cave at the exit and trekking through the cave to the entrance you will reach the first campsite of the journey - Dai Cao Cave Campsite.

The campsite is located next to a small cliff at the entrance of Dai Cao Cave. The campsite is placed on high ground and divided into 2 levels: level 1 is for the kitchen and dining area; level 2 is for the sleeping area. Near the dining area is a small blue lake with a gentle stream. This is the junction of the streams from Dai Cao Cave and Maze Cave.

The camp is located next to the entrance of Dai Cao Cave and takes advantage of the breeze and the cool air blowing out from the cave passage. Therefore it has an extremely comfortable temperature.

After visiting Dai Cao Cave, customers will have the opportunity to experience some other activities at the campsite, for instance, swimming, or simply get a chair and a cup of tea or coffee, choose a corner right on the smooth sandbank, sit back and listen to the sound of the jungle and admire the scenery of the camp.

In the evening, after a feast made by our skilful chefs, guests will have some quiet time to admire the scenery of the jungle at night. On cloudless days, a starry sky will appear before your eyes. Just imagine the night with the twittering sound of the forest and the magical galaxy above. Dai Cao Cave Camp is the camp with the most open view of the night sky. Additionally, from April visitors will have the opportunity to see a lot of fireflies flying around the campsite at night.

Early mornings at the campsites are also one of the highlights of the journey. You will be immersed in nature with the sound of birds and monkeys.

Light Cave Campsite

After exploring Maze Cave on the 2nd morning, the group will trek 2 km along the river bank to get to Hang Ba. Customers will participate in some adventurous activities in Hang Ba, cross Vinh Tron Lake, and reach the second campsite in Light Cave.

The campsite is placed in the middle of Light Cave - short but with a magnificent beautiful cave arch on both sides. The camp is located on a high sand dune right next to an underground lake. You can also experience SUP in the cave at this camp.

From the campsite, you can see both entrances of the cave. Therefore, even if you camp inside the cave, you can still enjoy the outside scenery, the sunset lazily descending or the night sky full of twinkling stars. On clear nights, visitors could easily see the milky way right from the Light Cave camp. Because of its location, Light Cave campsite has a pretty cool temperature, always stable around 25-27 degrees.

Additionally, from the Light Cave campsite, in the early morning guests will return to Circle Lake. You will have the opportunity to listen to birds singing and have time for some quiet activity here such as: enjoying the scenery, inhaling the fresh air, having some coffee, swimming, doing some yoga, or even meditation (these activities must not create loud noise).

Vinh Dai Cave Campsite

Customers will have more diverse experiences and activities on day 3 of the Hang Ba deep jungle expedition. After visiting Circle Cave and checking out the camera traps and observing examples of the wild animals’ footprints, visitors will approach the Vinh Dai Cave camp. Save the best for last, this is also the most beautiful camp in the Hang Ba deep jungle expedition tour.

Vinh Dai Cave campsite is located just inside the very beautiful cave entrance, nestled on a calcite balcony, high above the river passage. Influenced by the temperature in the cave and thanks to the underground river flowing below, the temperature at the campsites is also ideally stable, cool in summer and warm in winter. The temperature at the camp is 25 to 27 degrees.

From this camp, the depth of the cave passage combined with the jungle scenery provides impressive contrasting views. Camping here visitors can also catch the sun in the early morning, listen quietly to the animals' concert with the sound of underground rivers slowly flowing in the background. Sipping a cup of tea or coffee and enjoying the sky full of stars, make the most of your last night on Hang Ba Deep Jungle Expedition tour.

Camping gear

Although the campsites are located in remote locations in the deep jungle, Oxalis Adventure always provides the necessary facilities to ensure guests' comfort. The following items are available at the campsite during the Hang Ba Tour:

• Tents: guests have the option of single or double tents (select before departure). The tent has two layers of doors: the insect (mosquitoes) nets layer and the windproof layer which also provides privacy.
• Inside the tent: Each guest is provided with mattresses (with 1 layer of the hard mattress and 1 layer of inflatable mattress), pillows, and sleeping bags (all prepared individually).
• After each tour, all equipment is taken out of the cave and back to Phong Nha where tents and equipment are carefully cleaned and sanitized.
• Toilets and changing tents: each campsite will be prepared with 2 toilets and a changing tent: regularly checked and cleaned.
• In addition, each campsite is also arranged with a fully equipped kitchen, and the dining area is arranged with tables and chairs.

Food at Hang Ba tour campgrounds

Food safety and hygiene is always prioritized by Oxalis Adventure. When choosing food distributors, local households, and distributors like Coopmart are involved. Food such as meat will be prepared before departure and packed in ice boxes. Food on the tour is also prepared in Phong Nha, in order to minimize and avoid noises made by preparation and cooking. Oxalis has prepared a suitable menu making sure it is both delicious and provides enough energy for guests. Food is provided for the first day and the morning of the second day, followed by a resupply for the rest of the trek to ensure the food is fresh and tasty.

Two cooks will accompany the group on each excursion and prepare meals for the guests. Most of the men in Phong Nha are skilled cooks since these men were once jungle men who frequently spent months in the forest and cooked for themselves in these remote locations. The cooks are carefully chosen by Oxalis Adventure; they must have culinary training, complete food safety and hygiene courses, undergo yearly health examinations, and be free of infectious diseases. The majority of travelers that take the Hang Ba tour agreed that the food is excellent including vegetarian and vegan options (available upon request). To choose the best cooks for the tour, Oxalis holds a cooking competition each year. For many guests, the food is one of the highlights of the excursion.

Hang Ba Deep Jungle Expedition tour is a unique tour which travels deep into the jungle, away from norma resources, yet Oxalis Adventure places a high priority on providing visitors and crew with safe drinking water. Watt's filtration system, which was purchased from the United States, treats all the water used for drinking at campgrounds, cooking, brewing tea and coffee, and brushing teeth. Every year, Oxalis Adventure conducts water quality tests to make sure the water meets drinking water standards. The logistics team will set up flasks of boiling water and bottles of filtered water at each campground.

Sanitation at campgrounds

In order to ensure hygiene at campsites, both Oxalis staff and customers have to strictly follow the sanitary regulations.

Composting toilets are available at every campsite on Hang Ba Deep Jungle Expedition tour These are designed by Oxalis and they are environmentally friendly toilets. A plastic bucket and bag are placed underneath the toilet, which is equipped with a household toilet seat. Visitors use rice husks placed next to the toilet to cover the waste, keeping it dry and eliminating odors. When the waste containers are filled, the porter will seal them, bag the waste, remove it from the cave and bury it in a designated spot. After two months, the waste will compost and turn into fertilizer. Both urinating and defecating must be done in composting toilets. The compost toilet at Oxalis has undergone numerous improvements, thanks to the feedback of customers and staff. There will be a biodegradable soap hand washing station outside the restroom.

For each campsite, Oxalis has also set up 2 more changing tents, as well as clothes drying racks. You can change your clothing quickly and easily using a changing tent, which will help keep your tent tidy.

Bathing at Campsite

All campsites on the Hang Ba Deep Jungle Expedition tour are beside rivers and streams, in order to have a good supply of water. This enables basic hygiene such as handwashing, and thorough cleaning of the campsite including cooking and eating equipment.

Customers can swim and bathe in the stream at the campsites under the supervision of the guide and safety assistants. To protect the water supply, all guests are instructed not to use soap, shampoo or conditioner directly into the river or lake. Biodegradable shampoos, if they must be used, can only be used on the sandy area of the campsite away from the water supply. Dry shampoos are preferred.

Rules and regulations of the campsite

Ensuring the safety of visitors and staff when staying at the campsites, Oxalis has the following rules and regulation (applicable to both guests and Oxalis staff):

• Campsites are places where there is no artificial light during the night. The group will be asked to minimize the light around the star watching area so that guests can clearly see the night sky.
• For safety reasons, you should notify your guide or safety expert if you want to leave the camping area, both during the day and at night. A guide or safety assistant must accompany guests when they leave the campsite.
• Without the supervision of a safety assistant, visitors shouldn't swim in streams or lakes. If visitors want to swim alone, they must let the guide know. Even experienced swimmers are required to wear life jackets when swimming.
• Do not laugh, talk loudly, or scream at the campsite or on the way. Otherwise, it will negatively impact the survival of animals in the forest and within the cave (bats and swallows often rest on the ceiling of the cave). Music speakers are not allowed on tour. Please use ear buds, but only at the camp.
• Do not write, draw, or mark names on any tree, rock wall, sandy beach, calcite formation or mud bank anywhere on the tour.
• Do not bring alcohol without permission. Do not use alcohol, beer, stimulants and narcotics during the tour. If a guide, cave expert or safety assistant discovers that a guest has brought alcohol or recreational drugs, the guest will be required to end the tour without receiving a refund for the amount paid.

The Oxalis Experience.