This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site is  in Vietnam, 500 kilometers south of Hanoi. Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park is located on the site of one of the world’s largest karst systems. Karst is a type of terrain that is distinguished by limestone rock formations and caves. Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park  contains 65-70 kilometers worth of caves and underwater rivers.

Of the 300 caves and grottoes located in the park, only 20 have been studied and mapped.  The most spectacular of these caves is Phong Nha Cave, which is 7729 meters long.  Although tourists are only allowed to see the first 1,500 meters of the cave,  it is a popular destination due to its numerous grottoes and 13,969 meter-long underground river.

Phong Na cave is also filled with fascinating rock formations that have been given fanciful names like the Lion, the Fairy Caves, the Royal Court and the Buddha.

The park also boasts the world’s largest cave, called Son Doong Cave.

Above ground, the park is covered with evergreen forests. It is home to rare orchids and many different species of animals, including monkeys, deer, guar (a type of wild cow), bears, antelopes and the pangolin, or scaly antelope.

To get to Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, you need both a valid passport and  a visa. Vietnam visa regulations do not allow visas to be issued on arrival, so you will need to apply in advance.

Here are the required documents for US tourists applying for a Vietnamese visa:

• Your US passport
• A completed Vietnamese visa application
• A recent passport photo, taken within the past 6 months.

Also, if you need a multiple-entry visa, make sure you specify that when you apply-otherwise, the default is a single-entry visa.

It can be somewhat confusing and intimidating to negotiate the visa system of an unfamiliar country-that’s why RushMyTravelVisa.com is here to help. We’ll walk you through the application process and deliver your application to the appropriate visa or consulate for the fastest service possible.

Apply for your Vietnam visa today!

Tags: UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Vietnam, vietnam visa, Vietnamese visa

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 28th, 2010 at 9:30 pm and is filed under World Heritage Site of the Week. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.