Watch a drone capture the intensity of the world’s largest cave like never before

Hang Son Doong (translating to mountain river cave) happens to be the world’s largest cave. Located near the Laos-Vietnam border, this natural wonder is five miles long, and holds its own rainforest, lake and underground river. Composed of a network of about 150 individual caves, its largest chamber is a vaulting 5 kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide.

Nestled within a massive forest surrounding the Annamite Mountains, the entrance of this gargantuan cave is hard to find; many trails have even led trekkers right past it without even noticing it. The cave was discovered by a local farmer in 2009, and the first tourist expeditions into it were only as recent as 2013. Approaching this cave is no cakewalk either; it involves a hazardous 36-hour journey through dense jungle before even reaching its entrance.

While scientists speculate the existence of larger caves that are as yet undiscovered in regions like the Amazon rain forest, for now this one stakes the claim as being the most spectacular in scale.

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Want to know more? Head to the cave’s official website here.