Son Doong Day 5 Vlog – Climbing the Great Wall of Vietnam
Son Doong Day 5: Climbing the Great Wall of Vietnam & Hiking Back to Reality
It’s day five inside Son Doong Cave, the world’s largest cave buried deep in the remote jungle of Vietnam. It’s dark, it’s wet, and the only way out is a brutal climb straight up the Great Wall of Vietnam — 80 meters of slick vertical cave wall with nothing but ropes, mud, and adrenaline pushing you forward.
This isn’t just the end of the expedition. It’s the most extreme part yet.
Waking Up Underground: Final Breakfast in the World’s Largest Cave
My last morning in Son Doong starts like the others: pitch-black cave, headlamps, the sound of boiling water, and the soft shuffle of porters already three steps ahead of us.
We gather for our final breakfast of the trek — simple cave food that somehow tastes incredible when you’ve been hiking, climbing, and sweating for days. Everyone’s a mix of tired, wired, and quietly nervous. We all know what’s coming: the Great Wall.
Final cave breakfast before tackling the Great Wall of Vietnam.
Gearing Up for the Great Wall of Vietnam
Before we even see the wall, we get harnessed up. Guides check every strap, tug every buckle, and make sure everything is tight. Today is not the day you want a loose harness.
The porters stand nearby, watching us with that calm, slightly amused look they’ve had all week. They’ve seen hundreds of people attempt this climb. You can almost see them silently placing bets on who’s going to struggle, who’s going to crush it, and who’s going to panic halfway up.
We line up for a group photo — tall people in the back, helmets slightly crooked, fake smiles trying to hide very real nerves. Then it’s time to move.
Harnessed up and ready for the Great Wall of Vietnam inside Son Doong.
The Trek to the Wall: Rock, Rope, and a Silent Warmup
By 8:30 a.m., we’re on the move. We retrace the route we used the night before to go swimming — down slippery rocks, over uneven boulders, back into the darkness.
About 25–30 minutes in, we reach the short rock wall we descended the day before. It feels no easier in daylight. It’s a good reminder: the Great Wall isn’t coming out of nowhere. This whole expedition has been training for it — every scramble, every river crossing, every wet, muddy climb.
When we reach the river, the guides shout their instructions:
Drink water now.
Put everything inside your backpack.
No loose bottles, no phones in your hand, nothing dangling.
We hand over our shoes. The team cleans the soles one by one, scraping away built-up mud so we have maximum grip for the climb. Then we slip on life vests and load into the boat.
It’s the same river we swam in yesterday, but today it feels different — more serious, more final.
First Look at the Great Wall of Vietnam
We step off the boat, and there it is: the Great Wall of Vietnam.
It’s broken into three sections:
A ladder section — the “easiest” part.
A steeper, more technical middle.
A longer, still steep final stretch.
From below, it looks like a near-vertical wall of rock disappearing into darkness, lit only by the headlamps and spotlights of the safety team. You can see climbers above, tiny silhouettes clipped to bright ropes, inching their way up.
They tell us the climb usually takes about seven minutes from bottom to top. “On average,” the guide says. “Not a race.”
But let’s be honest — the minute someone says “average time,” you suddenly have a personal target.
The Climb: 80 Meters of Mud, Rope, and Adrenaline
My turn comes. I stretch out my legs, trying to wake them up after the long boat ride. Harness checked. Carabiners locked. Rope clipped in.
“Ready?” the guide asks.
I nod. My goal: beat the seven-minute “average” without doing anything stupid.
The first section starts off on a ladder — comfortable, controlled, almost familiar. Then the ladder ends, and it’s all rock, rope, and careful footwork.
Commands echo up and down the wall:
“Step over the ladder.”
“Left foot, then right.”
“Lean back, lean back!”
“Hold the black rope!”
Grip strength starts to fade. Forearms burn. I ask how I’m doing. My guide laughs:
“You tired?”
“Yes.”
“No, very strong. Strong man.”
We reach a small rest ledge between sections. I check my watch: 5 minutes and 37 seconds. Not bad.
They tell me the last section is longer but easier. At that point, “easy” is relative — but something about going up feels mentally better than all those steep, sketchy down-climbs from earlier in the expedition.
One more push, one more sequence of holds, and then suddenly — flat ground. Lights. People.
I’ve made it to the top of the Great Wall of Vietnam.
Waiting at the Top: Watching Others Conquer the Wall
From the top, the Great Wall feels even more surreal. Looking down, you watch tiny headlamps move slowly up the rock face like fireflies. Each light is another trekker dealing with their own personal battle — fear of heights, tired legs, shaky grip, or just pure exhaustion.
The safety team is spread across three sections, managing ropes and calling encouragement.
For me, the climb was tough — no question — but not the hardest part of the entire expedition. The steep descent on day two still holds that title in my mind. Going down is a mental game; going up is more about strength and rhythm.
I stay to watch the final climber, Nigel, make his way up. Everyone else has drifted toward food. I’m the only one standing there when he taps the top, and we share that post-adrenaline, “Did we really just do that?” look.
Cave Lunch: Soup, Bread, and a Lot of Relief
By 11:16 a.m., almost two hours and forty minutes into the day, lunch is ready.
On the table:
French-style bread
Beef soup with carrots and potatoes
Fresh pear
Rice cakes
Oreos
Cream cheese
Hand sanitizer (the real MVP of cave life)
The porters and cooks do what they’ve done all week — quietly producing a meal in the middle of nowhere that feels like a small miracle.
We eat in the dark, with the Great Wall just behind us, now just a jagged silhouette instead of an impossible obstacle.
The Final Jungle Push: Mud, Boulders, and Bats
After lunch, the day is far from over.
We shoulder our packs and begin another brutal section — jagged boulders, sharp rocks, slippery mud, and constant up-and-down movements that demand both focus and balance. Gloves are absolutely mandatory here.
Somewhere along the way, we spot bats circling above, catching the light from our headlamps as they sweep past. The cave begins to open up in the distance — a faint glow that grows slowly, teasing us with the idea of daylight.
“Don’t hit your head,” someone calls back as we crawl under a low ceiling. It’s half joke, half very real warning.
Eventually we step out of the cave mouth and back into the jungle. But even then, it’s not over. The trail is muddy, rocky, and narrow, with 40 minutes of tricky jungle hiking — the kind that punishes tired ankles and knees.
A Hard Reset: From War Stories to Outdoor Adventures
By the time we reach a flatter section of jungle, I’m drenched in sweat and mud, breathing hard but feeling strangely calm.
The beauty of the Vietnamese jungle is undeniable — lush, green, alive. But as an American walking these trails, it’s impossible not to think about the history here.
Not too long ago, jungles like this were scenes of chaos and survival — a very different kind of mission, under very different circumstances. For some people, this part of the world was hell on earth.
Now, decades later, I’m here voluntarily, chasing the “coolest outdoor adventure” of my life in a place that was once a battlefield. That contrast sits with me as I walk: how far history has moved, and how lucky I am to be experiencing this jungle through the lens of exploration instead of survival.
Back to Civilization: Buses, Beer, and Goodbyes
Five hours after we set out that morning, we finally step out of the jungle and onto a road.
Waiting for us:
Shuttle buses for the porters
Shuttle buses for us
A fridge full of cold beer
We line up for a final group photo — the classic “One, two, three… three, two, one!” pose routine. Then come the hugs, the handshakes, the “thank you” after “thank you” to the guides, porters, and staff who made this entire expedition possible and safe.
For most of the group, it’s back to the Oxalis office, then on to dinner and eventually, the next chapter of their travels. For me, there’s a little detour first.
Farewell Dinner: Stories, Favorites, and Future Adventures
At 6 p.m., I walk over to the homestay restaurant for the farewell dinner — bittersweet but necessary.
Everyone looks wildly different without helmets, mud, and cave lighting. Clean clothes, brushed hair, actual shoes instead of wet boots — it’s like seeing your trek group in an alternate timeline.
We trade stories:
Favorite day of the trek
Hardest section
Funniest moment
Whether the trip was “worth the money”
The consensus? Absolutely worth it. When you factor in the number of staff, the logistics, the safety setup, and the sheer remoteness of Son Doong, the price starts to make a lot of sense.
We talk about other caves, future trips, and which parts nearly broke us. Some loved the jungle days. Others preferred the epic cave chambers. Everyone agrees the muddy bouldering section on this last day was no joke.
There’s talk of ice caves, more caving around the world, and maybe coming back to do different multi-day routes. The guides joke about future discounts if we return when they’re “the boss.”
I offer to share my raw GoPro footage with anyone who wants it. All I need are Gmail addresses. That’s the beauty of trips like this — you arrive as strangers and leave with shared memories that only a handful of people on earth truly understand.
Final Night Reflections: The Coolest Place I’ve Ever Been
Back in my room, laundry done and gear laid out to dry, I start the process that all long trips demand:
De-packing and repacking
Sorting footage and batteries
Wiping mud off everything
Mentally preparing for the next destination
Tomorrow is technically day six, but I’m leaving at 6 a.m., so it barely feels like a full day. The expedition is over.
Son Doong wasn’t just another cool place. It is, without question, the most unforgettable place I’ve ever been.
We climbed, crawled, swam, and scrambled through a world that most people will only ever see in photos. We stood inside chambers so massive they break your sense of scale. We slept on cave floors, crossed underground rivers, and climbed an 80-meter wall to get back to the surface.
I’m walking away injury-free, exhausted, and incredibly grateful. Now I have to take all of that — the adrenaline, the fear, the wonder — and somehow move forward with my life and travels.
But one thing’s for sure: Son Doong lived up to the hype.
We did it. We made it through every twist, turn, river, climb, and cave. We stood inside places most people don’t even know exist. And now we’re back at the surface with muddy boots and full hearts.
More adventures are coming.
Travel far.
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🎥 Watch the Full Video
Want to see the jungle inside the world’s largest cave? Watch the full Son Doong Day 5 Vlog on YouTube — and catch all the raw moments, rope climbs, cinematic landscapes, and behind-the-scenes group life.
Thanks for coming along — and as always…
Travel Far.