National Geographic USA – June 2019

T MINUS ONE MONTH

A WALK FOR THE

FORTUNATE FEW

Only a limited number

of travelers are allowed

to visit these caves each

year, but Cerè snagged a

last-minute spot through

a friend of a friend. Look-

ing at photos online, he

knew he’d need a lens that

could handle the light

contrasts inside the caves

and decided to invest in

new camera equipment.

As the trip approached,

Cerè ran every day to pre-

pare for the physical toll

of hiking and climbing in

the sweltering jungle.

TREK TO THE DEEP

T MINUS ONE WEEK

ESSENTIAL

PACKING LIST

The trip poses at least

one confounding pack-

ing problem: It’s wet and

muddy, but nonbreath-

able waterproof boots can

breed foot infections.

• Permeable hiking shoes
  that dry quickly


• Foot powder to prevent
  bacterial infection


• A waterproof bag to
  store essentials during
  river crossings


• Long pants and long-
  sleeve shirts to protect
  from leeches


• Tablets to replace elec-
  trolytes lost in sweat


• A tripod to stabilize the
  camera in low light

T MINUS ZERO DAYS

READY FOR

LAUNCH

The expedition mem-

bers met in Hanoi for a

few days to get to know

each other and then took

a quick flight to Dong

Hoi. Entering the jungle,

Cerè switched his phone

off, glad to be unreach-

able. The narrow paths

flowed up and down. The

group spent four days

wading through hip-high

waters before traversing

through and camping in

soaring caves. At the end

of Hang Son Doong stood

the Great Wall of Vietnam,

a 200-foot barrier to be

conquered by both ladder

and rope climbing.

In Vietnam,

jungle and

leeches greet

hikers on

their way to

explore two

of the world’s

largest caves.

ITALIAN PHYSICIST and
photographer Alessandro
Cerè took a break from
work at the Centre for
Quantum Technologies in
Singapore to venture into
Hang En (pictured) and
Hang Son Doong, two of
the top three largest known
caves in the world. To get
there, a punishing path
and 90 percent humidity
test even the fittest hiker.

ILLUMINATING THE MYSTERIES—AND WONDERS—ALL AROUND US EVERY DAY

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC VOL. 235 NO. 6

EXPLORE

IN THIS SECTION

Dragonflies Fake Death

Making Movie Sounds

Historic Nightlife

Tortoise Domination

30 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC