A group of locals in central Quang Binh province believe they havediscovered a new cave, adding to the province’s already extensivenetwork of caverns.

The group, who was on a trip to do wood workfrom the province's Phuc Trach Commune, said the cave's entrance iscovered by forest trees in the territory of Phong Nha-Ke Bang NationalPark.

The newly discovered cave is said to be 3km east of Thien Duong (Paradise) Cave and 300m above sea level.

Accordingto initial accounts, the new cave is said to be on the same grand scaleas Paradise, is very long and has an inner stream.

The discoverycomes as Quang Binh has been catapulted onto world travel lists as oneof the most coveted destinations for cave explorers.

The province has four caves with tours running daily, Son Doong, Tu Lan, Paradise and Phong Nha.

SonDoong, which was discovered in 2009, is said to be the world's largestcave, according to the British Cave Research Association.

NguyenChau A, who works closely with British cave explorers to run sustainabletours through Son Doong and the Tu Lan caves, said there are still morecaves in the area that have not yet been discovered.

Local authorities expect cave-related tourism to bolster the local economy and reduce illegal forest logging.-VNA