Top Tourist Attractions in
Da Nang Vietnam
There’re wonderful tourist attractions in Da Nang Vietnam that you can’t miss when you go there.
Here are the most popular sights that I pick up for your reference:
1. Ba Na Hills
Located about 40 kilometers west of Da Nang city, Ba Na - Nui Chua Nature Reserve plays as a “green lung” of the city and is a great place for sightseeing.
Ba Na Hills Resort has a very impressive Cable Car system, which has achieved 2 Guinness world records:
- Highest difference of height between its upper and lower stations: 1,291 m (4,239 ft)
- Longest non-stop cable: 5,042 m (16,545 ft)
The fee for the cable car is pretty high, as of the time writing this article June 29, 2013, it is VND400,000 (USD20) per round trip: up and down. Unfortunately, there’s no other feasible way, unless you want trekking and hiking trip for a couple of days.
It takes about 15 minutes to reach the mountain peak after 2 separate legs.
Sitting back in a cable car riding in the air, you will enjoy relaxation while watching majestic scenery outside. Pristine beauty of vast mountain, primary forest, cascading stream, large trees, flocks of butterflies flying, wind blows with fresh air and aroma of forest flowers, etc. all will give you a sense of getting lost in the Penglai (Bồng lai tiên cảnh).
On top of Ba Na Hills stand spectacular constructions which have subtle combination of European and Eastern architecture styles.
In Ba Na Hills complex, you will also discover other beautiful places such as: Toc Tien waterfall, Linh Ung Pagoda, French Village, among others.
2. Cham Island (Cù Lao Chàm)
It is a cluster of 8 islands, belonging to Hoi An city of Quang Nam province.
It is about 15 kilometers from Cua Dai Beach (Quang Nam), and takes about 30 minutes by speed boat (fare: $25), and 1.5 hours by wooden boat ($20).
The islands are part of Cu Lao Cham Marine Park, a world Biosphere Reserve recognized by UNESCO. No wonder, they are beautiful islands with clear blue water and white sand.
The island boasts to have good condition for snorkeling. Regretfully, many tourists recently complain about dead coral reef and few marine creatures to see. Besides, the overcrowded status and littering adversely affect the landscape and leave bad impression on travelers’ mind.
3. Museum of Cham Sculpture (Bảo tàng Điêu khắc Chăm)
It is located on a quiet area of Hai Chau District, Da Nang City Center, and close to Han River.
The Cham Museum was built in 1915 in accordance to the motifs of ancient Cham Architecture. It now has the most extensive collection of Cham art worldwide.
The exhibited sculptural artifacts include altars, statues, decorative works, etc. reflecting the culture characteristics of the Champa Kingdom, which ceased to exist from the 14th century.
4. Haivan Pass (đèo Hải Vân)
Hai Van has long been a great attraction for tourists. As a pass of 21km long over mountain, it used to be the main route from Hue to Da Nang Vietnam before the completion of Hai Van tunnel in 2005.
Now, most of traffic flows through the tunnel, so the pass is almost completely deserted and only used by tourist buses, a few locals and the occasional old-school delivery trucks.
The pass runs on an abrupt terrain with sinuous path like a silk line crossing down on the mountain slope. On the way, it’s windy and sometimes so cloudy around that you may feel lost in a mysterious fairyland.
From the pass, looking toward Da nang direction, you can see a clear view of Tien Sa Port, Son Tra Peninsula, and the Cham Islands, which are really spectacular.
Our famous King Tran Nhan Tong once proclaimed that Hai Van Pass was “the most marvelous wonder” when he went for sightseeing there. Long later, the presenter Jeremy Clarkson, on the BBC motoring show Top Gear UK, featured Hai Van Pass of Vietnam is "a deserted ribbon of perfection - one of the best coast roads in the world"
And, I quite understand and definitely agree with them both.
5. Linh Ung Pagoda (Chùa Linh Ứng)
Linh Ung Pagoda was built at the height of about 1,500 meters atop of Ba Na Hills. You can see a majestic white statue of Thich Ca Buddha, which is 27m high and can be seen from far away as downtown Danang on clear days.
Actually, there’re two other Linh Ung pagodas in Da Nang Vietnam: one on Ngu Hanh Son (The Marble Mountains) and the other on Son Tra Peninsular with a Guan Yin statue of 67m height. All three follow the same worship and architecture style.
6. Dang Nang beach (bãi biển Đà Nẵng)
Da Nang Vietnam possesses many beautiful beaches, with blue sea and white sand, good view towards the Son Tra Peninsular and East Vietnam Sea.
See more about Da Nang beach.
7. The Marble Mountains (Ngũ Hành Sơn)
Ngu Hanh Son include 5 mountains, which is named after 5 elements on Chinese wisdom: Kim (metal), Moc (wood), Thuy (water), Hoa (fire) and Tho (earth).
The mountains are about 10 kilometer southeast of Da Nang city. It takes about 20 minutes to go by bus from Da Nang, the fare is about VND20,000 ($1). Actually, it’s on the way from the city to Hoi an ancient town.
As visiting many places and saving cost, I actually hired a motorbike (at $10 per day) to go there.
I was first impressed by the numerous marble statues that artisans made and showed for sale along the way to the entrance of the mountains. There exists a famous profession village called Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village. Foreigners may buy products and get them shipped to your home. But, beware of sale pitch and scams!
Having visited other mountains in Vietnam, especially those in the North, I’m not so impressed at the Marble Mountains. They were a little smaller than I had expected.
There are also many pretty caves, tunnels, grottos along with ancient pagodas for tourists’ sightseeing. Yet, I preferred the nice view of the Non Nuoc Beach down there, just a few hundred meters from the mountains’ foot.
Altogether, those above fabulous sights make up the beauty and attraction of the middle city Da Nang Vietnam. They truly contribute to the tourism attractions to tourists.
How do you think about tourist attractions in Da Nang Vietnam? Have you gone there before? If you have enjoyed the sights, share your comments or photos with our visitors. I’d love to hear from you!
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