DA NANG DESTINATIONS

1. LANG CO BEACH
If you were not planning on staying in Lang Co, a drive through may change your mind. The main street is lined with palm trees enticing you to go for a swim in the crystal clear waters that lap onto fine white sandy beaches. Lang Co is on a sand spit peninsula with a sparkling lagoon on one side, and a long beach lining the South China Sea on the other. This is one of the most beautiful places in Vietnam, and is yet to be developed extensively for tourists, which is probably a good thing.

2. HAI VAN PASS
Travelling by road between Lang Co and Da Nang, you will have to get over the Hai Van Pass. This pass is created by a spur from the Truong Son Mountain Range that extends to the coast. This extremely mountainous road, with its sensational views, is the cause of many local vehicles breaking down. So if you are on one, allow yourself plenty of time. The view from the top of the pass is extraordinarily beautiful and well worth a stop to take it all in.
The train goes through tunnels at the base of the mountain and along the shoreline, so you will miss out on the spectacular views from the top. However you will see some awesome scenery nonetheless.

3. CHAM MUSEUM
The Cham Museum is the main attraction of Da Nang and is worth the trip, even if it is from Hoi An. This old sandstone building houses an excellent collection of Cham art and sculpture. The museum was built between 1915 and 1916, with Da Nang being chosen due to its proximity to the themes of Cham architecture, and was enlarged in 1936 as the collection of works increased. There are now over 300 pieces of sculpture and they are all original pieces of work. The subjects of the sculpture range through a vast ten rooms of the museum bears the name of the district in which the relic were found.

4. CHINA BEACH
China Beach extends north and south of the Marble Mountains and was made famous by the war and subsequent TV series. China Beach is within cycling distance of Da Nang and it was this close proximity that led to it being used as an R&R destination for American soldiers during the war. It is a long beach that stretches all the way down to Cua Dai beach at Hoi An, though you will get a larger surf at China beach. China beach actually hosted Vietnam’s first International Surfing Competition in 1992. There is some controversy as to whether this was the real China Beach or if it was the beach called My Khe, further to the north.

5. MY KHE BEACH
My Khe is the beach directly east of Da Nang on the South China Sea. By road it is about 6 km from the centre of town to the ocean, by crossing the Han River via the Nguyen Van Troi Bridge. Turn left after the river crossing onto the main road, then a right after a couple of kilometers, and follow this street until you hit the water. My Khe Beach and China Beach are only 65 km apart and they are connected by the same stretch of coastline and uninterrupted sand. This proximity to each other makes it easy to understand to confusion towards the real ‘China Beach’, as it is essentially the same beach.

6. MARBLE MOUNTAINS
The Marble Mountains are made up of five limestone outcrops in isolation from the surrounding plains, each riddled with caves and grottoes, with some made into pagodas and shrines. Each mountain represents one of the five elements of the universe, being water, wood, fire, metal and earth. The main mount, representing water, has a path to the top with two entrances open to tourists. You can also enter from the second entrance at the reverse side, farther down the road, which is a much less strenuous climb. The top offers spectacular views of Da Nang and the surrounding Marble Mountains. A better vantage point is reached through a small hole at the top of one of the caves, with the views including China Beach and Cham island.
As you start climbing the stairs, you will be accosted by young children offering to guide you or sell you stone carvings. The guides can be quite good value, as for payment they often just want you to buy a small stone carving, a great pressie for the folks back home. Come of the larger caves have been transformed for religious purposes, and Buddha statues are guilt within them along with all the associated guardians. Some of these caves are quite eerie with the pungent smell in incense sitting in the air and the walls all covered in bullet marks from small arms fighting during the Vietnam War.

During the Vietnam war there was some violent fighting which went on in cave to cave battles. In Huyen Khong cave, one of the large holes in the ceiling was caused y a bomb. Within this cave there are a number of shrines, temple guards and Buddha statues, and there are still stalactites on the ceiling. Off to the side of the cave there are two small stalactites that are believed to represent breasts, one is dripping whilst the other is dry. According to legend, when Emperor Tu Duc entered and touched one of the stalactites, it stopped dropping and never has since. At the base of Marble Mountains there are a large number of stone carving shops reminiscent of Mahalliburipuram, India, as all you can hear is the endless chipping away of stone. All these stores are very keen to sell you a three foot high temple dog.

7. MY SON SANCTUARY
My Son has what is arguably the best collection of Cham art and architecture in its natural setting in Vietnam. It is somewhat of an arduous journey to get out there, but is well worth the effort. If you are not willing to risk life and limb to visit Angkor, at least My Son will give you a little taste of what it must be like. Though some of the monuments were destroyed by the war or thieves, but what remains is still considerable. Many of the structures are overgrown with dense vegetation but you can get inside some of them.

8. PHONG NAM ANCIENT VILLAGE
Phong Nam Village occupies a large surface of Hoa Chau including Nam Thanh, Tay A, Dong Hoa, Bau Cau. Visiting Phong Nam, the tourists will enjoy the peaceful feelings, the pure fragrance of green grass in the wind and the splashing waves of the romantic riverside village. The tourists must feel enjoyable when visiting the river watering place in Dong Hoa (Xom Hen) which was famous for the shell catching and the words "Dong Hoa ban hen mua trau" (Dong Hoa sells shells to buy buffalos) or visiting the old temple under the big banyan tree of the Tay An (Xom Dong) river watering place.
Phong Nam was just only a south part of the large Phong Le Village which is famous for its long history. It is the place that was soon exploited from the Cham period. In the Tran, Le Dynasties, Phong Le used to belong to Dien Ban District. There are many Cham remains, which are now exhibited in Cham Museum- Danang City, found in Phong Le Village. Phong Nam is attractive because of its old architectural works like the pagodas, the regional cathedrals, etc. The village schools, markets are also the interesting places.
Phong Le used to be famous for Muc Dong Festival (the festivals for the children keeping buffalos). This is the festival only for the children keeping the buffalos. It is the festival to honor the importance of agriculture and to long for the better crops.