Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son)

Attraction · Limestone hills, caves and pagodasNgu Hanh Son (day trip), Hoi An

A cluster of marble and limestone hills between Hoi An and Da Nang, with cave shrines, pagodas, viewpoints and the Non Nuoc stone-carving village at their foot.

At a glance

Type: Limestone hills, caves and pagodas
Area: Ngu Hanh Son (day trip), Hoi An, Vietnam

Good to know

Elevator up Thuy Son
Cave temples
Stone-carving village

Why we recommend it

The Marble Mountains, known in Vietnamese as Ngu Hanh Son, are a group of marble and limestone hills named after the five elements, rising out of the flat coastal plain in the south-east of Da Nang. They make an easy half-day trip from Hoi An, roughly 30 minutes by car along the coastal road, which places them neatly on the way between Hoi An and central Da Nang.

Most visitors concentrate on Thuy Son, the water mountain, which is the most prominent of the group and the one with most to see. It has nine caves, five temples and towers, and two viewpoints, Vong Giang Dai and Vong Hai Dai, whose names refer to looking out over the river and the sea. The best-known caves are Huyen Khong and Am Phu, and Am Phu has its own separate ticket. Tam Thai Pagoda is dated to 1630, and Linh Ung Pagoda is associated with Emperor Minh Mang in 1825.

You can climb Thuy Son by a stairway of more than 150 stone steps or take the elevator, which has a small one-way or return fare. Tickets for Thuy Son are sold at Gate 01 and Gate 02, children under six enter free, and guided tours are available for a fee per group. The elevator is the easier option for anyone who would rather avoid the long climb.

At the foot of the mountains is Non Nuoc stone-carving village, whose origins go back at least to the 17th century, when craftsmen from Quan Khai village carved stone steles. The village was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2014, and Master Huynh Ba Quat is honoured as the founding ancestor of the craft. Direct extraction of stone from the mountains has been banned, and materials now come from quarries elsewhere in the region.

The mountains are also the setting for the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Festival, held since 1962 and recognised as a national-level folk festival at the end of 1999. The site is about 8 km from central Da Nang, at 81 Huyen Tran Cong Chua Street, and the drive south to Hoi An follows the Truong Sa and Lac Long Quan coastal road. The mountains received national special relic status in January 2019, and during the Vietnam War they lay close to an American air facility.