The marble mountains - Hoi An, Vietnam

I woke up early to get to the marble mountains. It's a mountain area here in Hoi An/Da Nang. It's situated between these two cities. The mountains here are very close to each other. But they are not connected.

Getting there

I drive to the mountains myself by motorbike. The drive is very easy. Everything is flat around here. The streets are wide and easy. I didn't want to take a tour. I love exploring things myself. I also don't like to be rushed and packed between other tourists. I love my freedom.

I typed in "marble mountains" on google maps which let me to the starting point. This starting point is different than the one from the tours. The one from the tours uses an elevator to get up in the mountain area. I'm kind of on the other side of the mountains. There are a lot of temples (pagodas) here.

Starting the hike

This starting point is very weird. I don't think many people know about this place. There are barely any motorbikes here. The only motorbikes are from the people working in the gardens at the pagodas. I park my bike next to theirs and get going into the mountains.

The stairs are badly maintained. I like hikes like these. It's more genuine and free, yet you cannot get lost. The whole architecture here is amazing. There are statues, pagodas, gardens and towers. It's just wonderful.

Here's a little meditation house. I don't know if this is being used or not. I did see some monks during my 4-hour stay in these mountains, but very rarely.

I keep following the paths and the crappy stairs until I see a gate! This is all surreal. Who even puts a gate here?

The main park

After this I pass through this entrance. You can call it the entrance to the park. Passed this point everything is marked. This is the main area with all the caves and sights. The elevator is all the way on the other side.

Once passed the gate, I enter the 'Van Thong' cave. The cave has a Buddha with lights. You can go around the statue and deeper into the cave. I totally recommend doing this. It is well worth it.

You can go even further into the cave and exit through the back. The exit has a bit of climb work and is very narrow. I love this. I had to take off my back to squeeze through it. The other side takes you to one of the peaks. It's the second highest peak. The views are amazing!

After climbing this peak. I want to reach the highest peak. I can see it from here. But I don't know how to get there. So I start wandering around until I find it. On my little exploration exhibition I find the biggest cave of the marble mountains.

This cave is gorgeous! But a lot of tourists have arrived now. It's not possible to get a good picture anymore. There will always be people in it.

The highest peak

After this cave I finally find the path to the top! It is very, very steep. But I make it! I get greeted by this amazing view. This is so worth it!

I hang around a bit on the top, enjoying the view. Then I take this opportunity to take my drone out.

The picture above shows all the pagodas in the mountains. It is so beautiful and surreal. I love this area. It was an amazing day with lots of hiking. I'm so glad I came to the marble mountains.