Da Nang Things to Do

Several people have commented on the tourist "China" beach. In my opinion, the less traveled (by tourists) beaches to the northwest of the city are more unique due to the active fishing communities.

The beaches on the northwest side of the crescent-shaped beach on north side of the city is not a destination that tourists typically visit. Tourists visit "China Beach" on the east side of the city and river.

The northern beaches along Nguyen Lu'ong Bang (National highway 1) are busy with local fishermen either putting the boats in the water, setting up their nets, or taking the catch in.

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This museum should not be missed, whether you are staying in Danang or just passing through on your way to Hoi-An.

The Champa Kingdom existed from the 2nd to the 17th centuries, and the Cham Nation still exists as a minority in Vietnam, with its distinct traditions. They were influenced by India through their mutual commercial ties, and embraced the Hindu religion.
The ruins of My Son are a great place to admire Cham architecture, but the modest-looking Danang Cham Sculpture Museum is the place to see their works of art, well preserved, representing various Hindu gods and icons from the 7th to the 15th centuries.

These splendid sculptures are well displayed in large halls, and there is a large variety of themes and subjects: Ceremonial dancers, lingas, Ganeshas, Garudas and more...

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The 5 peaks of the Marble Mountains are said to represent the 5 elements of water, wood, fire, gold and earth. Here you can explore 3 main grottoes which have been transformed into carved Buddhist sanctuaries. It is handy to take a torch with you to see the carvings and to see where you are walking when entering the caves.
After the caves, you can take photos of the views from the small pagoda site before heading on to China Beach which is popular amongst travellers. There are small beach cafes where drinks/ snacks can be bought and you can walk or relax on the sands.
Small fee applies to enter the caves site.

The Museum of Champa Sculpture was built in 1915 and was established by the Ecole Francaise D'extreme Orient with a collection of artifacts gathered from Central Vietnam.
The museum has over 300 sandstone and terracotta sculptures which are masterpieces of Champa Art. There are altar pieces, statues and decorative works from Hindu and Buddhist temples and towers, as the Chams were heavily influenced by Indian culture.
The Champa Kingdom was believed to have been founded in 192 AD and consisted of several ethnic groups.
The museum is a nice place to pass some time on the way to the Marble Mountains site. A small entrance fee applies.

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This is suppose to be the most scenic route in Vietnam. At the crest of Hai Van Pass, you will find Pillboxes - fortifications built by French and then used by South Vietnamese and Americans. A stop here will leave you fighting off aggressive vendors and swamps of flying insects!!!!!

The slow climb upwards takes around an hour and the winding route down-hill may be stomach -churning experience for some.

If you do not wish to go through the long and slow route from Danang to Hue via the Hai Van Pass, there is the faster 6.3km long Hai Van Tunnel that cuts through the moutains.

The Hai Van Tunnel took 5 years to complete and is currently the longest tunnel in South East Asia. Most importantly it takes only a fraction of the time taken from Danang to Hue if you are travelling via the winding Hai Van Pass.

The tunnel has two working lanes, one lane for each direction, and no overtaking is possible. And it is only open to cars and buses, no motorcycles and no bicycles are allowed.

Monkey Island is called Son Tra as it was once home to a healthy colony of monkeys, although sadly visitors today are less likely to see many monkeys around. At particular risk are the red-shanked douc langur and the stump-tailed macaque as well as long-tailed crab-eating macaque.

is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Ngu Hanh Son ward, south of Da Nang city in Vietnam. The five 'mountains' are named under the five elements Kim (metal),Thuy(water), Moc(wood), Hoa(fire) and Tho (earth).

All of these mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels. It is possible to climb to the summit of one of the peaks. Several buddhist sanctuaries could also be found, making it a famous tourist spot. In fact many locals love to climb through these cave entrances and enjoy picnics at the peak! Even though, the locals managed to squeeze through the tiny entrance while wearing flip flops, the entrances are usually slippery and I mention again - tiny...!

The area is famous for stone sculpture making and stone cutting crafts. Direct rock extracting from the mountains are banned recently. Materials are now being transported from quarries in Quang Nam province. 3'000 feet HIGH

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Built in July 1915 with the support of the Far-East Archaeological Research Institute in Hanoi, the Champa Museum now has nearly 2000 large and small sculptures. Of these, 288 are on display inside the museum, 187 objects in the garden and more than 1.200 objects are reserved in the storehouse. Most of the sculptures in the museum are original and mainly of three kinds of materials, including sandstone, terracotta and bronze. The majority of these sculptures from the 12th to the 15th century are made of sandstone with different art styles.

A Brief History of the Champa

According to Chinese chronicles, the Champa kingdom was founded in 192 AD and had different names such as Lin-Yi, Huang-Wang and Chang-Chen. Its territories stretched from south of the Ngang Pass in Quang Binh Province to the delta area of the Dong Nai River in Binh Thuan Province. It included the coastal plains, highland and mountain ranges.

Influenced by the early Hindu civilization, the Champa kingdom was a federation of several smaller states called Mandala and comprised several ethnic groups.

The most important legacy of the Champa kingdom is located in Central Vietnam in the form of brick temples and towers which are scattered over the coastal lowlands and highlands. The structures date from between the 7th and 8th centuries to the 16th and 17th centuries and are concentrated in Quang Nam Danang, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.