After our introduction to Da Nang’s streets, scooters and food, this adventure took us in a completely different direction.
Upwards.
Our destination was Sun World Ba Na Hills, home to mountain scenery, cable cars, a European-inspired village, amusement park rides and the famous Golden Bridge held aloft by two enormous stone hands.
It promised culture, scenery, food and entertainment in one very full day. It also promised several changes in altitude and, quite possibly, weather.
Leaving Le Sands
We began the day at Le Sands Oceanfront Danang Hotel. Breakfast consisted of good coffee and the usual breakfast buffet staples chosen with the knowledge that lunch might still be a mountain away.
Our tour pickup was scheduled for 7:45am, and we met Hong as we climbed aboard the bus. The drive from Da Nang to Ba Na Hills took approximately an hour, that was after we’d weaved around Danang picking up the other tour group crew.
Along the way, we watched the vista change from urban living to rural Vietnam, with all its intensity and zest for living. Our guide explained so much that I was in information overload and ended up zoning out.
As the mountains grew closer, the weather appeared to change. Clouds sat low over the mountains and the wind seemed to gain intensity.
This became important later.
Leaving sea level behind and heading towards a place where the clouds apparently form part of the décor.
First Impressions of Ba Na Hills
We arrived at the entrance to Ba Na Hills, our first impression was one of slight trepidation, what had we signed up for. The crowds were starting to build and everywhere was a sea of guides holding up their flag to gather their flock. It would be so easy to get separated from your group, everyone was yelling to be heard over the next group.
After tickets we made our way towards the cable-car station, Hong set a cracking pace. It seemed the day could well be a sprint from one spot to the next. This was the moment when it became clear that Ba Na Hills was not simply a scenic lookout with a bridge.
It was an entire mountaintop world.
The entrance suggested that today might involve considerably more than taking one photograph of a bridge.
The Cable Car into the Mountains
Our cable-car journey took us from the base of Ba Na Hills high above the forested slopes and up towards the main park area.
The cabin was full, but spacious enough to not feel crowded, the journey lasted around 30 minutes, due to high winds it was running at a slower speed. As we climbed, the views included rain forest below us, with waterfalls and jagged rocks out to DaNang in the horizon.
The weather changed from calm with the tropical heat of Vietnam to gusty winds with the cloud enveloping the mountains above us. This was going to be an interesting day. One moment we could see for kilometres. The next, we could see the person sitting opposite us.
This may be one of the unusual attractions of Ba Na Hills: several seasons can apparently occur during a single cable-car ride. It’s almost like being in Melbourne, but cheaper!
The ride up into the mountains, with spectacular scenery and no opportunity to ask the driver to pull over.
Arriving in Another World
At the top, we stepped out into the main Ba Na Hills complex and quickly realised this was not going to be a simple mountain lookout.
We found ourselves surrounded by architecture straight out of Europe, but with Vietnamese names everywhere. The transition was slightly disorientating. One moment we were gliding above the Vietnamese mountains; the next, we appeared to have arrived in a medieval European town built above the clouds.
Travel can be wonderfully efficient.
Vietnam in the morning, France by lunchtime—without anyone checking our passports.
Exploring the French Village
The French Village featured cobbled streets, stone buildings, towers, squares and gargoyles. The atmosphere was quite surreal, the weather closed in and our world seemed so small.
The mountain weather added layers of drama to the day making the village appear transported to another time and place.
A remarkably convincing European village, apart from the Vietnamese mountain beneath it.
Lunch at Ba Na Hills
By around noon we were ready for lunch. Our tour included didn’t lunch, the options didn’t seem worth it. We did though have vouchers for two beers each at the brewhouse, and given Helen isn’t a beer drinkers that meant I had 4 beers 🤣
The dining area for the free beers was a quest to get to! They want you to see the brew area and all the features so you follow a meandearing path with very few details about where you are actively going…
The food selection in the Beer Plaza was sadly quite limited, you don’t Discover this until you get there… We chose a simple platter option, best that we could see, but not outstanding.
It did though give us a chance to sit down before voluntarily entering anything that moved quickly. The beers though weren’t bad, the dark lager was a standout.
Mountain dining: a sensible pause before making questionable decisions involving speed and gravity.
The Coaster Ride
After lunch, we made our way to the coaster ride.
This was one of the amusement-style highlights of the day and, perhaps unwisely, we decided that one ride was not enough.
We completed two different circuits, which gave us two chances to enjoy the mountain setting, the speed and the growing awareness that lunch had not been given quite enough time to settle.
The first circuit was a learning curve, you have a brake handle to control your pace. Do you got flat-out or brake for corners… we played it safe the first time.
By the second circuit, we were more adventurous, but as with all good things it was over too quickly.
The coaster gave us a completely different view of Ba Na Hills: less peaceful mountain scenery and more controlled descent with sound effects.
Two circuits, several corners and a renewed respect for the relationship between lunch and gravity.
Weather at the Top
The mountain weather became one of the day’s main characters.
During our visit, we experienced constant low cloud, gusty winds and drizzle.. So glad we’d packed rain jackets! And this is tropical Vietnam!
The temperature at the summit was totally different when compared with Da Nang. At one point, it was seriously cold. The shifting cloud created drama hiding the scenery, but it also made the mountain feel much more atmospheric.
Our advice to future visitors would be make sure you check the weather forecast and come prepared.
Four seasons in one day—and several of them within the same fifteen minutes.
Saving the Golden Bridge for Last
Our final major stop of the day was the Golden Bridge.
This felt like the right way to finish Ba Na Hills: with the park’s most famous view, the mountain air around us and the enormous stone hands holding the walkway in place.
We had seen countless photographs of the curved bridge before visiting, but seeing it in person was magical. The weather by this stage had changed yet again, the cloud had lifted, just for a moment. The crowds were heavy but if your timing was good you could get decent footage. We walked across the bridge, stopping to takevphotographs.
Our best view came from taking Hong, our guides tips and waiting…
Our most successful photograph was a split second timing thing, why do people all want the same shot 🤣🤣
The bridge itself was smaller than we’d expected and almost too touristy to make it worthwhile. The giant hands looked like they were carved from giant polystyrene blocks, although in a very dramatic fashion.
Saving it until the end gave the day a proper finale. After the cable car, the French Village, lunch, the coaster, more wandering and mountain weather, the Golden Bridge provided the dramatic closing scene we had been looking for.
Proof that we reached the Golden Bridge—and eventually found a space between several hundred other photographers.
The Journey Down
Eventually, it was time to leave.
The ride back down gave us more cloud through to clear views.
The journey had included one spectacular cable-car ascent, mountain views, European streets, performances, a substantial lunch, two coaster circuits and the famous bridge held in two giant hands.
Ba Na Hills does not believe in specialising.
Descending to Da Nang after a day in which geography, architecture and weather all became optional.
Was Ba Na Hills Worth the Climb?
Ba Na Hills was okay, I’m not sure what we expected, was it what we found? Still trying to work that out…
The coaster was fun, a great ride even was over too soon.
The Golden Bridge was crowded, the views amazing, but maybe over rated…
The weather was a controlling factor, the gusting wind and drizzle permeated every moment in the mountain.
It was an unusual day—part mountain excursion, part sightseeing trip, part European fantasy and part amusement park.
We travelled above the forest, wandered through European-style streets, ate lunch in the clouds, tested whether two coaster circuits were compatible with buffet dining and finished the day walking between two giant stone hands.
The answer to the lunch-and-coaster question remains open to debate.
Ba Na Hills gave us another memorable day in Vietnam.
Our stomachs may remember it for slightly different reasons.