Ba Na Hills

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Vietnam was a part of French Indochina. Tired of the oppressive heat and humidity, the French constructed a hill station in the mountains outside of Da Nang. Ba Na Hills, in contrast to the 90+ F degree weather down in Da Nang, is almost always in the 50s-70s F. The air is clear, cool, and misty. It's the perfect retreat from the tropical heat. Today, Ba Na Hills is accessible by the world's longest cable car.

the cable car up Ba Na Hills

While Pinky's sister, Anny, is in town, we are treating the week like a real vacation, and that includes splurging on a couple of days at the top of Ba Na Hills, at the Mercure Ba Na Hills Resort, a four-star resort built in the old French village way up in the Vietnamese mountains. We left Da Nang very early and made our way by hired car to the base of Ba Na Hills where we checked in at the Mercure front desk. After checking in, we left our luggage with reception, who would send it up to our room later. We were escorted by a bellboy to the cable car, skipping the queues of day-trippers, and headed up the mountain by amazingly scenic cable car.

arriving at the  half-way point

The cable car made its first stop about three-quarters of the way up the mountain at the first hill station. Our room would be ready at 2pm, so we had plenty of time to explore. We made it our mission to follow our map and see every sight on Ba Na Hill! Even though it was early, the hill was already getting crowded with visitors - mostly day-trippers on package tours. We tried to push ahead of them so that we could explore at our own pace.

looking back over Da Nang with the bay in the far distance

The very first site we came to was the ruins of an old French villa on the side of the mountain. Now, only a few walls, pillars, and the fireplace remain. Colonialism is always a tricky subject, but I couldn't help but feel just a bit wistful imagining the glory days of Ba Na Hill. It was a tiny slice of  Europe in a faraway land. For those officers and their families posted so far away from home with very few chances to visit Europe, it must have meant the world to be able to escape the politics, tropical heat, and pressures of their lives. For a time, they could forget that they were so far from home, and imagine that they were back in France.

ruins of an old French villa

The halfway station has a number of beautiful attractions, and is one of the most popular spots on the hill. As soon as we stepped out of the cable car station, we were hit by a sensation that I haven't felt in a very long time: cold air! It was actually cold! The chilly and damp wind carried a thick mist up the mountain, keeping it perpetually cool and comfortable. The air was also so clean and fresh.

enjoying the beautiful weather

The Debay Wine Cellar was dug into the side of the mountain, a dark, stone passage that remains perpetually between 16 and 20 degrees C. The wine cellar, built in 1923, is still open to visitors.

French wine cellar built in 1923

We headed into the wine cellar, through the winding, dimly-lit stone passages. Barrels lay stacked against the cool, damp walls, and hundreds of decades old bottles lined the racks on the walls. I again had a picture of the French colonists, desperate to cling on to a bit of their home.

the French wine cellar

Outside of the cellar were the beautiful European gardens, looking like something from a French palace or villa. The gardens were beautifully designed, with colorful flowers, marble statues, and even a hedge maze to wander through.

beautiful gardens

This felt nothing like Vietnam, nor indeed anything like Asia. Standing on Ba Na Hills was truly like being transported thousands of miles away to the French countryside. After all, I guess that's the point!

in the French gardens

We explored the gardens, got lost in the maze, and pretended to play a game of giant chess, although the pieces were too big and heavy to really move.

it was a beautiful day up in the mountains

It was starting to get a little bit crowded by the time we had seen all of the gardens. Most people only visit Ba Na Hills for the day, since there's only one hotel on the top and it's a little bit pricey.

lavender field

There's also a temple up on the side of the hill. The temple is also called Linh Ung Pagoda (the same name as the Lady Buddha that we saw the day before), and has a huge white statue of the Buddha who looks out over the valley below.

Buddhist statue on Ba Na Hill

By this point, we were getting a little tired and hungry. We decided to head up to the top of the mountain to check in to the hotel and have something for lunch.

incredible scenery from the temple

Another cable car ride later, there we were at the top of Ba Na Hill, on a cold, misty, windy day, having been magically transported to a small provincial French village.

looking down the mountain