After a long time staying at home due to the pandemic, Ti - my friend in Da Nang - texted: "Let's go to Da Nang, there are some great places. It's easy, but you have to have someone who knows you to go." After a while of questioning, he only revealed: "Just hanging around Son Tra, not going anywhere far, remember to bring a swimsuit."
As a diver who hunted for fish in the rocky outcrops near the shore, and familiar with almost every corner of the Son Tra - Hai Van coast, Ti said so, there must be something interesting. So off we went.
Sail to Cape Nghe
Gathering in Da Nang, we drove to Son Tra on motorbikes early in the morning. The sea and sky were blue, Da Nang city with its tall buildings rising to the blue sky under the early morning sunlight, looked so beautiful.
Ti said it was still early, so he took the opportunity to visit Linh Ung Pagoda and the thousand-year-old banyan tree. Almost everyone who went to Son Tra had visited these places at least once - of course we had too, so we weren't too excited. But since the "local" told us to, we'd just do it.
Beautiful Da Nang, seen from Son Tra peninsula
Linh Ung Pagoda
Thousand-year-old banyan tree
When leaving the area of the thousand-year-old banyan tree, Ti led us back to the far city, leaving us all bewildered, not knowing where he was taking us. Then he suddenly turned the car into the Bai Da tourist area - when we were almost at Linh Ung Pagoda.
After carefully locking the car in the parking area, Ti took off his gear and smiled: "Ti planned to take everyone to Mui Nghe and then come back to see the coral and hunt for grilled fish. But we left too early, we had to wait for the boat owner to have breakfast."
The group pulled together and boarded the wooden boat that was bobbing on the waves near the shore. The boat left Bai Da, following the coast towards Mui Nghe - the rocky cape of Son Tra peninsula that jutted out furthest to the east. It is known that the name Mui Nghe originated from the fact that this rocky cape, seen from afar, looked exactly like a chimera lying on the sea, facing the mainland.
The boat rounded Mui Sung cape and began to see Mui Nghe in the distance ahead. The sea and sky were blue and clear, to the southeast was Cham Island, and in front of the boat was... a stone unicorn lying on the sea surface, its head raised towards Son Tra peninsula. It was truly a resemblance.
Looking out at Mui Nghe from the sea, we understand why it has such a name.
Stone unicorn lying on Son Tra mountain
Only then did Ti say that one had to go by sea to understand why people called it Mui Nghe, because only from this vantage point could one see how it looked. If one went to Mui Nghe by the mountain road down, it would be easy to get lost because of the many trees and dangerous because of the steep cliffs, and the angle of view made it difficult to visualize the shape of the stone.
See coral right on the coast of Da Nang
From Bai Da to Mui Nghe, it looks close but the wooden boat takes nearly an hour to get there, because the distance from the thousand-year-old banyan tree to the turn to Bai Da is about ten kilometers. After the driver circled Mui Nghe for us to freely admire, take pictures and admire its beauty, the boat turned around and headed back.
After a while, the boat suddenly slowed down and headed towards the rocky cliffs along the shore. Seeing us bewildered, Ti smiled slyly: “Let’s go down to the sea to see the coral. It’s not very beautiful and there aren’t many of them, but not everyone knows where to see the coral right on the coast of Da Nang.”
We changed into our swimsuits on the boat one by one to get ready to go into the sea. Ti also wore a diving suit with fins and nearly ten kilograms of lead on his belt. He grabbed a slingshot and said, “You guys just look at the coral here, I’ll dive down and catch some fish for lunch,” and then disappeared under the water.
The boat pulled close to the shore so we could easily get into the water and wade onto the small sandy beach with rocks protruding from the shore. The driver said: “We locals call this place ‘U beach’ because the small sandy beach curves like the letter U. There used to be a lot of coral here, but then most of it died and has just started to regenerate, so there are not many and it is not beautiful yet. But how many people know that you can see coral right in Da Nang!”
We left the boat and dove into the sea. The water was crystal clear and we could see the bottom quite clearly. Coral reefs were regenerating in the clear water, and colorful fish were swimming around - they weren't even afraid of humans.
It is true that the coral reefs are still few and not beautiful. The entire beach is full of old coral remains, with new life beginning to emerge. But this is still a very interesting experience - to see coral right in Da Nang, in a natural and surprisingly easy way. Hopefully, after a while, the coral reefs will revive strongly here.
Corals and seaweed under clear sea water (Photo: Ti)
Ti had returned at this time, carrying several large silver pomfret fish the size of a flip-flop. The group waded ashore, found shade among the rocks, and gathered dry wood to grill the fish on the spot. The fresh fish were grilled over charcoal, dipped in salt, pepper, and lemon juice from the boat.oh my!how sweet, fragrant and poetic it was. the wooden boat was still bobbing near the shore, patiently waiting for us.
In the middle of the afternoon, the train took us back to Truong Ngoc tourist area to get motorbikes to go back to the city. We wandered around Da Nang and then stopped at Hoi An, leaving the next evening. When saying goodbye, Ti smiled again, still acting mysterious and sly: "Da Nang is not only about the sea, but also about the mountains, forests, streams and waterfalls. Get ready to continue."
More information
- There are currently no tours for tourists to Mui Nghe, you can only "diplomatize" to rent wooden boats from fishermen, and only fishermen in this area know clearly the location with many corals. The appropriate time to go to Mui Nghe is from March to September and must go before 14-15h, because after that time there is often strong wind at sea.
- At Bai Da tourist area, there are jet skis for rent for tourists, or go back to Bai Rang near Linh Ung pagoda, there are more sea game services.
- Visitors can eat at Truong Ngoc restaurant at Bai Da tourist area, or nearby tourist areas such as Bai Nam and Bai Da.
- This area also has Son Tra Lighthouse in the north of the peninsula.
- Most of the hotels and resorts in Son Tra are quite expensive, however near Bai Rang area there is a camping site by the beach, for those who want to experience nature.
