THE CENTRAL - ROOF OF HERITAGE SITES
The narrowest bit of the country holds an astonishingly dense collection of sights. From the south, you’ll come first to the town of Hoi An, highly traditional and hugely popular on account of its wonderful architecture, laidback air and superb culinary scene. Further north is Da Nang, whose bars, restaurants and sleek new buildings make it enjoyable in a more contemporary sense; however, it too boasts a wealth of nearby sights. Then there’s Hue, erstwhile capital of the Nguyen dynasty. A visit to the old Imperial City, with its splendid palace buildings and manicured gardens is like a taking a step into the past. Lastly are the sights pertaining to the American War in the famed Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). You’ll notice great differences in weather, cuisine, language and even local character to the north and south of the Ben Hai River, which runs through that line
Since 17th century, other contenders have battled back and forth over this same ground, among them the Nguyen and Trinh lords, whose simmering rivalry ended in victory for the southern Nguyen and the emergence of Hue as the nation’s capital in the nineteenth century. The Nguyen dynasty transformed Hue into a stately Imperial City, whose palaces, temples and grand mausoleums now constitute one of the highlights of a visit to Vietnam. In 1993, Complex of Hue monuments was recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Site. The complex is a combination of many royal aspects from the last feudal dynasty of Vietnam with the Imperials City including the famous High Noon Gate, many tombs of Nguyen Emperor (Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, Dong Khanh, Khai Dinh..), monuments, temples, pagodas, and load of other interesting elements. A visit to Hue will not be complete without a day spent on appreciating the historical values of Hue citadel and tombs.
Da Nang and nearbybeaches are other evocative names from the American War, but the region has more to offer. The compact riverside town of Hoi An, with its core of traditional, wood-built merchants’ houses and jaunty Chinese Assembly Halls, is a particularly captivating place. In 1999, the old town was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and foreign influences
Inland from Hoi An, the Cham spiritual core, My Son, survives as a haunting array of overgrown ruins in a hidden valley, while heading the other way you’ll find a succession of pristine beaches that are now the subject of mass development. In 1999, the complex of My Son Cham Towers has been recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Finally, don’t miss the cave systems form part of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2003, yet to be fully opened to international visitors. It contains the oldest karst mountains in Asia, formed approximately 400 million years ago. Riddled with hundreds of cave systems – many of extraordinary scale and length – and spectacular underground rivers, Phong Nha is a speleologists’ heaven on earth. Today, we offer daily adventure trip to explore Phong Nha Cave, Phong Nha Cave, Thien Duong Cave, Nuoc Mooc Eco-trail
Take a tour to Vietnam’s most compelling destinations — Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue and Phong Nha- Ke Bang — and what do you get? Along with four UNESCO World Heritage sites, you’ll find unrivaled hospitality, an array of exquisite foods and a plethora of activities to keep you entertained.