Da Nang long day · Thieu Tri Tomb
227 km from Da Nang
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Why this ride
From Da Nang it runs 227 km to Da Nang; allow about 3 h 55 of riding. It goes by way of Gia Long Tomb, Khai Dinh Tomb, Minh Mang Tomb and Thieu Tri Tomb.
Roadbook
- Da Nang
start
Da Nang is a port city on Vietnam's central coast, with a long beach, a wide river and a skyline that has changed dramatically in a generation. Where fishing boats and a French colonial quarter once stood, towers and bridges now line the Han River, and the Dragon Bridge, opened in 2013, spans the water in the shape of a golden dragon that breathes fire and water on weekend evenings. Behind the city, the green mass of the Son Tra peninsula rises above the sea.
The city has a long past as a trading port, and it was the site of a major American air base during the war. Older still is the Cham heritage, and the Museum of Cham Sculpture holds the world's largest collection of Cham art, with carved sandstone figures of gods, dancers and animals from the temples scattered across central Vietnam. South of the city the Marble Mountains, five limestone and marble hills, hold caves with Buddhist shrines and a stone-carving village at their feet.
From here the ride to My Son takes you inland through the Quang Nam countryside, past Hoi An's outskirts and into the farmland of the Thu Bon river valley, where rice, water buffalo and roadside stalls fill the view. North of the city lies the Hai Van Pass, a famous coastal road over a spur of mountains, with sea views and old French fortifications at the top, though most traffic now uses the tunnel beneath. Roads in the region are busy, so watch for scooters, trucks and sudden stops. Surfaces are generally good. The dry season, from about February to August, is best; typhoons can strike between September and November.
Da Nang has fuel everywhere, repair shops, hotels at all prices and good food. Try mi quang, a turmeric noodle dish topped with peanuts and herbs, or banh xeo, crisp pancakes wrapped in leaves. Traffic in the city is chaotic but moves at a manageable pace, and parking for bikes is easy. Start early to avoid the heat and the midday rush, and plan your return before dark.
- Gia Long Tomb
sight
Emperor Gia Long, who founded the Nguyen dynasty and reunified Vietnam in 1802, chose a spot for his tomb about eleven kilometres from Hué, and he chose it far from the city on purpose. The Thien Tho hills rise south-west of the capital, and his burial ground lies tucked among them, a long, quiet complex of terraces, stone courtyards and guarding statues of mandarins and elephants. He died in 1820. His queen is buried beside him, which was unusual enough that guides still mention it.
Compared with the more elaborate tombs of his successors, Gia Long's is plain and weathered, and that is exactly why it appeals. Pine trees stand around the stone, moss is on the steps, and when you arrive there may be nobody else there at all. Much of the timber architecture has been lost over the years, and what remains is mostly stone and open ground. Take your time and look at the way the whole site was laid out to face the hills, with a lake in front, following the geomancy rules the court took seriously.
The ride out from Hué follows the river upstream, and this is where the day gets pleasant. You leave the flat grid of town behind and pass villages with gardens, small temples, fishing nets, and long stretches of road running under trees. It is not twisty in a mountain sense, but the surface is mostly decent, the traffic thins quickly, and you can enjoy the smell of woodsmoke and wet earth. Pay attention to water buffalo and children on bicycles in the villages, and to the occasional pothole after rain.
Bring water. Go in the morning, when the air is cooler and the hills are blue behind the stone, and give it an hour rather than ten minutes.
- Khai Dinh Tomb
sight
Khai Dinh's tomb is the last great monument of the Nguyen dynasty, and it is an odd, brilliant mixture of east and west. The emperor, who reigned from 1916 until 1925 under French protection, began building it in 1920 and it took more than a decade to finish, completed by his son Bao Dai. It sits on the slope of Chau Chu mountain, a few kilometers south of Hue, and is reached by a steep flight of stone stairs guarded by dragon balustrades and rows of stone mandarins, soldiers and horses.
Inside, the tomb breaks with tradition. It is built mostly of reinforced concrete, a modern material at the time, rather than the stone and brick of earlier tombs, and the interior is covered with a dazzling mosaic of broken porcelain and colored glass. Dragons coil across the ceiling, and paintings of nine dragons float above a gilded bronze statue of the emperor. The style mixes Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian and European elements, including Gothic columns and Roman arches. Critics at the time found it excessive, and the emperor was unpopular for taxing the people to build it, but today it is one of the most photographed sights in central Vietnam.
The ride from Hue is a pleasant one. The tombs lie along the Perfume River in a countryside of pine, rice fields and low hills, reached by narrow lanes that feel a long way from the city. In the morning the light is soft and the traffic light, though the road can be busy with tour buses by midday. The wet season runs from September to December, when typhoon rain and flooding are common, and the best months for riding are from February to May.
Hue, only about seven kilometers away, has fuel stations, cafes and a good range of food, including bun bo Hue, a spicy beef noodle soup that is a local pride. The climb to the tomb takes a short time and the heat can be considerable, so bring water. A small entrance fee applies.
When you reach the top, turn around. The view over the valley and the roofs of the pagodas is a quiet reward.
- Minh Mang Tomb
sight
If Khai Dinh's tomb is a showpiece, the tomb of Minh Mang is a work of calm. The second emperor of the Nguyen dynasty, who reigned from 1820 to 1841, planned it himself and died before it was finished, so his son completed it in the early 1840s. It sits on the bank of the Perfume River, about nine kilometers from Hue, in a landscape of lakes, pine and lawns that feels more like a park than a burial ground. Minh Mang was a stern ruler, a Confucian scholar who tried to centralize his state and promote traditional values, and his tomb reflects the order he valued.
The layout is strictly symmetrical, with a central axis running from the entrance gate through a series of courtyards, pavilions and bridges to the burial mound at the rear, which is enclosed in a circular wall and closed to visitors. Along the axis are stone steles, honor courts with statues of mandarins and elephants, and lakes crossed by covered bridges. The architecture borrows ideas from Chinese models but adapts them to the Vietnamese landscape, with water and trees as part of the design. The effect is a kind of ordered garden, quiet and green, and it is more moving than the grand scale suggests.
Getting there is part of the pleasure. The road from Hue runs beside the river through villages of conical-hatted farmers and small shrines, and the surface is mostly smooth with gentle curves. You can also reach the area by dragon boat from the city, though on a motorcycle the lanes are enjoyable in themselves. Go in the morning for cooler air and fewer tour groups. In the rainy season the lakes fill and the grass turns bright green, but typhoons can close roads and flood the lowlands.
The tomb is part of the Complex of Hue Monuments, which UNESCO listed in 1993. A small entrance fee applies, and the grounds are open most of the day. Fuel is easy to find in Hue, which has stations along its main roads and a lively food scene along the river.
The ride from here to Da Nang over the Hai Van Pass is one of the great coastal roads in Vietnam, with long curves above the sea and views of the bay, and it is a fine way to end the day.
- Thieu Tri Tomb
turn
Thieu Tri Tomb sits at 114 km, about halfway.
- back through Minh Mang Tomb
stop
back through Minh Mang Tomb comes up 142 km in.
- back through Khai Dinh Tomb stop
- back through Gia Long Tomb
stop
back through Gia Long Tomb, late in the day.
- Da Nang
finish
The route ends here after 227 km.