CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ho Chi Minh Road Central Highlands: Phong Nha to A Luoi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 292 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 39
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Phong Nha
Phong Nha lies in central Vietnam in a country made of limestone, a landscape of jagged green peaks, hidden valleys and rivers that vanish underground. The village sits on the Son River, in Quang Binh province, and the nearest big town is Dong Hoi, about forty kilometres to the east on the coast. Behind it, the mountains rise toward the Laotian border, and the whole region was declared a World Heritage Site in 2003 for its caves and karst.
Read the complete Phong Nha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Phong Nha is where the day begins. Next is Khe Sanh.
2. Khe Sanh
Khe Sanh is a name that carries weight: for eleven weeks in the spring of 1968, a US Marine combat base on this plateau was besieged by North Vietnamese forces in one of the most closely watched battles of the war, and the red-earth hills around the town still bear the scars. A small museum on the site of the old base displays aircraft, bunkers and artefacts, and the overgrown airstrip is still visible. The place is quiet now, a market town of the Hướng Hóa district in Quảng Trị province, and the war is remembered with solemnity rather than spectacle.
Read the complete Khe Sanh write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Khe Sanh comes up about 187 km into the recorded legs. Next is A Luoi.
3. A Lưới
A Lưới lies in a long, narrow valley in the mountains of Thừa Thiên Huế province, close to the border with Laos, in country of steep forested ridges that catch the clouds. The valley is known by an older name, the A Shau, and it is remembered for the heavy fighting that took place here during the Vietnam War, when it served as a major corridor for the Ho Chi Minh trail. In May 1969, a battle for a hill nearby, known to American troops as Hamburger Hill, became a symbol of the war's costs. Today, A Lưới is a quiet district town with a market, fields of rice and a few memorial sites.
Read the complete A Luoi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 292 km.
Leg by leg
Phong Nha to Khe Sanh
Phong Nha → Khe Sanh is 187 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Khe Sanh to A Luoi
Khe Sanh → A Luoi is 105 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.