Hai Van Pass is located across the Annamite Mountains like a strip of soft silk connecting Da Nang city and dreamland of Hue. With one side of the majestic green mountains, the other facing the East Sea, Hai Van has always been praised by people as one of the most beautiful passes in Vietnam.
Heavenly First Emperor
With an impressive length of 21km and an altitude of 500m, Hai Van is not the highest or longest pass. However, this is still a special and unique pass with a magnificent scenery high by the deep sea, which anyone passing by this country wants to explore.
More than 700 years ago, King Le Thanh Tong, when passing by, stopped looking at the scene of love, and uttered the four words “The first mighty”, and up to now, there are still traces of the King’s poem on Hai Van Quan along with the inscription “Thien Ha the First Hung Quan”. That alone is enough to affirm the magnificence and uniqueness of Hai Van for anyone. And once passing this pass, any visitor must stop every turn, admire the majestic scenery of the mountains, the vastness of the sea and sky, and the splendor of the silver strips of light when the sun shines on the sea.
On Hai Van, stretching out to the eyes of visitors is the green of rich vegetation dotted by wild flowers blooming immensely along the mountain slopes. It is the blue of the sea, of the sky. It is the white of the clouds that are always floating somewhere in the distance. Surely no other pass brings so much emotion to those who pass through it, even once.
Soft curves wind, taking us from one emotional state to another in a split second. Just one minute we were amazed at the bend of our sleeves, the next minute, we were silent watching Lang Co Bay appear at the foot of the pass like a picture full of fresh colors and full of life.
Dividing the two climatic zones
Not only is the territorial boundary of the two provinces, Hai Van Pass is also a natural boundary dividing the two lands into two completely different climatic zones. The succulent clouds could not cross the pass, so that visitors traveling from one end of the pass to the other found themselves passing through both sun and fog, sometimes even wet in the sudden rain.
Visitors coming here will be surprised, when just recently, Da Nang city is sunny, but just past the winding bend, this side of the dark clouds is ready to pour rain at any time. It seems that it is the climate change that makes the conquest of Hai Van more interesting.
At one time, moving on Hai Van Pass was quite difficult. At that time, Hai Van tunnel had not yet been built. The difficulty of moving on the pass is not just one or two things. The geographical part is difficult with the road is too winding, partly because of the high mountains and deep abyss, partly because the constantly changing climate along with dense fog makes travel many times more arduous. The operation of Hai Van tunnel has minimized the number of people moving on the pass, so this place really becomes an extremely interesting tourist destination for those who are always fascinated with the roads passing through the majestic mountains.
Quietly watching Lang Co fishing village from Hai Van
From the South, to reach the poetic land, we have to cross Hai Van Pass and come to Lang Co as an attractive stop. Just down to the foot of the pass, Hai Van fishing village appeared with white sand, the afternoon sunlight shining sideways to form a golden iridescent mirror. The sea was calm. Light breeze. And we can’t stop standing and watching a peaceful afternoon of the little fishing hamlet.
Located only one pass from Da Nang city, Hai Van fishing village still retains itself clear, wild and strangely idyllic. The children are still bustling with laughter with folk games, the adults are still loyal to net fishing, waiting day by day for the water to come down and sell the shrimp and fish. There could be no more peace than that.
A little away from the fishing village, visitors can follow the small road to Laguna Lăng Cô when in need of a place to stay in nature. Located in the middle of the attractive land of Lang Co, Laguna is still gently immersed with heaven and earth, becoming an extremely pleasant ecological retreat for those who want to escape the noisy city hustle. What’s even better, when after an afternoon of conquering the “Heavenly First Emperor”, you can relax and immerse yourself in the delicate space of Laguna Lăng Cô
