Ba Na Hills

The word Ba Na Hills is synonymous with a certain picture. What is that?…..Well, the Golden Bridge. The famous curved pedestrian bridge that appears to be held up over the world far below by two giant stone hands. That is where we were headed that beautiful morning from Da Nang.

Ba Na Hills

Basically, a hill station in the outskirts of Da Nang city, Ba Na hills was developed by French colonists and used as a leisure resort by them . Located 1500 metres above sea level, it is much cooler up there in the hills.

Sun World, the famous entertainment company has developed a theme park at the Ba Na Hills something on the lines of Disneyworld but amalgamated with Buddhist spirituality with pagodas and a Buddha statue and a Japanese garden.

Our Trip

A half hour drive from Da Nang and we were on Ba Na Hills. It was clear that we would encounter some rain but we were hoping that the sky would clear out soon. But since our plans had been pre fixed we could not change our visit date. This is one of the reasons why a day’s break in between is required while planning such trips. We do follow this when we do our own planning. But in group tours we have no choice!!

Some views as we approached the hills.

An obviously less than ideal day for a visit to Ba Na with the clouds and wind

The view of the multiple lines of cable cars going up

We arrived at Sun World .

Time Gate

The entrance to Sun World is called Time Gate and is designed with a Sun and Moon clock. This gate is symbolic of leaving reality behind and entering the world of Fantasy as one crosses the threshold.

The Time Gate with Sun and Moon clock

Once inside, we were greeted to a lovely village of statues, bridges and other features meant to replicate old town Hoi An.

Some pictures at Sun World lower level.

The bridges and other structures resembling Hoi An

The beautifully decorated interiors

After taking an escalator we reached the top from where we got a good view of the whole park.

The view from above

The rain played spoil sport with us on Ba Na Hills. Though it was difficult with the rain pouring down, we made the most of it as you will see in the pictures below. With purple rain coats purchased at the counter, we decided to counter the rain and danced and frolicked in the rain as if to throw a challenge at it!!!

We reached the cable car station holding the record for the longest nonstop cable car ride at 19,000 feet.

The cable car station from where we boarded the cable car.

The view from the cable car to the depth below would have been fantastic but with the rain beating down heavily, we were left with imaginary visuals!!!

We could just about see the huge waterfall as we passed by…

The waterfall….note the rain beating down on the cable car windows

Getting down from the cable car we reached Fantasy Park .

Fantasy Park is a huge indoor entertainment arena which features thrilling rides, arcade games and 4D cinemas. Though this part of it is more for kids, we decided to stay indoors to escape the rain and enjoy some of the games and rides.

The interiors of fantasy park with games and entertainment as in a theme park

Games where we participated, some with 4D experiences

After indulging ourselves in some of the games at Fantasy park, we stepped out see the French Village

As the name suggests, this part is modelled on the lines of an old French village and has traditional French architecture and shops. There are many shops and restaurants here but due to the rain most were shut. Some pictures

French Village

From there we visited the Debay Wine cellar.

A cosy Wine Cellar built by the French is a storage space for wine with wooden casks of various sizes and shapes. Some narrow tunnels led us underground into the storage spaces.

The Debay Wine Cellar

Out of the Wine cellar, we were again in open terrain with models of antique cars and other properties decorating the place.

The Decorations and all of us enjoying the rain

As we stood there, the cable cars whizzed past us….

The cable cars whizzing past….

And now to say…..last but not the least, we were at the Golden Bridge.

The Golden Bridge

The Golden Bridge perches on a prime location at Ba Na hills just outside Da Nang city in Central Vietnam. At a height of 1500 metres above sea level, it is a marvel with its golden hued frames and a curved shape. It was built as recently as 2018. The two gigantic hands that appear to hold the bridge up are symbolic of God holding up his gift from the ground. Its impressive design and location has made it a photographer’s delight!!

Some pictures from the Golden bridge….

The Golden Bridge

The coveted photo on the Golden Bridge drenched in rain

By this time we were all totally or partially drenched and with a stiff breeze, it was really cold. So we all escaped to the cosy indoor part of the park and tried to dry ourselves as much as possible.

Soon our guide arrived and escorted us to the exit and on to our bus as we were to drive to the airport to take the flight to Ho Chi Minh city that evening.

Our guide Mr Chi sees us off at the airport

Soon we flew off to Ho Chi Minh city, our last destination in Vietnam. See you next week with more travel tales from there. Till then, do keep your feedback and comments flowing in….