If Ba Den mountain – the highest and most challenging summit in the south of Vietnam seems too much painful for you, so Chua Chan Mountain in Dong Nai province, the second highest peak, probably your perfectly alternative choice.
Located in Dong Nai, Chua Chan mountain (aka Gia Lao) is about 100 km away from Saigon. Standing as 837 m high, it is also the second-highest peak in the southeastern region of Vietnam, just after Black Virgin Mountain (Ba Den) in Tay Ninh, whose height is 996 m. It was recognized as a national heritage site in 2012.
It is interesting that Chua Chan used to be a volcano (so typical is the conical shape), and you may see it when taking a bus from Saigon to Phan Thiet as it locates close to the mainway.
In Vietnam, wherever there’s a mountain, there are temples or pagodas. Sharing the same fact, Chua Chan is home to three main pagodas Buu Quang, Linh Son, Lam Son.
There are 2 routes, depending on your vehicles: Fastest is on a car/ bus via expressway but I go for a motorcycle ride of freedom on 1A highway.
The stone staircase upward the pagoda is steep and fully occupied with stores and food stalls. Some vendors might ask you to buy some goods, especially incense and candles if you are Vietnamese or Asian as they think you come to pray.
Despite the fact that stores ruins the sacred atmosphere of a pilgrimage, but they are beneficial somehow that provide travelling people with delicious food and cool drink, along with clothes, shoes, souvenirs. Someone says it hosts also so-called “spiritual services” including palmistry and fortune telling cards. Entertaining in karaoke rooms and resting overnight in hostels are also available.
Yeah, I think the “very special village” plays very well a role of the dedicated food street in a manner of “staircase to heaven”
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After leaving the cable car station behind, you start following a trail paved, which is sides with cajus and other lush trees. Be noticed that sometimes forks show no direction signs, and the general advice is to opt to the wider routes as they are likely towards the peak. If you go wrong way then it is also very short time to realize that situation and come back, which means, you may get lost, for a while, so no worry.
Wooden house by the spectacular view
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En route to the peak, you probably stop by a cottage hosting many hammocks for beautiful resting. Actually, when we came here, we saw a little garden full of baby pine so it is hopefully expected to be very green next year.
You could set up camp and cook there, a lot of campfire traces on the ground and you can collect big stones nearby for a temporary stove.
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With 1 km in length, the Cable car system hosts 72 cabin (8 pax /cabin), constructed by an Australian company. The surrounding is so colorful with flowers and plants neatly grown and take good care on a daily basis.
A return ticket costs 160,000 VND/ adult and 90,000 VND/ child (0.9m-1.2m ) and free for under 0,9m but charge as a adult if he is taller than 1.2m. You can buy bottled drink and ice-cream by a vendor inside for at least 15,000 VND for a 500ml bottle of coke.
It is hardly occupied by campers but we did it and enjoyed a wonderful night. In the next morning, someone told us that the night watcher thought it was devil as he heard our laughs but failed to see us. Amazing! I reveals more details in a below section.
Truth to be told, I didn’t make it for the very first attempt to the summit, below is collected information that would be useful for you and my second trial.
Depending on the season so the land is colored by green or yellowish brown look-like burnt grasses or lush plants. The breezes lure you into a calm nap with floating clouds rolling by near and far. It also provides a spectacularly panoramic view downward the neighborhoods below.
There are two suitable grounds to camp: At the summit and by the cottage.
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As we planed to camp at night, so the experience was totally different from day hiking.
It was a little bit weird.
Starting at 10 PM at the foot of the mountain (10,000 parking fee/ night at a nearby house), you would see no one while taking step-by-step to the peak, but some prayer when you are close to the pagoda. Dogs everywhere and they are barking at you fiercely but nicely without any bites.
The vendor just resting on beds or hammocks but you hardly see them, little altar along with smell of incense. After the pagoda, you will experience a complete darkness of trail, and it should take you 1-2 hour to reach the summit.
If you don’t want to take risk (due to weather or so) then camp at the cable car station is pretty ideal but you may need a permission.
It’s definitely crunchy banana chips with ginger that is a specialty as you see many many of them on the way back and local vendors ask if you would like to buy them as souvenirs.
A typical plan for a day trekking should be like below:
5:00: Departing from Ho Chi Minh City
6:00: Have a breakfast (in Bien Hoa city)
9:00: Reach foot of the mountain, park your motorcycles (if any), prepare your backpacks and ready to start the staircase journey.
9:30: Starting the hike, head to the pagodas
10:30: End of the staircases, reach the pagoda, take rest then start the mountain trekking
12:00: At the summit, have lunch, take nap
15:30: At the foot of the mountain, have drink and relax
17:00: Have dinner in Bien Hoa city
17:30: Continue riding back to HCMc
For the night trekking, generally share the time schedule, if you departs from HCMc at 16:00 then you’re likely to reach the peak at midnight and welcome the sunrise at dawn on the next day (luckily you see a stunning sea of cloud) and get back at 8:00 then arrive in HCM at 14:00.
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Pants and long sleeve better as the trail has a lot of tall grasses that makes you irritated, along with mosquitoes.
Weather does matter. We have a very bad rainy night and couldn’t make it to the summit, so, you’d better watch out for weather forecast before departure. It’s safe to trek on dry season but packing along a raincoat usually a good idea.
The path is easy to go, and it may have a little muddy terrain in rain season that probably makes you fall.
It is extremely comfortable to wear sandals in rain season. Normally, trekking shoes play pretty well, too.
Wanna protect your skin? A sun cream is perfect, though mostly you are covered by the shade
If you plan to camp overnight then a optional clothes to change is advised as it keep you dry while the cold and fog at night may make you get sick.
Hiking on a budget (2018)
60,000 VND two on-the-way meal (Pho is good option)
10,000 VND parking fee (per motorcycle)
100,000 VND self-prepared meal for one person at peak/ camping
Alternative Choice If Ba Den mountain - the highest and most challenging summit in the south of Vietnam seems too much painful for you, so Chua Chan Mountain in Dong Nai province, the second highest peak, probably your perfectly alternative choice.
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