National Geographic Traveller (UK)
CENTRAL SHORES
Known for its ocean mists, the mountainous Hai Van Pass s traddles the invisible border between the steamy south and the cooler north, offering up arguably Vietnam’s most beautiful road trip
“Adeserted ribbon of perfection” is how former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson once described the Hai Van Pass. This 13-mile stretch of highway coils through the forests of the Annamite Range, past deserted sandy beaches, between the cities of Hue and Da Nang. The road dates back to medieval times, when it formed the boundary between the Champa empire and Dai Viet kingdom (an ancient gate dividing the two still stands at the summit of the pass), but it also marks the invisible divide between the tropical south and cooler north.
Hai Van Pass, rather poetically, means ‘Ocean Cloud Pass’ — a reference to the ethereal mists that rise up from the azure South China Sea and give rise to its unique microclimate.
It wasn’t always so fondly regarded; during the Vietnam War, the route — connecting two embattled cities — was nicknamed ‘Street without Joy’. Bullet holes still pockmark the bunkers — built by the French during the First Indochina War and reused by American forces — that still crown some of the hills.
Today, the scene is one of calm. Thickets of white trumpet flowers trail down to the sapphire shallows, bolstering Hai Van’s reputation as one of the most scenic coastal roads in the world. Crossed by both the Reunification Express railway and National Route 1A, you can travel along the route by train, bus or motorbike. The train traces the coastline at a low elevation, but oers little opportunity to stop for photos. Far better is to follow in Clarkson’s footsteps and take on the hairpin bends of tarmac that coil around the slopes like black mambas. You’ll need to be experienced to self-drive on motorbikes, so the most popular option is to hire a driver, or join a tour in an open-top four-wheel-drive vehicle. September is usually the best month to visit, when mist is less likely to conceal the stop-and-gawp views.
En route, you’ll pass mountain fields populated by grazing Asian bualo; stop for low-key, toes-in-the-sand seafood lunches at Canh Duong Bay; visit the salt collectors and fishing villages around Dam Cau Hai, Vietnam’s largest saltwater lagoon; take a dip in the cascading pools of Elephant Springs and ride its rock-hewn water slide. Finally, you’ll enter the bone-white highrises of Da Nang, a modern port commonly known as the ‘city of bridges’ (one of the most spectacular, the Gold Dragon Bridge, even breathes fire on weekends). But the real show-stealer is the sensation of the wind in your hair as you swerve around switchbacks, the blinding brilliance of the coastline’s white-sand beaches stretching out before you.