Conquering Co Tien (Fairy) Mountain in Nha Trang, Vietnam

[David Dzung]

Outside the city of Nha Trang, on the south central coast of Vietnam (an eight-hour drive or one-hour flight from Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City), lies a mythic mountain, Co Tien, from you can enjoy the feeling of relaxation and enjoy Indochina travel, freedom and enjoy the panoramic city and sea views. Majestic Co Tien is located in the north of Nha Trang. Although it is difficult to reach, it is an ideal place to enjoy the beautiful coastal city and wonderful Nha Trang Bay. Therefore, the journey to conquer this fairy stone is difficult, but everyone wants to set foot once.

Speaking of Nha Trang, people often remember the white sands, bright sunshine and blue sea. However, not many people know that Nha Trang also attracts the opposite person with many beautiful scenery. One of the points that make the most of the backpackers is Co Tien Mountain.

The mountain range is as a wall to prevent wind for Nha Trang. From Pham Van Dong Street to De Street, you can admire Mount Co Tien, which is created of three adjacent peaks that look like a woman lying on her hair, the first top is her face, head and hair which stretches to the beach, the middle summit is the chest and the highest peak is the position of a person lying and squeezing legs.

And in fact, this place is also associated with a mysterious myth of a fairy falling in love with a mortal man who was banished to Mount Fairy Since then, locals have claimed to witness the fairy stretching her hair into the blue sea. It seems to be that she wants to both stay on earth and return to heaven.

The Moad to Mount Co Tien

Standing at the top of the mountain, you can see the panorama of the city, the beautiful Nha Trang Bay and the vast South China Sea to the horizon, or catch the scenery covered by white clouds.

From the foot of the mountain, you should bring a backpack with a few packets of food and definitely at least 5 liters of water because you will not encounter any streams along the way. Also, do not forget to bring personal items to keep you healthy. If your health is good, it only takes you 40 minutes if you keep going. But there will also be people who have two hours to devote to reaching the top.

Crossing the craggy road, slippery slopes, Co Tien peaks gradually appear and  dissolve all the exhaust and tiredness. On the first top of the range, the land is relatively flat, so if you intend to camp, you should stop here.

Climbers can continue to conquer the second top of Co Tien Mountain. The path to the next summit is not long but is clifflike, so makes for tricky going. Some people who are not good at balancing their body have to crawl to the top.

Moving from the second peak to the third peak does not take much effort because the road is relatively flat and looks like a winding steppe. Coming here, you have also completed the journey to conquer Mount Co Tien.

Backpackers tell each other that the most beautiful view to Nha Trang city on Co Tien mountain is the one from the second peak. When the night falls, Nha Trang is unveiled and shines brightly. The glittering golden light from millions of lights makes Nha Trang suddenly dressed up his glittering golden coat.

Visiting Hon Chong (Chong isle)

In the journey to conquer Mount Co Tien, you can not ignore the complex of Hon Chong rocky cliffs. Hon Chong is known as a famous tourist destination in Nha Trang. Together with Mount Co Tien - Hon Chong is considered as the perfect and full tourist destination of Nha Trang.