Marble Mountains From Đà Nẵng we set out for Hội An. After around 9 km by car we reached the so-called Marble Mountains. The Ngũ Hành Sơn, as they are called in Vietnam, are five wooded marble mountains whose peaks can be visited. We decided to climb the mountain Thủy Sơn. At the top you can find very beautiful caves, grottoes and temples where Buddhists worship their deities. Although the rise will cost some power, it is worth to climb the 150 stairs, because you can enjoy a great panoramic view from the top. In some places you really have to climb, so you should wear sturdy shoes. View from the top of the Marble Mountains Since this place is a famous place of pilgrimage for Vietnamese, the Marble Mountains are frequently visited on the weekends. Therefore one shouldn’t expect a quiet place here. But especially the atmosphere of the caves with their beautifully decorated altars should not be missed. As we know, one should not visit one of these caves as a couple, as this shall bring bad luck. At the base of the mountains you can buy elaborately prepared figures of marble on an auction, but the marble may no longer be mined on-site. Temple in My Son On the further drive to the south we planned to visit My Son. These are temple complexes that were built by the people of Cham. The religion of this Vietnamese minority can be assigned to Hinduism. Beside the worship of the deities Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu the complex was used as a sanctuary for the then ruler of the Cham. As this holy place was also a kind of hiding-place, it is located in a beautiful forest one has to go through to reach the temples. Although many of the temples were destroyed during the Vietnam War, you can see how magnificent and beautiful these buildings were or still are. They are about to restore some of the temples true to the original, so that we were not able to visit all of them. Nevertheless, the visit of My Son is recommended without reservations. Temple in the forest A very competent tour guide showed us the complex, so that we learned a lot about the features of these buildings. For example, you can still understand how they prayed for being blessed with children at that time. We would also recommend such a guided tour to other visitors, as you get informed about many interesting details of this culture. At the parking area there is a small restaurant where you can relax with a cool drink in the shade. Translated by Caterina