Marble Mountains: a mountain that once had a temple in a cave before tourists came

Ngu Hanh Son (the Marble Mountains) is a cluster of five limestone mountains rising up amid the coastal plain southeast of Da Nang, about 8 km from the city center. The five peaks are named after the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Thuy Son is the largest peak and also the only one open for visitors to climb.

Something many people don't know: the caves in the mountain have been a place of worship for a very long time, long before this became a tourist attraction.

The photo above was taken in the early 20th century — a temple built right inside a cave, with a guardian statue standing watch on the right. The only light comes filtering down through a crack in the mountain above. That scene remains essentially the same to this day.

King Minh Mang visited here many times, and it was he himself who gave the name "Ngu Hanh Son" (Marble Mountains), along with names for many of the caves. Before that, local people simply called it Non Nuoc — a name that still lives on in the name of the stone-carving village and the beach at the foot of the mountain.

During wartime, the mountain's deep, enclosed cave system was once used as a shelter and a place for treating the wounded. Some caves even served as infirmaries. This is a detail rarely mentioned in tourist brochures, yet it is part of the very history of the caves that visitors enter today to take photos.

At the foot of the mountain lies the Non Nuoc stone handicraft village, where the art of stone carving dates back to around the 17th–18th century. The craftsmen here originally quarried stone right from the mountain itself; later, in order to preserve the historical site, the stone began to be transported in from elsewhere.

If (you're) going:

• There's an elevator up to Thuy Son Mountain — you buy a separate ticket for it. If you don't take the elevator, you'll have to climb more than a hundred stone steps, which are steep and slippery when wet. • Wear closed-toe shoes. Inside the dark caves, the stone floor is wet and uneven. • Early morning is when the sunlight slanting through the cave crevice is at its most beautiful, and also at its quietest. • This is still an active place of worship — please dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees.

Doing it thoroughly takes about two hours. It's a good idea to combine it with a visit to Non Nuoc Beach, right at the foot of the mountain.