All about guides to visit Ba Na Hills in Da Nang City

Ba Na Hills is a well-known tourist destination of Da Nang city. The hills are 35 km southwest of Da Nang City, located 1,500m above sea level, so the climate is extremely cool. This place is top highlights attracting thousands of tourists to Da Nang every year. If you are finding the information about Ba Na Hills, Vietnamdrive will introduce about this site, and check it now.

What are the first highlights in Ba Na Hills?

• Traveling to Ba Na, you will feel the 4 different seasons in the same day. As early as in the morning is the spring with cool weather and the mist surrounding people; the sunny time of the noon like summer covers the hills but not too hot; chill in the afternoon; and at night, it will be cold like winter. This is a unique thing too hard to find where else, but Ba Na Hills has.
• Ba Na owns beautiful flower gardens. When visiting Ba Na Hills, you seem to stand on white clouds because the hills are very high.
• Golden Bridge attracts thousands of tourists coming here to enjoy the beauty of “heaven on the land”.
• A long cable car will give you different feelings to see nature and mountains from above.
• You can find many places and activities to do here.

Best time to visit Ba Na Hills

The best time to travel to Ba Na Hills is from March to September. It’s sunny with a clear and green sky, which is good to explore the nature of the mountains and taking pictures.

However, March to August is hot (sometimes 35- 39 degree), and there are has a lot of tourists because this time is Vietnamese tourist seasons, many schools have long holidays during this time.

The time from September to February is not hot, if you do not like crowded people, you can choose to travel to Ba Na Hills during this time, but you should prepare for the rain and cloud at any time.

Ba Na Hills is one of the typical tourist areas in Vietnam where you can visit its beauty all year round, but you should choose a suitable time and conditions.

The road map to visit Ba Na Hills

You travel from Da Nang City or Hoi An City to the car parking and then come to the station at the foot of Ba Na Mountains to buy the cable car tickets to go up the top of the hills. Most of the attractions, tourist sites to visit, and games to play located in the mountains.

>> You may like to see: Travel from Da Nang airport to Ba Na Hills and Hoi An City.

First, you come up the cable car No. 1 to go to Linh Ung Pagoda in Ba Na Hills. Then, return to the 2nd cable car route to the top of Morin, enter the amusement park. Next is walking to the top of the mountain, taking in the view of nature, if it is a clear day, with good eyes -:), you can see the whole city of Da Nang.

Transportation to travel to Ba Na Hills

As I said above, Ba Na Hills is 35 km from the city center of Da Nang. The road is lovely and convenient to move, so you can travel to different kinds of transportation. The most useful means to travel to Ba Na tourist area include Cars, taxi, motorbikes, grab, or shuttle bus. And, you can join the group tour to visit Ba Na, but I do not recommend joining a group tour for luxury and people have not much time to do.

Take a taxi or a private car

You can choose to take a private car, including a taxi, grab or a tourist car, even hire a self-driving car (you must have a Vietnamese license to drive).

But with taxis or grap, it is usually the most expensive because taxi prices in Da Nang are among the highest rate in the country, so if you take a taxi, remember to bargain the package price, do not count by km. Especially (as the same with Grab Taxi), waiting time while you visit Ba Na will cost you more.

A private car for you is most suitable with a luxury a personal journey. Most of the company often offers a package price with half day or full day, so you have peace in mind to visit. Also, the attitude of the drivers of car rental companies is trained well. You will feel better when traveling with them.

Use a motorcycle

This is a convenient, economical, and more suitable for young people. Although traveling with this vehicle is enjoyable, Vietnamdrive always does not recommend the people who over 50 years old ride motorbike in Vietnam. This is a very adventurous transfer.  When traveling to Ba Na Hills by motorcycle, you should start a little earlier, and study the route carefully to avoid lost.

You should ask your hotel or travel agents, or contact the hotline phone number of Ba Na Hills directly to ask about booking cable car tickets because if the low season is okay, but if it’s a peak season, waiting for queuing to get tickets is also exhausting all the time, and wasting your time.

Join a group tour

A shuttle bus to Ba Na Hills with a group is another choice to move. The bus will pick you up from the hotel to travel to Ba Na Hills. The tour often supplies with a package, so the tour guide will buy tickets for you.

Actually, I do not like to travel with a group; I am a fan of private travel. As you know, go with a group will limit the time because with the need to share the time with others, and some activities we do not like, we have to join with others. This way is just ordinary for reference because we do not recommend using for most foreign tourists.

Buy tickets to visit Ba Na Hills

To visit Ba Na Hills as well as Golden Bridge in the hills, you have to buy cable tickets to go up the top of the mountains. You can book it in advance with your travel agency, or you buy directly at the station at the foot of Ba Na Hills, near the car parking.

At the weekends or during high tourist seasons (March to August), buying tickets at the ticket counter has to queue for a long time. If your family travels with children, queuing will make them feel tired. Therefore, you should book in advance through your travel agency or at the office of Ba Na Hills at 93 Nguyen Van Linh, Hai Chau, Da Nang.

Price of tickets:

•  Adults and children over 1.3m tall: 750,000 VND (including mountain climbing, wine cellar, not including Wax Museum). For Da Nang people: 450,000 VND.
• Children from 1m – 1m3 high: 650,000 VND. For Da Nang people: 500,000 VND.
• Children under 1 meter tall is free.

Note: For Da Nang people, they should carry the proof to show, they are living and citizens of Da Nang City.

When you buy a ticket of the cable car to Ba Na Hills (including return trip), it will include:

• The price includes the entrance to the tourist area.
• The price includes 10% VAT
• The price includes free most games in the Fantasy Park amusement park: 105 games and mythical Knight games (slide)
• Consists of the train fare to visit Debay Wine Tunnel, and Le Jardin D’Amour Flower Garden

Price does not include the entrance to the Wax Museum, the game to pitch teddy animals, and the carnival skills at Fantasy Park Amusement Park.

What to see and do in Ba Na Hills

Get fun at Fantasy Park

With a total area of up to 21,000m2, Fantasy Park is exciting entertainment for many games to do here. It’s really suitable for both adults and children. Many exciting and thrilling games include adventurous climbing, century roundabout, slide, ghost tunnel, or crashing king cars.

Experience the Mountain Train

From Debay to visit Debay ancient cellar, Le Jardin d’amour flower garden and Linh Ung pagoda, travelers will have a short trip on the Mountain Train designed by Garaventa Company (Switzerland).

The train can carry 80 people/cabin and move on a cable line of over 400m. It can reach a speed of 5m/s with the capacity of operating 1600 guests/1h. Running between the vast slopes, the climbing train will give visitors new feelings only when traveling to Ba Na Hills.

Operation time is 8:00 am – 16:30pm, 1 trip every 15 minutes. Currently, cable car tickets include mountain train tickets, so it’s free.

Visit the flower gardens of Le Jardin d’amour

This is definitely a beautiful place which most of the guests who want to take a picture will love. This area has 9 gardens with many kinds of flowers with different topics including Vuon Mo – Dreamy Stream Garden, Vuong Ky Uc – Memorial Garden, Vuon Than Thoai – Mythical Garden, Vuon Dia Dang – Eden Garden, Vuon Thieng – Sacred Garden, Vuon Nho – Vineyard, Vuon Uyen Uong – Happy Garden, Vuon Suy Tuong – Thinking Garden, and Vuon Bi An – Secret Garden. Each garden has its own beauty waiting for you to explore!

With our experiences, when visiting flower gardens here, you should go to the right of the gardens. You will be able to see a white cloud surrounded this area. If you stand there, take a picture like you are in heaven.

Conquer the top Ba Na Hills

The highest place of BA Na Hills is Lau Chuong – Bell Towner. This spot is probably the place you should not miss to see all the attractions of Ba Na Hills. Standing on top, you will admire the whole beautiful scenery of the mountains.

With our experiences, we recommend you to go up here from 11:00am (it’s hot), but many guests will come later so you can’t get up and take a beautiful picture of Ba Na Hill comfortably. And, if it’s a clear day, you can see Son Tra Peninsula from here.

Get peace in Linh Ung Pagoda

The pagoda is one of three Linh Ung pagodas, also known as the famous ” spiritual triangle of Linh Ung ” of Da Nang city. The pagoda has the typical architectural style and characteristics of Vietnamese temples. A highlight of Linh Ung Pagoda in Ba Na is a white Buddha statue of 27m high. Visiting the pagoda, tourists will feel the peaceful and calm atmosphere of Buddhist style.

Walk around French village

The complex of French village buildings opened in April 2015. With the inspiration of the famous architecture of France, French village on Ba Na Hills is a typical French architectural space combining with the European style of XIX. Walking around ancient buildings, magnificent castles, and gothic iron fence, visitors will feel like in a real French village.

Explore Museum of Wax

Museum of wax statues is one of the typical attractions that tourists cannot ignore when visiting Ba Na Hills. There are many wax statues simulating famous politicians, scientists, football players, or movie stars. Exploring the museum, you will see versions which look like real people of David Beckham, Albert Einstein, or Jacky Chan. Entrance ticket price is 100,000VND/guest.

Walk on Golden Bridge

This is a top highlight of Ba Na Hills. You should not miss walking and taking a beautiful picture on the Golden Bridge (or Hand Bridge) to remember your holidays to Ba Na Hills as well as in Da Nang City. This bridge has listed in many newspapers in the world to become an attractive bridge with unique architecture.

Disover the Wine Cellar Debay

The Debay Cellar was built by the French, with a nearly 100-year-old in the mountain. The wine here is very precious and delicious when the cellar always keeps the temperature from 14-18 degrees Celsius. With this process, the wine is sure to be very good, so even if you are the wine taster, this will make you enjoy the wine here. Many alcohol bottles in Ba Na become good gifts to friends or relatives when traveling to one of the famous Da Nang attractions – Ba Na Hills.

What to eat in Ba Na Hills

To spend time to explore Ba Na Hills, you have to eat at the tourist restaurants when you feel hungry or need more energy to continue your exploration. You can check these restaurants, including:

1. Morin Restaurant for a-la-card menu
2. Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills for a la carte & buffet (from 260,000VND/guest)
3. Arapang Restaurant (Buffet – 225,000VND/guest)
4. La Lavende Restaurant (Buffet – 225,000VND/guest)
5. Club Restaurant (Buffet – 225,000VND/guest)
6. Beer Plaza Restaurant (Buffet – 225,000VND/guest)
7. Le Louvre Restaurant (Buffet – 225,000VND/guest)

Note: Ba Na is not allowed to bring your food since October 2018.

An extra option is to save your lunch, then come back to Da Nang city to taste the local food if you visit Bana early. I am also a food lover; I try to eat the local cuisine at any destinations where I visit. My Quang (or Quang Noodle) is the right choice for lunch in Da Nang City. You can find this noodle at Tran Restaurant at 04 Le Duan Street or My Ni Restaurant (local style) at 310 Nui Thanh Street.

Where to stay in Ba Na Hills

Most of the tourists come to Ba Na only one day without overnight. The price of hotels in Ba Na is high, and it’s not fun at night at all. If you stay longer than 2 nights at the hotel on the top of Ba Na Hills, it’s not convenient to visit other sites in Da Nang and nearly, because you have to use a cable car up and down, it can take you longer time. Only travelers who want to enjoy a specific space or different feelings will stay overnight on Ba Na.

This is only a recommendation for tourists who will stay overnight in Ba Na Hills. Ba Na currently only operates a 4-star Mercure Hotel with 494 rooms, including the spa, gym, and indoor pool. The price per night here is from 2,000,000VND = 95USD. You should book a room in advance to avoid a room out. And, it is suggested that you need to keep your booking information of Mercure hotel and the cable car tickets to avoid buying them again.

Vietnamdrive recommends staying at the hotels and resorts in Da Nang city center or on the beaches, which is much better for eating, visiting Da Nang at night, or going shopping. You can check online booking rooms at Fusion Maia Resort, Pullman Danang Beach Resort, Intercontinental Hotel & Resort, or Vinpearl.

Name, history, and development of Ba Na Hills

Name of Ba Na

Ba Na’s name comes from a banana. When the French found Ba Na, the summit of the Lord’s mountain at 1,489 m altitude, they saw that there were many banana trees in the hill, so it’s called “Banane” in French. The Vietnamese people, then, gradually read it into Ba Na. That’s named Ba Na or Nui Ba Na- Ba Na Hills.

History of Ba Na Hills

In February 1900, the General Governor of Indochina, Paul Doumer, sent the captain, Victor Adrien Debay, to research the mountains in Da Nang and Hue to find a right place to build resorts for relaxing. After many exploration trips, in April 1901, the army of Captain Victor Adrien Debay discovered Lord Mountains, which is Ba Na, a very suitable terrain to build villas here. Moreover, the tropical climate in Ba Na Mountain is very cool, airy and not far from Danang City to the West, so it is very convenient for resort and health care.

However, until 1912, the General Governor of Indochina finally issued a decree to Ba Na to become a forest conservation area. And, the first person to build a villa for relaxation on Ba Na Mountain was Beisson lawyer in May 1919.

After many wars, especially after 1945, the resorts in Ba Na were abandoned and covered by forest trees in oblivion for nearly 50 years. In early 1997, Da Nang People’s Committee decided to rebuild Ba Na into an eco-tourism area with a system of guesthouses, restaurants and conservation areas. Thanks to that, Ba Na quickly became a top tourist destination of Da Nang city as well as Vietnam.

The schedule suggests visiting Ba Na Hills 1 day

One day tour is enough to delight you to enjoy the most unique features of Ba Na Hills. This itinerary for who like to explore more details with slow style. Other guests can start later 8:30am or 9:00am.

• 7:00: Start moving from Da Nang or Hoi An to the foot of Ba Na Hills.
• 8:00: Arrive and prepare for the procedure to use the cable car. Freedom to watch and take a picture of the surrounding landscape, remember to watch the beautiful water orchestra right at the entrance. Time of cable car travel is 20 minutes – 25 minutes/trip.
• 8:30: Visit the majestic Buddha statue and Linh Ung Pagoda of Ba Na Hills.
• 9:30: Visit Loc Uyen and Quan Am gardens right behind Linh Ung Pagoda, continue to the second cable car up to Morin station (you can choose to go by mountain train, price is included with cable car ticket); visit Le Jardin D’Amour and Debay cellar or Pure Land House.
• 10:30: Visit Fantasy Park amusement park.
• 12:00: Have lunch at Morin restaurant.
• 13:30: Visit Ba Chua Thuong Ngan temple, Temple of Mau Thuong Ngan, bell tower, top of Ba Na Hills, Linh Phong Tu tower.
• 14:30: Visit the French village.
• 16:00: End and leave Ba Na by the 3rd cable car.  

Notes to visit Ba Na Hills

• Ba Na Hill is forbidden to bring own food since 2018. Food and drinks are costly here, so you should prepare some budget to spend in this area.
• The cost of traveling cable car between station 1 and station 2 is free. You should find out the operating time to avoid waiting. The cable car operated the first trip 7:30am, and the last one was 21:00pm.
• Day time in Ba Na Hill may be sunny, but it’s freezing at night, so if you stay overnight at Ba Na Hills, you should bring a warm coat.
• The hotel offers check-in time from 14:00pm and check-out time 11:00am. If you come earlier the check-in time, you have to wait.
• Ba Na Hill is quite large, so you should have soft shoes, not high-heel shoes, to travel around more comfortable.
• Bring your sun cream because it’s sunny and burning, even though it’s not too hot temperature.
• Carry a good camera with full of battery to take pictures because you do not want to miss the attractive of the beautiful nature and incredible Golden Bridge – Hand Bridge.