Do Son Beach, a worth-visiting place

If you are staying in Hai Phong Province, a visit to Do Son Beach is worthwhile. It is a great privilege of Haiphong to be given by nature the beautiful beach of Do Son.
Being is one of the well-known beaches in the north of Vietnam, Do Son is a small peninsular formed by the stretch of Rong Mountain to the sea. Ranges of mountains and hills with forests of pine trees cover this lovely beach. In addition to that natural beauty, the human-made infrastructure here is admirable with restaurants, hotels, houses, roads and water supply as well as a perfect electricity supplying system. The zigzag roads along the mountains, and pine forests make the beach a rare beauty in the tropical region.
It is considered "a tourist resort", only 20 kilometres away from Hai Phong City and 123 kilometres from Hanoi capital. The sea resort town is composed of tree zones, each having bathing beaches, hills and forests. Around the hills are French-style constructions looking towards the sea. Since 1975, many large hotels and guest houses have been set up over the town and Do Son has become a weekend sea resort for Vietnamese and foreigners.
Immediately upon setting foot in Hai Phong, the French turned Do Son into a summer resort for their expatriate community and the Vietnamese upper class. On summer days, Do Son is alive with tourists from all over the world. They mainly come here to spend time on the beach, relax, and hike. From Do Son, tourists can conveniently sail to Cat Ba Island, to Ha Long Bay, to Dien Bien, Long Chau, and Hon Dat Island.

Cua Lo Beach with the picturesque beauty

Situated in Nghe An Province, on the shore of the East Sea with the Cua Lo estuary in the north and the Cua Hoi estuary in the south, Cua Lo Beach is one of the nicest beaches in North Vietnam with its white sand and clear blue water.

Recognised as one of Viet Nam's most beautiful beaches by the World Tourism Organisation, Cua Lo is defined by its natural assets: Cua (estuary), because the Lam River empties into the sea to create a shallow and clear shore, and Lo (jutting), after Lan Chau Island, a long strip that spears the north-east corner of the bay. In the summer, winds from the west mix with sea currents to wield two seasons in a day. The beach becomes packed with tourists during the summer high season.
The picturesque beauty...
Just 18km from Vinh, a busy border crossing with Laos, Cua Lo, an up-and-coming coastal resort in central Nghe An Province, is luring domestic travellers from both the north and south. Stretching over 10km, Cua Lo Beach is well known for its smooth sands and sparkling, salty seawater. More and more tourists are coming to the beautiful beach with rows of casuarina and coconut trees. The seawater at Cua Lo is clean and highly salted. Cua Lo is one of the best beaches in Vietnam. Not far from the beach are 3 islands: Hon Ngu, Hon Chu, and Hon Mat with natural and primitive landscape which is very attractive to visitors.
Cua Lo is also famous for its beautiful islands such as Lan Chau, north of Cua Lo, and Song Ngu to the southeast. These two islands protect Cua Lo Beach from heavy storms and strong winds coming in from the China Sea. 20km from the beach, the Quynh Nhai Island group is made up of many smaller, picturesque islands. Beachside boat operators service trips to both islands, both of which take about 10 minutes one-way.
Nowadays in Cua Lo, a number of rest houses and hotels, and the modern services system is constructed to meet the need of the travelers. The town's main drag – Binh Minh Street – runs along the beach for 10km. With hotels on one side and a natural casuarina forest on the other, the road remains shady all day. Both sides are under the careful watch of local authorities. The forest serves as a natural barrier against beach erosion, and provide a cool cover for sun-soaked tourists. In an effort to preserve Cua Lo's natural beauty, hotels must be low and stilt houses peak out from behind the tree trunks.
To reach Cua Lo, you can go by ship, train or car. You can take a yacht to go on the Lam River to reach Giang Dinh and visit the homeland of great poet Nguyen Du. In Cua Lo, you can also contemplate the scenery of Hong Linh mountain, visit the tomb of Mai Hac De and Kim Lien village - the motherland of President Ho Chi Minh. Once in Cua Lo, you can visit the islands by boat, climb the mountains, dive, and visit historical and literary sites such as the temple in honor of Nguyen Xi in Nghi Hop Commune, the Trung Kien Pagoda in Nghi Thiet Commune, and the Hoang Van family altar in Cua Lo. From Cua Lo, you can go about 2km west to reach historical and cultural relics that are of special architectural styles. Those include the temple worshipping Nguyen Xi - a talented commander of King Le Loi, the temple worshipping mandarin Nguyen Su Hoi, the Dao Ngu pagoda, and many beautiful places like Quan Tung mountain.
Eye the future path...
Founded in 1994, the town of Cua Lo has developed rapidly to house visitors. The town now has modern infrastructure and transportation systems, and many entertainment and tourist resorts and hotels. Cua Lo always has a festival on May 1 to welcome the first tourists to the beach for the summer holiday. At the festival, tourists can take part in traditional games and tournaments.
"Cua Lo was Nghe An Province's fastest growing locality last year. Local authorities are drafting plans to expand tourism facilities and services to lure more tourists," said Mr. Ho Duc Phoc - current chairman of Cua Lo People's Committee.
Also, four large-scale tourism projects are in the works: a tourism, commerce, and sport complex, slated to open next year; an ethnic cultural village and a children's park, which are both still in the planning stages; and a night market in Cua Lo’s Nghi Huong Village, will be set up soon.
Cua Lo marks its 10th birthday in August 2008, Nghe An province opened the town’s biggest ever tourism event with a view to turning Cua Lo into a typical sea travel centre of the central region. To diversify tourism products, Cua Lo town is trying its best to become a centre linking tours and cultural-historical sites of Nghe An Province with other neighbouring provinces such as Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh. The town has set up a centre introducing and selling tourism products and a centre giving consultancy to tourists so that tourists can visit places of interest and landscapes in Nghe An in the quickest way.
In terms of security and safety for tourists, the Cua Lo town has built a warning system for tourists and a rescue centre, including excellent swimmers. High-speed boats have also been bought to serve tourists.
With such efforts, the Cua Lo town is able to meet the needs of a large number of tourists during the upcoming summers and bring comfortable and relaxed days to tourists.
It is worthy of saying that Cua Lo has gone from a sleepy beach town to a summer hot spot, pairing seaside activities with eco-adventures.

Ca Na Beach – the “Sleeping Princess”

As one of the most wildest and beautiful beaches of Vietnam, Ca Na Beach, the “Sleeping Princess” of Ninh Thuan province, is warmly beckoning tourists.

Ca Na beach
On the map of Vietnam tourism as well as the world’s, Ca Na is amongst the impressive names for a picturesque landscape of sea, mountain, forest, and even a Cham culture. It is this combination of natural beauty and cultural value that makes it a tourism heaven for any kind of visitors.
A quick look. Ca Na is fortunate to be granted such a favorable location, which is on the trans-Vietnam railway, right on the 1A Highway, and around 200km east of Ho Chi Minh City. It stretches as far as 10km with blue sky and purely green water. Ca Na is attractive to tourists not only for the mentioned charm, but also the ideally pure and cool weather all the year round. If staying here overnight, you will deeply feel the Ca Na night’s delicate harmony of with moonlight, hissing sea wind, and whistling waves. Do come and feel it yourself, no regret at all you would have!
Why is it named so? A legend tells that in the past, under Nguyen dynasty, there were a King and a queen who went swimming here, and found it a rare magnificent charm in the region. They then named it “Nang Tien Ca” (translated as “fairy fish”). Ca Na is the name in Cham language, and exists until these days. For the other beautiful way of calling, “Sleeping Princess”, the reason is very simple; the beach still remains wild, even most pristine as compared to others in Vietnam, and more importantly, it does look graceful and fascinating!
Deep attraction to tourists
Picturesque landscape. One side is rock, one side is the beach! On your one side is a very vast sea that normal eyes could not see through. On the other side is the mighty Truong Son mountain range with side by side upright rocky limestone mounts. Getting deep into the area is tropical jungles, where live so many kinds of rare and precious animals... Actually, it must say, Ca Na is a harmonious sonata of nature!

The rocky mountains turn up imposingly. In spring, apricot blossoms in the mountain, making up a rich source of inspiration for artists. Thousands of islets with different shapes gather together create vivid images just nearby the road.
Ca Na corals
The beach is excellent! It curls like a sickle, white sand and high salty degree. Salt in Ca Na beach is considered the best one in Southeast Asia. The beach slopes gently to the sea with the depth of one to two meters. The weather is sunny and warm all the year round. Climbing up the mountains, and swimming in the crystal – clear water in this place are very enjoyable. Also, you can take photos of rocks protruding into the sea.
Looking to the sea farthest, you may see a small islet turning up, which is called “Hon Lao”. This is a popular spot of Ca Na for numerous species of sea birds, Tien Well, and the famous Thach Grotto with 7 skulls, attracting a huge number of adventurous tourists.
Popular Sea food. Apart from Ca Na’s most famous specialties, such as salt and Nhi fish sauce, tourists are offered a great chance to taste delicious seafood, say, shrimp, crab, shellfish, etc. There are a number of beautiful tiny things here to buy for gifts, among which the most popular one preferred by tourists is the sea coral.
Besides, tourist can visit the Cham’s special structures and traditional villages, where a lot of Cham people are living with nearly genuine traditional custom, just in the nearby surroundings. This is the last but actually not least absorptive beauty of this popular beach of Ninh Thuan.

Thien Cam Beach, a melodious charm

Considered as a “Heaven’s Lute”, Thien Cam is a rhythmically beautiful beach in central Vietnam, attracting thousands of tourist turns annually.

If you are wondering about a summer vacation place, Thien Cam beach (Cam Xuyen, Ha Tinh Province) should be on top of your choices. The reason is that not only does it have a wild and pristine beauty with pure environment being good for your health, but an interesting magical legendary as well.


Briefings

Located approximately 20 kilometers from the town of Ha Tinh province, Thien Cam has been well known and praised as a romantic and pristine beach recently. The beach is bound by Thien Cam Mountain, which makes a beautiful landscape of the harmony of sea and mountain. Thien Cam beach’s beauty is also added by Yen Lac Pagoda where tourists can explore the architecture style of the 13th century and contemplate the famous old picture of “The Kings of Hell’s Ten Palaces”. It has been told from generation to generation that here used to be a favour destination of the first King of Vietnam - Hung King where he could relax on the mountain and listen to the rhythmical sound of ocean.
Thien Cam beach lies in a region of monsoon tropical climate with two distinctive seasons, the hot and cold seasons. The average temperature is 22oC-25oC, and the annual average rainfall is above 2,200mm or 3,500mm in some places and 1,719 sunny hours a year.

Seen from above

When being seen from above, Thien Cam beach looks like a huge bow, stretching around 3 kilometers from Thien Cam Mount foot to Đầu Voi Mount (Elephant Head Mount). These together with Cum Nay (Great Mount) and Cum Con (Small Mount) make up huge musical instrument keys scattered along the pure Ky La stream, which curves round the hillside to flow into the sea.

Thien Cam Beach derived its interesting name from a very special legendary, which tells that when passing by the zone, King Hung took a rest at Ky La mountain (the former name of Thien Cam) where he heard the waves of the sea whispering soft and low and the pine singing in the wind. That made him imagine it like a melody created by a Heaven’s Lute. With such a great feeling, he renamed Ky La into a magic name of “Heaven’s Lute” or Thien Cam, which remains till today.

Let’s take a round trip

Thien Cam beach brings you a great opportunity of a healthy and romantic vacation. Coming here, you will surely be attracted by the pristine beauty attaching to low mountains. You can enjoy cool and purely blue sea. You can play with its small waves sweeping into and out of the silk-like fine sand banks. Even you can relax yourself by lying or walking on the fine and clean sand. Or you can go boat sailing or shipping. Only in Thien Cam could tourists hear admirable sounds of sea winds, waves, howling tree leaves striking mountain cliffs, which create sweet melodies . All these make you feel you were in a fantastic land with refreshing moments.

After satisfying with such comfortable entertainment, you can take a ship to Boc Island, which has a marvelous rock banks turning to the sea. Waves strike the rock banks all day long, making an ideal bathing site with rippling waves.

Leaving Boc Island, the ship now brings you to Tien seaside resort (Bãi tắm Tiên) at Tuong Mount foot. Among several small beaches, Tien seaside resort is the prettiest one. It is loaded with rock caves and sand banks, cross-valley full of fresh and salty water creating the tide line. Scattered along the rock side, it is bird trapper, lobster, and sea-chesnut catcher.

Back to the beach, you can go up to Thien Cam mountain and enjoy the melody of the Heaven’s Lute that Hung King used to feel. Then sliding down to the mountain foot and walking for couples of minutes, you can integrate into the religious world of Yen Lac Pagoda with the beauty of the 13th century architecture style.

Last but not least, it seems to be a good news for those who adore foods of sea. Thien Cam is the place of numerous delicious sea foods that are appreciated as the gifts of the Nature. Staying here, you can taste lobster, squid, Cu Ky bird, Nhuong fish source, and so forth, which are of uniqueness in Ha Tinh.

In central Vietnam in general and Ha Tinh province in particular, Thien Cam beach is one amongst the finest seaside. As both preserved and improved, the number of tourists to Thien Cam is on a gradual rise every year.

Nhat Le beach – a fascinating seaside landscape

On your North-South journey in Vietnam, there’s a very beautiful seaside landscape that you should not miss when passing by central Vietnam, that is, Nhat Le beach, Quang Binh province

Overall view

Still, on your supposed North-East journey, it’s quite easy to realize Dong Hoi, a nice small town of Quang Binh province alongside Nhat Le River. You may see a nearby beautiful beach, named Nhat Le, and a green Bao Ninh peninsula full of coconut tree shadows & fishing boats on the other riverside, making a fresh water-color painting. After only ten-minute drive across the river bridge, you now have a chance to relax yourself in a magnificent fairy landscape of beach, long-lasting sand banks, blue sky, blue sea, and green coconut tree rows!

Climate

Dong Hoi in general and Nhat Le in particular have a monsoon tropical climate with two seasons, dry and rainy ones. Average temperature is 24.6oC, with the lowest of 7.7oC in January, and the highest of 42.2oC in June. The average humidity is 83%/year. In the scorching hot days of dry season, Nhat Le beach is considered Vietnam’s Sahara Desert, somehow stimulating travelers.

Let’s take a round trip

Taking a tour to Nhat Le beach, you may enjoy a series of interesting relaxation activities. On arrival, you should take a walk alongside the romantic mirror-like Nhat Le River, and let your soul leisurely “drift” with the rippling river waves, so as to feel a poetic sparkling Nhat Le. The early morning is ideal time to enjoy yourself on the long-lasting sand bank, which is compared to “Sahara Desert of Vietnam” to know how hot and sunny it is in Quang Binh, before dipping into the very cool, fresh and blue sea water.

Not only could you go swimming, but take part in a number of other exciting entertainment types as well. For example, go sand-skating with your friends on nearby sand caverns, boat sailing on the vast clear sea, parachute jumping on the sea, enjoying hundreds of special seafood only found in Vietnam’s central sea zone, and so forth. Believe me, you will soon miss the pure and eventful atmosphere in this beautiful seaside!

Besides, Nhat Le is also famous for a great deal of beautiful cultural activities and historical sight-seeings. After a series of exciting entertainment kinds, tourists may independently travel around Bao Ninh seaside village, joining an interesting fishing festival, listening to the enchanting folk songs, contemplating a traditional gentle dance -“bông chèo cạn ” performed by graceful local girls, or visiting fish, tortoise, and trionychid turtle raising farms west of the town, etc. Nhat Le’s cultural tranquintences may lure you from daily busy thoughts and tensions.

For history explorers, a few minutes should be spent on visiting and praying for Mother Suot Statue right in Bao Ninh sand village), a heroic Mother during Vietnam war. A very moved historical site of enormous significance that worths your visit is the place where Uncle Ho Chi Minh and other Vietnam’s high-ranking politic officials stopped by in 1957 during the war against the US. If you would like to come back to the space of Quang Binh’s heroic war in the gone days, you should visit the old Quang Binh village. This has witnessed the severe but glorious fights of the local Vietnamese, attached to a system of underground houses, kindergartens, schools, health-stations, and so on. Returning from the village, the remained emotion of tourists is the profound admiration to the locals’ struggling spirits, and limitless withstanding.


Tourist activities

* Nhat Le beach: Swimming, sun bathing, boat sailing, sand skating
* Surrounding places of interest:

* Mother Suot Monument

* Quang Binh Historical village

Ti Top Island and Beach

Ti Top Island from a distance
Got its name from Ghermann Titov, a former Soviet Union hero, Ti Top Island displays a beach shaped like a crescent moon and sand that has been washed to a snowy white by the tide.

An interesting story...

In 1962, this tiny island had the honour of receiving a visit from astronaut Ghermann Titov, a hero of the former Soviet Union, accompanied by President Ho Chi Minh. To perpetuate the remembrance of their visit, Uncle Ho named the place Ti Top Island. It has now become an attractive beach for tourists and has various of tourist services.

Thirty-five years afterwards, in 1997, Ti Top returned to the island having his name. Deeply moved, he wrote in the souvenir book of the Management Board of Halong Bay: "My deepest thanks to destiny, which has allowed me to come back to this tiny island.” It has become a beach attracting many visitors.

Then being an attractive island

Located about 14 km east from Bai Chay Wharf, Ti Top Beach takes the shape of a crescent encompassing the island. Small though it might be, it wins kudos for its quiet and airy atmosphere, as well as its alluring landscape.

The beach boasts pristine white sand, clear and blue water and small waves, which make it ideal for recreational activities like swimming and other sea sports. At present, there has a
[Ti Top Beach]

Ti Top Beach
bar in the island which also provides swimming costumes, floats and lukewarm shower. Fresh water was carried to the island from inland. Swimming at Ti Top Beach is really enjoyable. After swimming, you can enjoy fresh sea food specialities in an ideal environment of immense sky and sunshine.

This beach is very beautiful and is well worth a visit to cool off when the heats starts to get to you. If you spend a day at the beach and elect to take a deckchair, you will be asked to buy either a baguette, some lovely pineapple or a drink, otherwise you will have to pay for the seat. During the full moon, you are able to wander around until late at night.

The island has become a popular tourist destination. On summer holidays, the famous beach of Ti Top Island cools off visitors heading to Quang Ninh Province and you will surely have a chance to join in an interesting journey to the natural wonder...

Dong Chau Beach, a wild beauty

Visiting Dong Chau Beach, you will immediately realized that the beach has reserved much of a wild beauty...


The Beach is located in Dong Minh Commune, Tien Hai District, 30km far from Thai Binh City along National Road 39B, and some 145km from Hanoi. The total area of this tourist spot is about ten thousand km2. The centre of this tourist spot is Dong Chau Beach with the length of 5 km, green pine forests and small clear beach.

Several hotels and guest houses are available for visitors to stay in when they come here to relax. The hotels and guesthouses have been built in coconut
[Vanh Hillock]

Vanh Hillock
groves and huge gardens, you will surely feel that they are so pleasant!

Crossing the sea, about 7 km off land, is Con Thu (Thu Hillock) and Con Vanh (Vanh Hillock) with the white sandy beaches, you can enjoy the fresh and cheap seafood here. Although Dong Chau is not ideal for bathing in the sea, it is so interesting for tourists to visit the hillocks by ships or motor-boats from Dong Chau Beach. They look like two blue waves in the sea, emerging from a 5 ha islet, which lures people for its lush forest, green casuarinas-trees, small but picturesque and quiet beaches.

Thu Hillock which has an area of 19 km2 with finely white sand, green pine forest, and the small beach is an ideal place for visitors to go on holiday, have a picnic and relax. Coming here, the tourists can enjoy themselves with such activities as fishing, windsurfing, beach volleyball, etc.

Vanh Hillock has an area of 15 km2 with salt flooded forest which is the place for many species of rare birds to come such as storks, pelicans, teals, etc. Therefore, it is an attractive place for many reseachers to visit this islet every year.

The best of Dong Chau Beach is pure air, soft winds and good climate, which are good conditions for relaxation and convalescing. Seafood is good to taste and reasonably price. Coming to Dong Chau tourist spot, you can enjoy the fresh air filled with wind from the sea. Moreover, you also have chance to visit some historical place such as Nha Ba Temple, and an Action Unit of Northern Committee before the August Revolution.

If possible, let’s once pay a visit to Thai Binh Province, you will be able to not only sun-bathe in Dong Chau Beach, but attend Keo Pagoda Festival and visit Dong Xam Silver Village as well.

Pristine Phu Quy Island

Phu Quy Island is a tropical paradise set in a volcanic crater, rising from the sea off Binh Thuan Province.

Phu Quy Island, whose name means "rich and precious," lies about 100 km to the east of Phan Thiet City; close to the international maritime route and on the continental shelf. The Island is an important stop between the mainland and Truong Sa (Spratley Island) archipelago; 20 km further away. Its a “floating base;” providing services to ships fishing offshore via its seaport on Trieu Duong Beach.

Only 32sq.km and with a population of 20,000, Phu Quy Island occupies a small dot on the map of Binh Thuan. The locals call it Hon Thu or Mackerel Island, because from the southwest direction, the islet looks like a cod emerging from the sea. Within a few years, Phu Quy has changed drastically, due to the burgeoning seaport at Trieu Duong Beach. The buildings are climbing higher, and an asphalt road, instead of the old sandy path, now circles the island.

Phu Quy has preserved its natural features – the warm sand glistens with shells and coral and the water is teeming with sea life. This tiny islet has huge unexploited tourist potential. It still has no rated hotels, but tourists can enjoy a peaceful night under the starry sky and explore nearby caves. You can eat fragrant corn cobs and fresh fish grilled over a roaring campfire. Coconut orchards provide shade for camping and coconut milk and copra for meals. Diving is also a possibility. According to locals, the sea floor around Phu Quy is covered with coral and rocks that are home to many sea creatures.

In the island, several pagodas and temples such as Linh Quang, Cao Cat, An Than have been recognized to be cultural -historic relics. Linh Son Tu (Sacred Mount) Pagoda, is the oldest pagode on Phu Quy. It was built in 1747 in the time of King Le Hien Tong (whose regal name was Canh Hung the 18th) on Cao Cat Hill, in Tam Thanh Village. The pagoda has preserved many documents about the life of the local islanders as well as many ancient cultural objects. Oddly shaped mountains and caves pepper Phu Quy Island’s interior. On top of Mountain Cao Cat, Linh Son Pagoda rests peacefully under a banyan tree. Located here is another worship site, with a statue of "Kuan Yin," the goddess of compassion. At the summit is a lovely panoramic view of the island's beaches and immense rock formations.

Phu Quy Port

The island is surrounded with white sandy beaches and 9 islets, of which Hon Tranh, Hon Den, Hon Trung are attractive aqua tourist spots. Hon Tranh, a small island shaped like an S, is half a kilometer to the South-East. The island contains beautiful mountains and long, pristine beaches. Hon Tranh also has excellent scuba diving and snorkeling in its pink coral reefs. The highest point on the island is Mount Cam Dat, at 106 m. Phu Quy has thick stands of tall trees and long, pristine beaches. Only the rocky, northern half of the island is inhabited, with a population of 20,698 people. The southern end offers long, deserted stretches of sandy beaches.

Visitors arrive at the wharf, and travel a narrow road, flanked by densely packed houses. The first stop is Van Tam Thanh, a peaceful locale with red, basalt soil; once covered by pineapple plantations. Here you can view the skeleton of a gigantic whale that the local people worship as "Ca Ong", or the "Lord Whale."

Phu Quy is an important in-between logistic destination linking the mainland to Truong Sa archipelago. It is a “floating base” providing services to ships fishing offshore. With such an important position, people built a light house guiding ships going out and coming in. The island’s lighthouse, built in 1997, sits on Mountain Cam. The lighthouse is one of only two in the country that runs on solar energy.

If having a chance, you should not miss the trip to discover the underlying beauty of Phan Thiet City by once setting your foot into the space of pristine Phu Quy Island...

Cu Lao Cham, the beautiful offshore island

Cu Lao Cham is known as a beautiful island with various wild animals and legendary landscapes.

The large island consists of eight islets, 20 kilometres off the coast from Hoi An Ancient Town in Quang Nam Province. Cu Lao Cham Island has wonderful sand beaches, forested hills and the sea. With primitive landscape, the island is ideal for camping, swimming and scuba diving to enjoy the corals and beautiful marine life.

At the summer, if you reach for the island by normal boat, it takes 2 and half hour, but only 30 minutes by speed boat. There are 10 guesthouses for tourists who don’t want to spend the night in a tent on the beach. Transport from the mainland to the islet is quite comfortable.

History

Cham islands are supposed to be the first place where Cham people landed, coming to Quang Nam Province from Indonesia (small monuments, dikes and basin to grow up rice on terraces are hidden in the forest, 17th century pagodas and small temples in the two villages). Therefore, being well-known since earlier Cham domination (from 4th to 14th century), the island became one of the main port of Champa Kingdom. Situated some eight miles offshore Hoi An, it was also part of Hoi An historical international trading. From 15th century till the beginning of 20th century, the old city was a meeting point for international vessels and junks.

According to archaeologists, Cu Lao Cham first settled there 3,000 years ago and established business contacts with external countries some 1,000 years ago. Up to now, Cu Lao Cham has preserved many architectural constructions which date back to the 18th and 20th century. They include the shrine dedicated to Than Yen Sao, built in 1843 at Bai Huong and Hai Tang Pagoda, built in 1753 on the western hillside of Hon Lao. Still, Cu Lao Cham has more to offer. After a three-hour canoe trip, one may hop over to the famed Well of the Cham people.

Topography

The island comprises an archipelago of one large island and seven smaller islands. The largest island - Hon Lao, covering 1,317 ha, is circle shape at the high of 500m. There are nice beaches at Bim and Ong beach. The topography of Cu Lao Cham Island is dominated by two peaks: a 517m peak in the centre of the island and a 326m peak at the western end. Natural forest here covers 532 ha of the nature reserve, equivalent to 35% of the total area, while plantation forest covers a further 30 ha.

Biodiversity values

The island is a place where shelter for value swallow birds. The natural vegetation of the islands is lowland evergreen forest, that is natural with a lot of woods and rare animals.

Scientists report the occurrence of macaques Macaca sp., monitor lizards Varanus sp. and pythons Python sp. To date, 265 vascular plant species have been reported from the nature reserve. Furthermore, a species of swiftlet Collocalia sp. is reported to nest on Hon Kho within the nature reserve.

Cu Lao Cham is also home to salanganes, birds whose nests have long been considered a delicacy by aristocrats and the wealthy. The nests may cost as much as US $4,000 per kilogram. In a beautiful day, tourists are able to see cliffs where salanganes build their nests and talk with salangane-nest takers.

Around the island has a lots of color corals under the water. Situated in a salty-water area, this square-bottom well, amazingly, provides clear fresh water all year round. Enjoyable extras include white-sand, pristine beaches and captivating attractions evocatively named Bai Ong, Bai Bim, Bai Chong, Bai Bac, Suoi Tinh, Cau Mo, Suoi Ong and so on, where tourists can relax, go hunting, fishing even fishing octopuses.

Visiting Cu Lao Cham, you also have chances to view the sea swallows' nests clinging to the towering cliff. Cu Lao Cham wins kudos for its seafood and delicacies (octopuses, lobsters, fish's fin, abalone, kaki, hind, cholonia's eggs, bird's nests) and fascinating souvenirs (pearls, conches, tortoise-shells).

Moreover, you can take a tour to Lang beach for seeing some interest places as such Au Thuyen-a shelter for boats at bad weather, a 100-year Tay Tang Pagoda remarking the Puddhism that came here for long time ago, Ong temple - a place worshipping a big fish burried here.
Close to Hoi An town, Cu Lao Cham really cherishes high potential for tourism development.