Marble Mountains are one of Vietnam´s most famous tourist destinations. Beautiful natural caves inside the mountains were formed by erosion, water and the passage of time. Buddhist sanctuaries are found within the mountains, making your rappelling entrance to the caves even more attractive (and closely monitored by „normal mortals“). There are at least 6 accessible entrances with possible abseils from 15 to 50 meters.
The largest mountain (measuring 2 km, 800 meters wide and 500 meters in height), Thuy Son (Mountain of Water), is accessible for fee and offers the most beautiful and largest caves. Linh Nham cave, Hoa Nghiem, Huyen Khong, Tang Chon, Van Thong, Am Phu - Hell's Cave are among Thuy Son´s biggest. Below, you can watch a short video of Am Phu or Hell´s Cave abseil.
There are special guided trips to “Marbles”caves. Adrex.com recommends services of Phat Tire Ventures, a company operating from Hoi An (20 km south of Marble Mountains). This one day trip starts right from Hoi An, and heads north along China Beach to Marble Mountains. The drive takes about 30 minutes and the walk up into the rappelling area takes another 10 to 15 minutes. Their first rappel is a 22 meter line, the second is about 15 meters down and the las one, a monster 50 meter drop into a gaping hole so deep and dark that you can’t see the bottom. This fantastic cave rappel drops right out of the jungle down into a temple chamber. You can get ready for an Indiana Jones experience.
Marble Mountains and the town of Ngu Hanh can be reached from north, from Da Nang city or from southern Hoi An. There is a bus service between the cities with a bus-stop right at the Ngu Hanh. The bus (nr.1) takes 15 minutes from Danang and about 40 minutes from Hoi An.
Source: Phat Tire Ventures website and FB profile Thanks to Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung for approval. All images are property of Phat Tire Ventures. Video: Youtube Text: Ailsail
