Mui Nghe, a paradise that welcomes the first sunrise of a day in the east of the Son Tra peninsula is also known as Da Nang cape. This mountain range has a rocky cliff weighing tons that looks like a “nghe”, a mascot existing in the Vietnamese imagination, with the head facing the cliff and the body facing the immense sea as if to protect people from storms.
Sea area of Mui Nghe. Photo: Thai My
Mui Nghe is a unique landscape bestowed by nature for Da Nang but not many indigenous people come here to catch the earliest sunlight in the morning, breathe in the fresh air from the sea and mingle in the salty breeze because rugged terrain makes travelling being under difficulty.
The road is so difficult, yet some fishing groups have still tried their utmost to conquer Mui Nghe. From early in the morning, anglers travel by motorbike along Hoang Sa road to Son Tra mountain. Then go along the smooth asphalt road zigzagging in the immense green of the forest on one side, and the deep abyss of the sea on the other.
When coming to a turn towards the thousand-year-old heritage banyan tree, they park their vehicles in the parking lot to start walking along the rocky path hidden under the dense primaeval forest to the east to gradually descend into the sea.
Nearly an hour of immersion under the immense canopy of the forest is definitely a valuable window of time for anglers to enjoy numerous scents of the forest and enjoy the strange sounds of hundreds of birds.
Besides, crowds of monkeys that dance and pass on tree branches which are only a few meters away from the human's position have no signs of being fearless because of their friendliness and closeness to humans. Sometimes travellers coming here even can see the whole family of the brown-shanked douc langur, a particularly rare queen species in the world, living safely on Son Tra mountain.
At the time when the group are out of the green forest and the jagged mountain range, Mui Nghe began to appear in front of their eyes. In the distance, another angler group are transported from the shore to Mui Nghe by a canoe surfing on waves, creating a whole majestic picture in the middle of the natural scenery of Son Tra mountain.
If going by canoes, anglers can only sit on the canoe and let go of the rod as the sea of Mui Nghe is full of rocks and has no sand to land on. In the waters around Mui Nghe, they can mainly catch small-bodied red grouper, silverfish, goatfishes, Leiognathida, and parrotfish
On top of everything is a lake inside the rocky cliff that looks like a “nghe”. The lake is not deep and has no waves, but there are coral reefs and countless sea creatures inside, so those coming here by the forest road can have the opportunity to dive in the cool water and then climb the rocks around the shore to fish.
Although it is a bit tiring to experience Mui Nghe, anyone who comes here will suddenly feel light-hearted when being immersed in the harmony between the mountains and the forest here.
Reporting by Thai My - Translating by T.Vy