Marble Mountains
The Marble Mountains are made up of five limestone outcrops in
isolation from the surrounding plains, each riddled with caves and
grottoes, with some made into pagodas and shrines. Each mountain
represents one of the five elements of the universe, being water,
wood, fire, metal and earth. The main mount, representing water,
has a path to the top with two entrances open to tourists. You can
also enter from the second entrance at the reverse side, farther
down the road, which is a much less strenuous climb. The top offers
spectacular views of Da Nang and the surrounding Marble Mountains.
A better vantage point is reached through a small hole at the top
of one of the caves, with the views including China Beach and Cham
island.
As you start climbing the stairs, you will be accosted by young
children offering to guide you or sell you stone carvings. The guides
can be quite good value, as for payment they often just want you
to buy a small stone carving, a great precise for the folks back
home. Come of the larger caves have been transformed for religious
purposes, and Buddha statues are guilt within them along with all
the associated guardians. Some of these caves are quite eerie with
the pungent smell in incense sitting in the air and the walls all
covered in bullet marks from small arms fighting during the Vietnam
War.
During the Vietnam war there was some violent fighting which went
on in cave to cave battles. In Huyen Khong cave, one of the large
holes in the ceiling was caused y a bomb. Within this cave there
are a number of shrines, temple guards and Buddha statues, and there
are still stalactites on the ceiling. Off to the side of the cave
there are two small stalactites that are believed to represent breasts,
one is dripping whilst the other is dry. According to legend, when
Emperor Tu Duc entered and touched one of the stalactites, it stopped
dropping and never has since. At the base of Marble Mountains there
are a large number of stone carving shops reminiscent of Mahalliburipuram,
India, as all you can hear is the endless chipping away of stone.
All these stores are very keen to sell you a three foot high temple
dog.
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