On a clear day, Chua Mountain southwest of Da Nang looks somewhat like an eagle’s beak when seen from Tay Vien Valley.
At night when the moon is full, or in the early morning when the mountainside is shrouded in mist, Chua’s twin peaks twinkle above the white clouds, especially if viewed from Khe Giao Bridge in My Son Valley.
There are many legends and myths about Chua Mountain, whose name means “lord.”
One story tells of a hunter from Trung Loc Valley in Que Son District who lost his way while chasing his prey. Hungry and thirsty, he reached the top of the mountain at dusk and chanced upon a garden where there was plenty of sweet fruit and a pool of cool water.
After slaking his thirst and filling his belly, the hunter headed home and told the villagers about his strange experience. A few days later he was stricken dumb and fell ill. He stayed that way for three months and 10 days, and then died.
After his earthly demise, the villagers decided that the hunter had been punished by the goddess who owned the garden because he had taken seeds of fruit from the mountain.
Another tale that the old people like to tell is how the god of Mount Chua and the goddess of nearby Ca Tang Mountain would meet every night in the form of rays of red light that flew between the two peaks.
There’s a mysterious sign on a 30-meter cliff near the mountain’s summit that is the source of much conjecture. It’s simple enough - a circle with a square inside - but no one knows what it means or how it came to be there.
Various myths say it was made by this or that god, others that it was drawn by a Chinese feng shui master named Cao Bien, who lived in Vietnam in the ninth century.
Tall tales aside, Chua Mountain is considered the second Da Lat of the central region thanks to the temperate weather, and is a great place for trekkers to explore.
The densely forested peak, whose summit is nearly 1,500 meters above sea level, looms over a land of ancient Cham towers and is the westernmost prominence of a range that goes east to the sea.
It can be reached by the road that connects Que Son and Nong Son districts and is situated 40 kilometers southwest of Da Nang a short way beyond Le Pass. The village of Dai Binh near the foot of the mountain is famous for its fruit.
