ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN
Black Virgin Mountain (or Núi Bà Đen in Vietnamese) is located in Tay Ninh province, Southern of Vietnam.
Black Virgin Mountain is at 996 meters (3,268 ft) - the highest point of Southern Vietnam. The mountain is a few kilometers West across the Cambodia border.
During the World War II, the mountain was occupied by the Japanese, Vietminh, French and Vietcong.
At the end of Vietnam war, the mountain was abandoned by Army of the Republic of Vietnam troops.
In 2015, when I visited it, the top of the mountain still had banned area which was surrounded by protective fence. The local people said that it was military area where nobody could enter but the authorized persons only.
TOURIST ATTRACTION
The mountain is famous for its beautiful view with a little challenge of rocky trekking roads; but still it is totally suitable for beginners who love hiking.
The middle of the mountain is Linh Sơn Thiên Thạch pagoda( or Bà Đen pagoda as local people usually call) which is famed for its sacredness, especially for love praying. Many couples visit and pray for their relationship being last forever; as well as many singles pray that they can early meet their soulmates.
READY FOR THE HIKING
It takes about 4 hours to reach the peak. You can take the cable to Ba Den pagoda which is around 1/3 of the mountain and keep climbing to the top.
Before hiking you should prepare some snack and water. There are some small shop on the hiking way where you can buy drinks or instant noodles.
From Ho Chi Minh to the mountain,it does not much challenge, you can easily travel with googlemap. From An Suong crossroad to the mountain, the street is easy to drive. You can reach 70-90 km/h in the early morning with your motorbike in this street^^. You will meet another big crossroad before you get the site.
MY TRIP
6A.M. our team was at An Suong crossroad. Riding for half an hour, we stop for breakfast around 15 minutes. Keep traveling on Xuyen A street, crossing a big crossroad, we saw a big board " NUI BA DEN", then turn right, it is the parking.
The entry ticket was 18.000 VND (2015)/ aldult. We all were so excited to try cable 'cause it was our first time trying. The return cable ticket was 180.000 VND (2015).
Just around 10 minutes, we reached the pagoda. It was fucking crowded and busy on Sunday. We all went for praying. I did pray for my mom, dad and my family, hope they are all healthy, loving each other; and for sure, I wished I could recognize my soulmate in the billion people in this world haha :P
Not many people decided to keep climbing up to the top. For sure our team kept going cause it is our main purpose. The beginning is stairs, the higher it is the harder it is. Comparing to others mountains of Southern Vietnam such as Thi Vai, Dinh mountain, Chua Chan, ... It is the hardest one.
There is nothing like standing at the top of a mountain and looking down at the fields and rivers. The view on the top is breathtaking which is worth your effort.
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