One look at Ngu Hanh Son will tell you that it is a spiritual place for Vietnamese people – a place of legends.

The Ngu Hanh Son (Five Elements Mountains) south of Da Nang City look like five fingers rising out of the ground.

The mountains, located in Ngu Hanh Son District, are also known as the Marble Mountains, and shine with natural beauty and attract many Buddhist pilgrims and tourists.

All of the mountains have caves and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of one of the peaks. Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found high on their sides, making this a famous tourist destination.

The caves and pagodas there are rich with folklore and history concerning kings, royalty and monks.

Ngu Hanh Son is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills called Kim Son (Metal Mountain), Thuy Son (Water Mountain), Moc Son (Wood Mountain), Hoa Son (Fire Mountain) and Tho Son (Earth Mountain).

They were named after the five basic elements of the universe nearly 200 years ago by the Nguyen Dynasty King, Minh Mang, who went there many times and fell in love with their beauty.

A lot of the legends and folklore about the mountains have been spread through by word of mouth. Anyone visiting there is likely to come across someone - a child or a grey-haired old local selling incense or souvenirs - who will gladly tell some of the stories about the mountains of which they are so proud.

One local tale is that the mountains originate from egg shells. This legend of the Champa people says that a golden turtle came to the seashore and laid five eggs a long time ago. When the eggs hatched, their shells turned into the five mountains.

Mountains full of history

Erosion caused by wind and rain has created some uniquely shaped caves such as Huyen Khong, Linh Nham, Van Thong, Lang Hu and Van Nguyet.

Each mountain is made of different colored marble – there is pink marble in Water Mountain, white marble in Wood Mountain, red marble in Fire Mountain, water-colored marble in Metal Mountain and brown marble in Earth Mountain. The colors change under different lighting conditions and poets have compared the view to a beautiful girl contemplating the wind-swept East Sea.

Tranquil and mysterious, the mountains have attracted the powerful kings to the most humble monks to admire their splendor.

King Minh Mang visited the mountains many times to enjoy the scenery and left a bronze plate which contains his handwriting. Princess Ngoc Lan, sister of King Minh Mang, lived there like a hermit and became a nun. Afterwards, a temple dedicated to her was constructed there.

Many monks have been drawn by the tranquility. For instance, monk Hue Dao Minh was the first Buddhist to go there for meditation and religious practice in 1640.

The mountains inspired many great poets ensuring them a place on the map of Vietnamese literature.

Poems from the Le and Tran dynasties have been preserved for young generations to enjoy in handwriting carved into the walls of caves high up in the cliffs.

Pagodas built to honor the rulers of the Dinh, Ly, Tran and Le dynasties contain many valuable old objects and artifacts.

One house contains broken bricks from the ancient temples and sculptures of the Champa people. A 400 year old craft village which uses the marble from the mountains to make sculptures, cut-stone, bracelets, souvenirs and art objects brings hundreds of thousands of dollars to Vietnam by exporting them overseas.

Visitors to the mountains nearly always burn incense to show their respect to what they see there.