Why you must visit the Golden Hands and Ba Na Hills

The Golden Hands bridge is one of the most famous attractions in Vietnam. Located in the Ba Na Hills, you can reach them on the world’s longest cable car ride. This is one you can’t miss, it’s stunning.

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The History of the Ba Na Hills

The French Village was built as a holiday resort by the French when they ruled Vietnam in 1919. The communists defeated the French in 1954 and the Ba Na Village fell into a serious state of disrepair. However, in recent years the Ba Na resort has been resurrected and the French Village is now vibrant and full of life. The cable car that takes you up the 1500 metres above sea level is the the longest cable car in the world.

We booked the Ba Na Hills tour directly through our hotel (Hai Au Boutique Hotel) in Hoi An. It was quite pricey at £70 per person but it was one of those places where we felt we NEEDED to visit.

The Ba Na Hills is most famous for the Golden Hands, these hands tower above Da Nang and Central Vietnam and are a must on the Vietnam bucket list. The Ba Na Hills is situated at nearly 1500 metres above sea level and around half an hour west of Da Nang. From Hoi An it’s around one hour. It’s comparison is to the Disney’s Epcot, although, it is one of the strangest but most wonderful places we’ve visited. What was up there was certainly unexpected and surprised us…

The World’s Longest Cable Car

To get there, it isn’t an easy journey. We had to get cable car from the bottom which took around 15 minutes but had AMAZING views like you would not believe. Then, there was a second cable car which was another 10 minutes. If you’re scared of heights, you’ll struggle with this! One of the guys on the tour suffered with sickness due to the altitude.

What To See At The Ba Na Hills

The Golden Hands Bridge

Now, most people haven’t heard of the Ba Na Hills, but if you’ve seen the photos, it’s the home of the 500 foot long Golden Hands Bridge. The bridge is an attraction that was definitely tailor-made for the social media generation. It has definitely put the Ba Na Hills on the map to becoming one of the most recognisable sights in Vietnam. You 100% have to walk over the bridge to get the photos just right! This isn’t because the bridge isn’t stunning from every angle, but because you experience different weathers constantly. When we were up there, we experienced rain, fog, full-on sunshine and the strongest winds! It really is mind-blowing.

*TIP* – To get the best photo of yourself or a group on the bridge, take a pano! We didn’t realise until just before we were leaving but still managed to get a couple of great shots!

Flower Gardens and Giant Buddha

Another sight at the Ba Na Hills are the beautiful flower gardens and a giant Buddha. which towers over you at 27 metres. high. We spent a good hour wandering around here taking in the views. Definitely don’t miss this out!

French Village and Theme Park

Next on the agenda is the next cable car up to the French village. This place adds to the weird and wonderful world of the Ba Na Hills. The Mecure Hotel chain has a 4-star castle hotel in the French Village. 494 rooms make up this hotel which is in the style of old French villas.

Finally, there are RIDES! Yep, you heard that right, the Ba Na Hills features a 21,000 square metre theme park! See, we told you that this place is weird, unpredictable and downright whacky. There is an alpine coaster ride which, unfortunately, does have quite a long queue. We waited for around 45 minutes which did eat quite a bit into our free time, but it was a great experience and we got a good laugh! They then had a few smaller fair rides inside and LOADS of arcade games which were all included in your ticket. Our favourite ride was The Big Spinner!

We also had lunch at the Ba Na Hills which was also included in the price. This was in the style of a buffet. The self-service buffet had a variety of options to choose from. A lot of the options were Asian, if you want Western cuisine you should book into another restaurant. Restaurants and cafes are in an abundance up in the model French town in the Ba Na Hills.

Are the Ba Na Hills Worth Visiting?

Overall, the Ba Na Hills was definitely worth visiting and I still stand by the fact that it was 100% WEIRD but 100% a great experience. It’s honestly like a dream world and you won’t understand it unless you visit yourself. After the Ba Na Hills, we headed back to Hoi An.