I started early morning from Da Nang and reached Hue in about 3 hours. It was a long tiring 3 hours ride but the roads were very well maintained and the weather was very good. Hue is the ancient capital city of Vietnam. The place was famous for palaces, tomb and pagodas. Most of the palaces were built during the Nguyen Dynasty. Google maps and motorbike were the true friend for the trip to Hue. Most of the places are located within 20km Radius and depending on the time you spend on each place it might take around 6 hours to explore all the places.
Hue imperial city – My first stop at hue was imperial city. The city was a walled palace and it was the former capital of Vietnam. The complex consists of pagodas, temples, pavilions, walls and lots of big gates. The total area of the walled complex is around 4 km2. There Is also a purple forbidden city inside the imperial city similar to that of the forbidden city at Beijing. There were also multiple small man-made lakes and gardens inside the compound. It takes around 2 hours to visit the compound.
Hue War Museum – Hue war museum was located adjacent to the imperial city. You can see the artillery, tanks and aircraft which were used during the Vietnam war.
Ky Dai – Ky Dai palace is situated in front of the imperial palace of hue. The palace consists of a flag pole which is the center point of the Hue city.
Pagoda of celestial lady – After my visit to Imperial city I visited pagoda of celestial lady. The temple was a historical temple of the city and it had seven stories. The temple is situated very close to the perfume river bank. You can also take boat tour along the perfume river.
Thanh Toan Roofed Bridge – The famous roofed bridge was situated around 10 km from imperial palace. You pass through lots of rice fields in order to reach Thanh Toan Village. The bridge was only around 20 m long and it had lots of balconies inside the bridge. The bridge crosses an irrigation canal from one side to another. There was also a small village market close to the bridge. The architecture of the bridge was unique and the bridge was used for movement of local people and supplies.
Tiger Fighting area – The tiger fighting arena was situated around 3 km from imperial palace. The arena was used for the annual fight between a tiger and an elephant. When I visited the place the arena was closed to the public and there were some renovation work going on at the area. The arena was built similar to the structure of roman area but the size of the arena was very small.
Tomb of Tu Duc – Tu Duc tomb was situated around 5 km from Imperial palace. Emperor Tu Duc was the longest serving emperor in the dynasty. He had planned the tomb long before his death. Our guide told us that Tu duc was not buried at the tomb. He was buried secretly somewhere in hue and till this date no one was able to find the actual burial site of the emperor. There was also a small lake in front of the main complex of the tomb.
Tomb of Khai Dinh – The tomb was located around 20-minute drive from Tu Duc tomb. The tomb was located on the top of the hill. The architecture of the tomb was different from other tombs and the best part of the tomb was the staircase to the entrance. Near the entrance area there is small statue of the warriors. The statue of the warrior was similar to that of the terracotta warrior. The tomb was very elaborately designed and the tomb looked very lavish compared to other tombs we visited that day. All the paintings and the decoration inside the tomb are perfectly maintained. The inside architecture of the tomb was influenced from European architecture.
Tomb of Minh Mang – My last stop of the trip was Minh Mang tomb. Entire complex of the tomb lies inside a walled compound. The central path cuts the oval shaped compound into two parts. There were almost forty structures within the compound. The compound was inspired by Chinese architecture. The tomb was situated around 6km from imperial palace. There were also multiple small lakes inside the compound. Any professional photographer would love the place.
After having lunch, I started my 4-hour journey from hue to Hoi an around 4 pm. The best part of the road trip was Hai Van pass. The roads were built along the mountain range and you can see beautiful view of the sea from the road. There were lots of scenic point in order to take pictures of the beautiful blue sea and mountain. Most people are using a newly constructed tunnel in order to reach Hue from Da Nang but people interested in experiencing beautiful landscape must visit the place.
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