Hon Ba Hill

Difficult
access: it is best to go which someone who knows the place and guides
you. It is not an island (“hon” means island but also hill) but… a
mountain: at the beginning of the century, when Alexandre Yersin
installed an experimental farm with Suoi Dau, small locality located at
approximately 40Km in the South of Nha Trang, he was looking for a
place not too far from its base, Suoi Dau and of Nha Trang, where he
could benefit from a climate adapted to its work. It thus, once more,
left in exploration to research the ideal place and found Hon Ba  with
a 1500m  (4800ft) altitude and 40Km of Suoi Dau. It is the place chosen
by Yersin (who was not with its first attempt since it had already
founded Dalat) to install its biological research laboratory associated
with one weather station. Today completely abandonned, the ruins remain
with a quite difficult access. The authorities in charge of tourism of
Khanh Hoa decided to undertake the restoration of the road (which, at
the time had been financed by Yersin on its personal pocket ) and
project, in the long term, to install a station of altitude favourable
with the practice of ecological tourism. Top of Hon Bà and by fair
weather, one can see the sea with far… 

The
first part pf the road allows a nice scneic overview of an artifical
lake and its Am chua dam. Then, after going through tropical fruits
trees plants, everyone can enjoy, during the dry season the warm waters
of the torrent, with nice sand beaches. In its second part, the road is
winding hard to the summit, with the concrete beeing overflown with the
fall of rocks and earth. At tope, travellers will be welcomed by a
fresh but enjoyable temperature. A wood bungalow and some ruins of the
old Yersin’s observatory (a few meters away in the forest) are on the
top by an altitude of 1500  meters

This area was chosen by the scientist
Alexandre Yersin to organize a center of plantation and breeding of
animals of experimentation. It planted by here the quinquina, plant
medicinal for the treatment of paludism. Knowing that the quinquina can
live only at one altitude of 1500 m, A Yersin decided to seek in Hon Ba
a hill in the west of Suôi Dâu. Hon Ba has an altitude of approximately
1.500m. The temperature varies between 6.5° and 26,4°: Hon Bà in this
time there was covered by a forest primitive, deserted, not inhabited.
There existed several trees of the tropical area like oak, pines and
filaos. On the large trees several kinds of very beautiful orchises
push. Sometimes, Hon Bà and the tops of the mountains in the
neighbourhoods surmount the layers of clouds which present a winter
aspect. A. Yersin this place judged appropriate to the installation of
an experimental farm, in particular for the quinquina. In 1914, it
invested its money, rewards for the French Academy, in the construction
of a road walking on of Suôi Dâu in Hon Bà. And by here, a number of
work were made: station weather, station TSF, center of experiment of
the plantation of quinquina, fruit trees, vegetables, flowers of the
tropical area. Several decades after, all the traces of the work of A.
Yersin faded. Houses, there remains only it base, the garden is hidden
under wild grass, the road is completely degraded, gutters and bridges
all are broken. Hon Ba, urban centre of holiday Of a tropical climate,
deserted mountainous area, Hon Ba are a promising site for to build an
urban centre of holiday, said Mr. Vo Van Châu, architect, member of the
Service of construction of Khanh Hoa (Nha Trang). When the weather is
nice, at the top of Hon Bà one can contemplate Nha Trang, the littoral
sea and villages. The natural spectacle with the length of the road of
Nha Trang in Hon Bà is attracting, one will be able to develop several
other points of tourism to with it. A combination between tourism of
sea, of the islands ecological Nha Trang and that of Hon Bà will get to
the tourists abundant feelings: heat, cold, high, low, forest, sea. The
distance from Nha Trang – Hon Bà is of approximately 50 km. The
inhabitants of Nha Trang can have a holiday with Hon Bà. This course
will be also really very attracting for the European tourists in
particular the French, because the life I’ works and the death of A.
Yersin are attaches with this area. The authorities of Khanh Hoa plan
to build in Hon Bà an urban centre from 2.000 to 3.000 inhabitants on a
surface from 30 to 50 ha. Work to be realized: center vestiges A.
Yersin (restoration office of work, houses of study, garden of
experiment of the scientist), villas of holiday, centers recreation and
of distraction, water basin, pleasure garden, common houses (schools,
boarding school, market, infirmary…) district of dwelling. To discover
Hon Bà, the tourists will be able to climb the mountain; to go to foot,
horse, where to take a cable car. In 2001; the province starts to put
in building site this project by building 40 km of road of Suoi Dâu at
Hon Bà. The idea of a ” second Dalat ” progressively becomes a reality.