Vietnam indefinitely halts Bach Ma Mountain tourism after severe landslides

Bach Ma National Park covers more than 37,400 hectares and lies along the administrative boundary between Thua Thien-Hue Province, now Hue City, and Quang Nam Province, currently part of Da Nang City, adjacent to the Hai Van Pass.

The park is one of the best-known nature tourism destinations in the Phu Loc region in Hue, attracting visitors for trekking and biodiversity exploration amid its mountainous landscapes and dense forests.

On December 26, Nguyen Vu Linh, director of Bach Ma National Park, said authorities have yet to begin repairs on the landslide-hit road connecting National Route 1 to the park’s summit.

Linh said the route suffered extensive damage in late October after 23 consecutive days of heavy rainfall leading to flooding at historic levels. 

At Bach Ma, the recorded rainfall at times exceeded 1,700 mm, the highest level ever observed in Vietnam’s meteorological history and the second-highest globally.

The prolonged downpours triggered severe landslides at multiple points along the road, which serves both forest protection patrols and tourist access.

At kilometer 9+500, around 25 meters of the downhill embankment collapsed, with erosion creating cavities beneath the road surface measuring between 0.5 and 1 meter deep.

The most serious damage occurred at kilometer 12, where the entire uphill slope, downhill stone embankment, and road surface slid away over a stretch exceeding 100 meter, with landslide depths of 30-50 meters, completely cutting off the route.

Flooding also severed an underground medium-voltage power cable supplying electricity to the summit area, disrupting daily operations and the work of forest rangers.

Although the floods have subsided, repair work has yet to commence due to the massive volume of landslide debris at kilometer 12. 

For now, the park has opened only a narrow temporary path alongside the landslide, allowing rangers to cross on foot to conduct patrols.

The park has announced a temporary suspension of tourism until the landslide and damage are fully addressed.

Beyond the summit access road, forest patrol routes running along the La Son-Tuy Loan expressway section passing through Bach Ma National Park have also been hit by landslides at more than 10 locations, mainly at stream crossings, cutting off two ranger stations at the start of the route.

Linh said the park has proposed installing a pulley system at the kilometer 12 landslide site to transport food and essential supplies for forest protection forces in the short term. 

In the longer term, authorities are considering building a bridge across the landslide area and reinforcing embankments to prevent further collapses.

The city’s construction department has conducted on-site surveys and is assessing repair options, Linh said, adding that tourism to the Bach Ma summit will remain suspended until restoration work is completed.