Hoi An: Marble Mountains & Linh Ung Pagoda Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.88 (244 reviews) 90% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/10

Duration7h 30m

GroupUp to 50

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Stone steps lead to caves, then monkeys greet you at Vietnam's tallest Buddha

You climb carved stone steps through Marble Mountains to explore caves and pagodas, watch sculptors at work in a 300-year-old village, eat lunch with a local family, walk through Am Phu cave to learn Buddhist philosophy, then visit Linh Ung Pagoda to see Vietnam's tallest Buddha statue and spot monkeys in the trees. Hotel pickup, all entry tickets, and an English-speaking guide are included, and the full day takes you from morning to late afternoon.

7h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Marble Mountains and Monkey Mountain tour

Pick up from hotel
Visit Marble Mountains caves and pagoda
Explore marble sculpture village
Have Vietnamese lunch with local family
Visit Am Phu (Hell) cave
Travel to Monkey Mountain
Visit Linh Ung pagoda and Lady Buddha statue
Enjoy panoramic views and relax
Return to hotel in Da Nang or Hoi An

The Experience

The sound of chisels hitting marble echoes through the village before you even see the sculptors at work. At the foot of Marble Mountains—five limestone and marble hills that rise like fingers from the coast near Da Nang—craftsmen have been carving for over 300 years, and the stone dust still hangs in the air. Your guide picks you up from your Hoi An hotel in the morning and drives you straight to the base, where you'll watch artisans shape everything from Buddha statues to decorative panels, their hands moving with the kind of precision that only comes from generations doing the same work.

Then you climb. The stone steps are carved directly into the mountain, and there are a lot of them—the path winds up through caves and grottos, past Buddhist sanctuaries and Hindu shrines tucked into the rock. The views open up as you go higher, and by the time you reach the viewing points, you can see the whole curve of the coast. After descending, you'll have lunch with a local family, not in a restaurant but in their home, which changes how the meal tastes. The conversation happens slowly, through your guide, and you learn things about daily life in the area that no menu could tell you. Vietnamese lunch is included, along with the chance to ask questions and sit for a while without rushing.

The afternoon takes you to Am Phu cave—sometimes called the hell cave—where Buddhist philosophy and local folklore blend in the rock formations and carved scenes. Your guide explains the symbolism as you walk through, and it's one of those moments where the place itself teaches you something. Then the tour moves to Monkey Mountain, where Linh Ung Pagoda sits high enough that the 67-meter Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue (the Lady Buddha, the tallest in Vietnam) dominates the skyline. If you're lucky, monkeys move through the trees around the pagoda—they're used to visitors but still wild, and watching them while standing in front of that enormous statue is the kind of detail that stays with you. You have time to photograph, rest, and take in the panoramic view of Da Nang spread below. The drive back to your hotel in Hoi An or Da Nang closes the day.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup from Hoi An or Da Nang in an air-conditioned vehicle, an English-speaking tour guide, entry to Marble Mountains and the marble sculpture village, Vietnamese lunch with a local family, entry to Am Phu cave, entry to Linh Ung Pagoda on Monkey Mountain, bottled water throughout the day, and return transfer to your hotel.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Simply Vietnam Travel

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see the main sights around Da Nang and Hoi An without arranging transport, tickets, or timing yourself—the fixed itinerary and included lunch with locals handle all of that, leaving you to focus on the caves, the statues, and the views.