Vong Canh Hill

The classic panorama of the Perfume River: a modest pine-covered hill southwest of the city where the river swings wide below, tomb country lies beyond and sunsets draw the whole town.

Vong Canh, literally the hill for viewing scenery, rises just 43 metres above the Perfume River on the edge of Thuy Bieu village, but Nguyen emperors chose it for the perfect prospect it commands. From the pine-shaded summit the river bends in a broad curve directly below, with Ngoc Tran mountain and Hon Chen Temple on the opposite bank, boats tracing slow wakes, and the hills that hold the tombs of Tu Duc, Dong Khanh and Thieu Tri rolling away to the south. A colonial-era water tower and a small viewing platform mark the top, and paths lead down through the pines to the riverbank. The hill is free to visit and busiest in the hour before sunset, when local families picnic, couples pose for wedding photographs and photographers claim their tripod positions early. It is minutes from Thuy Xuan incense village and Tu Duc Tomb, and a natural final stop on a day among the tombs.