Co Tien Mountain Nha Trang

Co Tien rises on the north shore behind the Vinh Hoa district, about 8 km from the 2 Thang 4 square, which means this city's nearest climb is still inside the city: fifteen minutes on a motorbike from the beach road and you are at the foot of it. There is no gate, no ticket and nobody selling anything. You leave the bike with a household at the bottom, usually for 5,000–10,000₫, and walk up.

One thing worth knowing before you tap for directions: the two big maps do not agree on which summit Co Tien is. Google attaches the name to the coordinate this page uses, on the north-east side. OpenStreetMap records Co Tien as another name for Hon Kho, a 376 m peak 2.5 km away. The whole ridge is a set of separately named tops on the topographic maps: Hon Dung at 206 m, Hon Kho at 376 m, Hon Ngang at 352 m, and locally the lot of it is Co Tien. So if you ask the way, ask which top you are being sent to rather than holding out a pin.

The route is a footpath along a bare ridge: elephant grass, rock, wind, and not one tree's worth of shade on the upper half. Reckon 30 to 45 minutes to the first top at a steady pace. What people come up for is the view. The six kilometres of Tran Phu beach, Hon Tre across the water, the ranges to the north, and after dark the entire city's lights below you. That is also why almost everyone climbs at first light or before sunset.

Be clear about what it involves, since this page has nothing to sell and no reason to soften it: this is an informal path with no steps, no handrail and nobody on duty. After rain the grass and rock are genuinely slippery, and the last pitch is loose stony ground. There is no water up there and nowhere to shelter, and dusk on a bare ridge is not dusk in town. Carry a light if you plan to come down late. Two people is better than one.

The other climbs around Nha Trang are on the hill-walks page. In the same direction, Hòn Chồng sits at the foot of the ridge.