(Source: TheTimes) Quang Nam is a dreamy destination perfectly suited to slow travel, with everything you could want from a trip to Vietnam – white sandy beaches, unforgettable food and vibrant culture. But it also offers enough attractions and activities to keep even the most energetic traveller busy for weeks if not months. You’ll find an area resplendent with cultural, historical and natural attractions, from 1,700-year-old Champa temple ruins to pristine tropical islands and rippling green mountains.

Hoi An heritage

Set amid a cluster of islands within a tributary of the Thu Bon River, Hoi An has much to offer. In the city’s ancient town, a Unesco World Heritage site, you’ll find rows of butter-yellow shophouses and 1,000-year-old blue stone temples, as well as beautiful Chinese assembly halls and the wonderfully ornate Japanese Bridge. All are extraordinarily well preserved – Hoi An is an exceptional example of a Southeast Asian trading port, with elements that date as far back as the 15th century. But there are also exuberant night markets and an exceptional number of places to eat and drink.

There are many ways to explore. You can drift downriver in a coracle, a perfectly circular bamboo boat whose design dates back centuries. More energetic types can hire a kayak or a bicycle to weave off the tourist trail. While the more confident – and fully insured – can even hire scooters. Always as pretty as a postcard, the town is at its most enchanting during the monthly lantern festival, which takes place every full moon.

Image: Paradise of palms – a basket boat (coracle) tour through the coconut forest. 

Culinary adventures

Quang Nam’s warm coastal waters, clear rivers, verdant mountains and temperate weather mean the region is blessed with fresh produce, including rice, peanuts, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, corn and cassavas, as well as apples, oranges and grapefruits, chrysanthemums, violets and lotus flowers. Visit and you won’t just get to eat them, you’ll get to handle them too, as part of a Vietnamese cooking class or an authentic farming experience during which you’ll literally get your pick of the vegetables.

Combined with culinary influences from China, Japan and France, Quang Nam’s wholesome ingredients make for some of the best food in Vietnam. Must-try dishes include cao lau (thick, springy noodles woven with chunks of barbecued pork), mi quang (plump rice noodles enriched with turmeric, meat and quail eggs), white rose dumplings (translucent white rice dough filled with pork or shrimp), and banh mi, the sandwich loved the world over, packed with pork, coriander leaf, cucumber, pickled carrots and daikon, red chilli and more. For the best the country has to offer, visit Banh Mi Phuong in Hoi An. Food tours of the town are easily available too.

Image: The beauty of Hoi An Old Town. 

Image: Mi quang which is a popular traditional dish in the province. 

Historic highs

Quang Nam is the only region of Vietnam with more than one Unesco World Heritage site. Little more than an hour’s drive southwest of Hoi An, you’ll find My Son Sanctuary. Much older than Cambodia’s famed Angkor Wat, this temple complex, parts of which date back 1,700 years, was the former seat of the ancient Indochinese kingdom of Champa, formed by a seafaring civilisation who practised Hinduism.

Set in a secret-feeling semi-circular valley, the compact site comprises 72 temples, shrines and stupas – about 20 of which remain – adorned with mythological figures and intricate motifs. Visit early to capture the monuments in the soft morning light – and to beat the often overpowering heat that comes later in the day.

Image: Ancient Hindu ruins at My Son Sanctuary. 

Island adventures

Quang Nam is also home to the Cu Lao Cham-Hoi An Unesco Biosphere Reserve, also known as the Cham Islands, the undiscovered jewel in Quang Nam’s crown. This underseen archipelago, just 14 miles offshore (about 30 minutes by boat), boasts eight hilly tropical islands ringed with golden beaches, white sandy coves and sapphire blue waters. It’s a perfect day out. The islands get so few visitors that you’re sure to find a shady spot for yourself. There’s also a guesthouse should you want to stay the night and wake up in paradise too.

Beneath the surface you’ll find a wealth of marine biodiversity: reefs teeming with more than 130 varieties of soft and hard corals, and snorkelling and dive spots swirling with parrotfish, angelfish, groupers and lobsters.

Image: Cham Islands. 

Outdoor playground

One of Vietnam’s best kept secrets is Dong Giang, where the scent of cinnamon, ginseng and green tea drifts across undulating hills. The mountainous area is one of unrestricted beauty, from shimmering tea fields to tumbling waterfalls and the kind of panoramic views that leave visitors weak at the knees.

It’s especially rich in opportunities for trekking, homestays and visiting indigenous villages. One of the most populous indigenous groups here is the Co Tu, who for centuries wore shirts and dresses fashioned from tree bark fibre. Now you’ll find them adorned in elaborate fabrics woven on hand looms. Bursting with biodiversity, the area is also a key stop for keen birdwatchers, with more than 140 species in the area.

En route, you can stop at the Tra Ly lotus fields to see the national flower of Vietnam in all its glory. Every year from April to August, the beautiful bright pink lotus flowers bloom in abundance across Quang Nam, creating a magical and awe-inspiring experience for visitors. The lotus plant is not only admired for its beauty but harvested by locals for its seeds which can be dried, candied and roasted, and are a key ingredient in the traditional Vietnamese dessert che.

Image: Harvesting lotus is part of the traditional way of life. 

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