Devastation & Daring - A Motorcycle Adventure to Da Nang's Monkey Pass

Since first stepping foot in Vietnam more than 5 years ago, one of my greatest pleasures has been riding motorcycles down its beautiful open roads. There are many beautiful rides to be had in Vietnam, but today I will focus on one that is sadly no longer available to us. This road is located on Son Tra Mountain, at the edge of the central coast city of Da Nang.

I had never explored Monkey Pass before, but as the name suggests, many monkeys are said to live here. To get to this pass you must first make your way up to the top of the mountain and back down along the other side. There are a few ways to enter Son Tra Mountain, but just two that will take you to the top. One of the roads runs by the harbor, which is not very pleasant to ride on, as there are always many large trucks racing to and from the container ship unloading areas.

My friends and I instead opted to take the forest road, which is tight, winding and steep in many areas, but admittedly much more fun to ride on. The day is sunny and the morning air is fresh, dually due to the lush forested surroundings as well as the recent rainfall which has been hitting the area. We decided to set out on our ride early because we know that there is a guarded checkpoint restricting access to the peak of the mountain. Typically, the guard will let you through if your bike has gears, but automatic scooters will be turned around as the steep grade of the road is usually too much for them to handle. They have also been known to deny entry after big storms due to landslide risks, so we try to get there early to minimize our chances of meeting a guard who may not be in the mood to let us pass.

Before even getting to the checkpoint, we see an orange-faced monkey swinging from a tree on the side of the road. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of him, as he disappeared into the forest quickly and I was focused on driving on the steeply inclined road. We get to the checkpoint and there is already a guard there. He can clearly see my motorcycle is sufficient to handle the road, but he more closely inspects my friend’s bike as it is a semi-automatic. Luckily, we are permitted to pass, but told to only go to the top and to come right back. Now, this advice was not really inline with our plan to make a big loop of our journey, but we nodded and smiled nonetheless.

We then proceeded up, up, down, around, up, down and up some more until we finally came to our first pit stop at the top of the mountain. Here we each purchase fresh coconuts, and enjoy the panoramic views of the city below.

After a few pictures and a light stretch, we jumped back on the bikes to try and make our way down the mountain around the other side. There is another checkpoint, but luckily there is no guard to tell us to turn back.

It isn’t long before the road becomes narrower and clearly not maintained, with tree branches and potholes becoming very common obstacles to maneuver around. It feels like we have ridden into Jurassic Park, and our excitement increases with each dodgy turn. We finally come to a fork in the road and a sign marking the Monkey Pass. It starts up a very steep little road, but we see that the map tells us it will take us all the way around to the other side if we follow it, so we do. The road is overgrown, with tree branches reaching across that require us to duck under as we ride through. Pieces of the road start to fall off, requiring us to slow down and proceed even more carefully, which only adds to the adrenaline of the ride.

Luckily we have reduced our speed because up ahead I see a downed tree in the road.

I come to a stop and suggest maybe we should turn back, but my friend thinks we can roll the bikes under. We roll a bit farther down the road, and realize how unrealistic this idea was, as the road literally drops off just after.

We take a few minutes to inspect the destruction of the recent landslides before turning back. We are a bit disappointed that we cannot continue our ride all the way around the mountain, but we were all happy for all the fun we had along the way. I hope that the government will fix this road someday, as I think it would be a great destination for thrill seekers like ourselves to enjoy.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my journey to the Monkey Pass. All photos were taken by myself.