Núi Đá Bạc Mountain Trekking Guide, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

Núi Đá Bạc Mountain Trek | Phu Quoc Island

First published January 2022 | Words and photos by Vietnam Coracle

A fun and rewarding hike to the top of one of the jungle-clad escarpments lining Phu Quoc’s eastern flank, trekking up Núi Đá Bạc mountain offers stupendous views and is yet another way to explore the island’s beautiful interior. This hike is a wonderful way to spend a morning or afternoon: providing some physical exertion, excellent photo opportunities, lots of nature, and a side of Phu Quoc Island that few people experience. The Núi Đá Bạc mountain trek is further proof that Phu Quoc Island is much more than just a beach destination.

Núi Đá Bạc Mountain Trekking Guide, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

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GUIDE: NUI ĐA BAC TREK, PHU QUOC


A Mountain Hike with Panoramic Views

This fabulous hike takes between 2-3 hours round-trip depending on your pace and how long you spend gawping at the views from the two boulder-capped peaks. The trek can be undertaken independently, without a guide (I’ve done my best to describe the route in detail below). However, the trailhead can be difficult to find and so too can the two spectacular view points at the top. Therefore, you might consider hiring a guide. You can try contacting Pierre (0776 830 072) or enquire at nearby Cây Sao Beach Resort, although I can’t personally vouch for either. The best months are the dry season (November to May). From June to October, frequent rains make the trail slippery and treacherous. The hike should be possible for anyone with a reasonable level of fitness. Bring water, sunscreen, insect repellent, a picnic for the top, and wear decent shoes. After the trek, cool off in the ocean and reward yourself with a cocktail and food at Kiki Coconut on the sand beneath the palms. Combine the two and you have all the ingredients for a great day out. (For more activities like this on Phu Quoc Island, see Related Posts.)

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CONTENTS:

Route Map

Trekking Guide

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*Please Support My Site: I never receive payment for anything I write: all my content is free to read and independently financed. There’s no sponsored content whatsoever. If you like this guide, please consider making a donation or becoming a patron. Thank you, Tom


The second boulder view point on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island

MAP:

Núi Đá Bạc Mountain Trek | Phu Quoc Island

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Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

Trekking to Núi Đá Bạc Peak

Difficulty: moderate | Time: 2-3 hours | Entry: free | Guide: optional

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The trail begins on the east coast road, about half way between Cây Sao Beach Resort and Vaniza Resort. On the inland side of the road, look for a long concrete and stone wall, about two metres high, wrapping around the property of a small, blue farmhouse. I’ve marked it on my map here, and there’s a photo below. If you have a motorbike or bicycle, you can leave it beneath the tree next to the blue farmhouse (the family will charge you 10,000vnd per bike).

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The trailhead itself begins at the southern-most limit of the farm’s walled enclosure, where a fence blocks the way to a concrete lane leading uphill. Climb the fence and head up the concrete lane, running parallel to the fence. Follow the lane straight up for about a hundred metres until it starts to turn toward the right. At this point, leave the concrete lane and walk directly ahead into the jungle. There’s a clear frontier where the plantations and farmland end and the jungle begins. Using the straight concrete lane that you’ve just walked up as your line of entry (perhaps just a little to the right), walk directly into the trees and you should see a small, narrow, but unmistakable path leading beneath the trees and into the brush. (Note that the trekking route marked on my map is only approximate.)

Farmhouse at the beginning of the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Find this concrete & stone wall around a blue farmhouse at the beginning of the Núi Đá Bạc trek

Park your bike beneath the tree in front of the blue farmhouse, Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Park your bike under the tree in front of the blue farmhouse at the start of the Núi Đá Bạc trek

Concrete lane at the trailhead of the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Walk up this concrete lane next to the blue farmhouse to begin the Núi Đá Bạc trek

Entering the jungle near the beginning of the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Exiting the plantations & entering the jungle at the trailhead of the Núi Đá Bạc trek

The path is very occasionally marked with red paint on rocks and tree trunks, but it’s not much help. However, it definitely is possible to follow the trail all the way to the top without getting lost and without a guide, but you do need to pay attention so as not to ramble off course. Parts of the climb are pretty steep (at a couple of points there are ropes tied to trees to help hikers pull themselves up) and at times the undergrowth is dense and difficult to move through. But, the trek isn’t especially long and the level of fitness required is moderate. Watch your step, because the pathway is rocky, uneven and knotted with roots and vines. It’s humid under the thick canopy of trees, but also very shady. Most of the trees are narrow-trunked and spindly, with twisting vines tying the forest together like a spiderweb. As you start to get near the top, large boulders flank the pathway and the trees become more gnarled.

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Climbing on the ropes & tree trunks, Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Using the fixed ropes to climb the steep sections

Taking a break on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
A brief break in the shade of the jungle canopy

Taking a break on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Stopping to rehydrate on the trail up to Núi Đá Bạc mountain

Looking through large boulders on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Looking through huge boulders near the top of Núi Đá Bạc mountain

Eventually, the slope levels off, and the path veers to the left, entering a clearing with two giant boulders that look like the petrified stone-trolls from Lord of the Rings. This is a good rest stop but, unless you climb the boulders (which is pretty risky), the views aren’t expansive. Instead, continue past the ‘stone-trolls’ for another couple of minutes. On the left, obscured by foliage, there’s a rocky outcrop protruding from the undergrowth on which you can stand and take in the extraordinary panorama. With the jungle canopy beneath you, the views stretch down to the east coast resorts on Cây Sao beach and all the way to the southern tip of the island. Out at sea, the Cambodian mainland is clearly visible and so too is Đảo Hải Tặc (Pirate Islands). As you’ll see from the images below, you obviously need to be extremely careful when standing on the rocky outcrop. (Without a guide, it may take a few minutes of searching before you find this view point.)

The 'stone-trolls' at the top of the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
The ‘stone-trolls’ near the top of Núi Đá Bạc mountain

The first boulder view point on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
The first boulder view point at the top of Núi Đá Bạc mountain

The first boulder view point on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Looking due east down over Cây Sao Beach

The first boulder view point on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Looking due south down toward Ham Ninh village & Bai Vong port

To reach the second boulder view point, head back towards the ‘stone-trolls’ and continue a bit further beyond and behind them. (Again, it can be difficult to find without a guide.) Climb up the back of one large boulder and traverse a very precarious wooden log bridge over a 5-metre-deep chasm to another boulder, this one exposed to the sky, affording yet more spectacular 180-degree views. From here, the vistas due north over the dense, green, unbroken jungle and long spine of mountains are really impressive, reminding you that inland Phu Quoc Island is still largely in its natural state. This view point is much larger and more spacious that the other, making it the perfect place for a ‘peak picnic’ before heading back down the mountain again.

The second boulder view point on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Resting at the second boulder view point at the top of Núi Đá Bạc mountain

The second boulder view point on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
Taking in the views (and some food) on the top of Núi Đá Bạc mountain

The second boulder view point on the Núi Đá Bạc trek, Phu Quoc Island
From here, Phu Quoc Island is at its green, lush, natural best

*Disclosure: I never receive payment for anything I write: my content is always free and independent. I’ve written this guide because I want to: I like this trek and I want my readers to know about it. For more details, see my Disclosure & Disclaimer statements and my About Page

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Questions, updates and trip reports are all welcome. However, please keep comments polite and on-topic. See commenting etiquette for details.

  1. Andreas Helmke and Tuyet Helmke says:
    April 17, 2023 at 5:45 AM

    Update to Phu Quoc, Nui Bac Mountain

    Unfortunately, the described route to the Nui Bac is now closed, as we found out in December 2022 and again in April 2023. The former access, which was still inviting and open on the website – is blocked with barbed wire. We spoke to both the property owner (who used to act as a guide for this tour) and one of the rangers who maintain the trails on the island and their response was that this is a permanent closure, the community doesn’t want it a path that starts so close to the coast. Regrettable!

    The search for detours is followed suspiciously by the property owner and above all by several dogs and cannot be recommended.

    There are, however, numerous other hikes in Phu Quoc, not only to Tien Son Peak and to the springs (see Vietnam Coracle ebsite), but also to peaks such as K7 and God’s Mountain (the latter with a guide). In addition, there are some fantastic paths through the jungle in the national park in the Bai Thom region, some of which – on bamboo stairs – go down to the coast.

    Andreas and Tuyet

    1. Tom says:
      April 24, 2023 at 6:10 AM

      Hi Andreas & Tuyet,

      Thank you for the update. Yes, the main entrance has always been blocked (as mentioned in the overview on the page above), but if you walk beyond the wall and into the brush, you can find places to get over and then find the trailhead into the forest. It’s not easy, but it can be done. It’s a shame that the island does not want to encourage this hike. I hope they change their mind about that, because other independent hikes on the island are proving to be very popular with visitors.

      Best,

      Tom

  2. Jamie farrar says:
    February 6, 2023 at 12:15 PM

    Hi Tom its Jamie from Kiki coconut. Unfortunately now there is a gate in place at the entrance that is padlock so currently unable to enter, so i redirect many to the other hike nearby that you have listed.

    1. Tom says:
      February 6, 2023 at 3:42 PM

      Hi Jamie, good to year from you.

      Thanks for the update and for redirecting people to the Dinh Tien Son Peak hike instead.

      However, that gate has always been locked. You should be able to access the trail by walking behind the little house on the road (the same house where you can park your bike under the tree). It’s a little tricky at first, but then you climb a wall and you’re at the trailhead. Perhaps the people in the house could offer directions to get to the trailhead.

      Best,

      Tom

  3. Rob says:
    January 5, 2023 at 11:38 AM

    Tom thanks for notes – they were super helpful. Entry now harder a lots of barbed wire. I came in the Google maps entry at lotus homes & followed a wall up to the forest. I then went straight up & climbed / scrambled the cliffs – not recommended unless you’re comfortable scrambling. I came back via the path then went got to small rope at the top of bottom of the forest I traversed back to the wall – this seemed much easier then trying to go down via barbed wire fence.

    1. Tom says:
      January 8, 2023 at 1:38 PM

      Hi Rob,

      Glad you enjoyed the hike. Yes, it can be tricky to get to the initial trailhead. If anyone is having difficulty, you can go to the little house under the tree by the road where you can park your motorbikes (as suggested in the guide and on the map) and ask them to point you in the right direction.

      Best,

      Tom

  4. Killian says:
    December 11, 2022 at 2:21 AM

    Thanks to this post we went there did the hike which was pretty cool. The beginning is now (end of 2022) a bit trickier to find than it used to be.

    1. Tom says:
      January 29, 2023 at 8:29 AM

      Thanks, Killian.

      Yes, it’s a bit difficult to get to the trailhead, but you can always ask the people at the local house for directions.

      Best,

      Tom