Mountain · Khanh Vinh
Hon Ba
Hòn Bà
Hon Ba (Hòn Bà) is a mountain in the interior of Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam. The nature reserve article gives its summit as 1,578 m[1]; the Cam Lâm district article gives 1,554 m for the same peak[6]. It stands about 30 km from Nha Trang in a straight line and about 60 km by road[1], and the forest around it has been protected as the Hon Ba Nature Reserve since 15 December 2005[1].
The reserve was created by decision 98/2005/QĐ-UBND and covers 20,978.3 ha[1], divided into a strict protection zone of 10,448.2 ha, an ecological restoration zone of 10,530.1 ha and an administrative and service zone of 15 to 20 ha[1]. Before the administrative reform of 1 July 2025 it lay across four districts, Khanh Vinh, Khanh Son, Cam Lam and Dien Khanh[1].
The mountain is associated with Alexandre Yersin, who from 1915 built a research station at about 1,500 m on its slopes and planted cinchona brought from South America[1]. A road of 37 km climbs from Suoi Dau to the summit[1], where air temperatures of 17 to 20 degrees C were recorded in June 2024[3].
Geography and climate
Vietnamese Wikipedia gives the summit as 1,578 m in its article on the nature reserve[1] and as 1,554 m in its article on the former Cam Lâm district[6]. Either figure is high enough to carry montane forest above a coastal plain that is hot for most of the year. Vietnamese Wikipedia places the mountain and the reserve around it at 12°7′7″N 108°56′54″E[1], and Wikidata records the same point[5]. A reverse lookup of that coordinate on OpenStreetMap returns Suoi Dau commune[2], one of the units that replaced the former districts on 1 July 2025.
Air temperatures on the summit were reported at 17 to 20 degrees C by Tuoi Tre in June 2024[3]. The difference from the coast at the foot of the mountain was the subject of that report[3].
The nature reserve
Hon Ba Nature Reserve was established on 15 December 2005 by decision 98/2005/QĐ-UBND, with a total area of 20,978.3 ha[1]. Reporting by Tuoi Tre in February 2024 rounded the area to over 19,000 ha[4], a lower figure than the one Vietnamese Wikipedia takes from the founding decision[1].
Surveys recorded about 592 species of vascular plants in 401 genera and 120 families, of which 73 are ferns and their relatives, 8 are gymnosperms and 511 are flowering plants, together with 255 animal species in 88 families among mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians[1]. Management falls to the provincial department responsible for natural resources and the environment[1].
Yersin's station
Alexandre Yersin, the bacteriologist who founded the Pasteur Institute at Nha Trang, began building a research station on Hon Ba in 1915 at an elevation of about 1,500 m[1]. He grew there the cinchona tree Cinchona ledgeriana, imported from South America, the bark of which is the source of quinine[1].
Yersin's wooden house has been rebuilt on its original foundation[1]. A visit reported by Tuoi Tre in June 2024 described photographs and documents about his life on the ground floor, and his desk, a wooden chair and his bed on the upper floor[3]. In February 2024 the provincial authorities instructed the department responsible for culture and sport to restore the house as a recognised historical monument[4].
The summit road and access rules
A road of 37 km climbs from Suoi Dau to the summit[1]. Under the 2024 pilot scheme the provincial transport department was made responsible for maintaining and upgrading it[4].
That scheme was approved by Khanh Hoa province and began at the Lunar New Year of 2024, with an evaluation report due by 15 May 2024[4]. Under it, access to the summit is arranged through travel companies belonging to the Khanh Hoa Tourism Association, through the Kong Forest company or through the reserve's management board, rather than independently[3]. The province set targets for 2029 of over 10,000 visits a year, about 1,000 of them by international visitors, over 30 percent of them staying overnight, and revenue of about 10 billion VND[4].
Questions and answers
How high is Hon Ba?
When was Hon Ba Nature Reserve created?
On 15 December 2005, by decision 98/2005/QĐ-UBND, with an area of 20,978.3 ha[1].
What did Alexandre Yersin do on Hon Ba?
From 1915 he ran a research station at about 1,500 m on the mountain and grew cinchona imported from South America, the source of quinine[1].
Sources
Every figure in this article is cited to one of these pages, listed in order of first use, with the date it was read.
See also
- Alexandre YersinPerson
- Khanh Le PassMountain pass
- Cai River (Nha Trang)River
- Nui Chua National ParkProtected area
- Ca PassMountain pass