The top of Bach Ma is 1450 m above sea level and only 18 Km from the sea. The road up was built by the French in about 1932; they had a "hill station" up here for their administrators and military officers to escape from the heat, with villas, hotels, and a hospital. The buildings were abandoned when the French left; there is hardly a trace of them now, except for a fine octagonal lookout building on the summit. It has lost its shutters and most of its glass, but still has its staircase and roof. The 1930s road has been resurrected and repaired; it is steep, winding and so narrow that before cars can pass, the drivers usually need to get out and confer.

It's all national park now, with a few small places for tourists to stay within a few kilometres of the summit. The road must have gone right to the top once, and we saw workers with a motorbike up there. But we had to walk the last bit – the Lonely Planet book says it's a 500m walk but it feels much more. The views are worth it.

The other walk we did was the "Rhododendron Trail" which leads to the top of a spectacular waterfall. If you are fitter than we are, you can continue to the bottom of the falls and back.