Guidebook But the rains can be deadly
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Sense of Place

But the rains can be deadly

Central Vietnam has “a long and exposed coastline,” explains The Conversation. It consists of 14 coastal provinces and five provinces in the Central Highlands. “The Truong Son mountain range rises to the west and the plains that stretch to the coast are fragmented and narrow … river systems are dense, short and steep, with rapid flows.” These physical characteristics “often combine with widespread human vulnerability, to deadly effect.”

“This region has a particularly complicated climate,” says Rough Guides. In general, around Da Nang and Hue the rainy season lasts from September to February, with most rain falling between late September and December; “during this season it’s not unusual for road and rail links to be cut.” Hue “suffers particularly badly” and even during the “dry season” from March to August, “it’s possible to have several days of torrential rain, giving the city an annual average of three metres.” Overall, advises Rough Guides, the best time to visit is in spring, from February to late May, “before both temperatures and humidity reach their summer maximum (averaging around 30°C),” or just at the end of the summer “before the rains break.”

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