You may wonder how thousands of stones of various shapes and sizes came to be nestled in mountain creeks and perched on the top, sides and base of the mountains and hills in the Reserve, which covers an area of nearly 30,000 hectares on the coast of the central province.

The stones look as though they have been hand-crafted into figures which resemble columns of a house, animals and stylized phalluses worshiped as a symbol of the god Shiva. But, local citizens say the harsh winds from the sea, rain and other factors have shaped the stones into natural works of art.

The asphalted approach road to Vinh Hy Bay is rather quiet, you can stop here and there on the roadside to take shots of the beautiful stones. There are sections of the road that wind around the sides and cut through the mountains and hills; those are the best places to take picture with the sea and the forest of the natural reserve in the background.

The travel firm Vietmark offers a package tour for groups of people who are interested in a trekking adventure in the Nui Chua Natural Reserve. The trek is from Vinh Hy Bay to Binh Tien, where there is a beautiful beach near Khanh Hoa Province.

The director of marketing at Vietmark, Truong Hoang Phuong, said there are options for participants to depart from Vinh Hy Bay and trek in parts of the reserve before boarding a boat to sail to Binh Tien, or walk in the forest to the unspoiled beach.

Phuong says locals need about three hours to walk through the trekking route but estimates that it will take tourists at least half a day to finish the trip.

Vietmark also offers an over-night camping package in the reserve.

Established as natural reserve in July 2003, Nui Chua is a primitive forest that represents the dry ecosystem of the Southeast Asian region. The reserve is home to black-shanked douc langur and many other rare species, turtles and more than 300 coral species.