Ly Son Volcanic Island – Kingdom of Garlic in the East Sea

Category: Volcanic Island & Million-Year Geological Wonder | Location: Ly Son Island District, Quang Ngai Province

Lying 15 nautical miles northeast of the mainland coast of Quang Ngai province, Ly Son Island (historically known as Cu Lao Re) is a living open-air geological museum sculpted by violent volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Crowned by five extinct volcanic craters rising majestically above sapphire-blue waters, the island showcases dramatic pitch-black basalt sea cliffs, fossilized coral reefs, and breathtaking wave-sculpted lava arches formed over millennia. The island’s most iconic natural monument is To Vo Gate (Arch Rock)—a stunning natural volcanic lava bridge rising over two meters above the tide, celebrated as one of Vietnam’s most spellbinding sunset photography viewpoints. Other breathtaking landmarks include Thoi Loi Peak with its panoramic summit national flagpole perched above a freshwater crater lake, the sheer sea-carved basalt amphitheater of Hang Cau, and Dao Be (An Binh Island), often praised as the "Maldives of Central Vietnam" for its sugar-white beaches and crystalline lagoons. Ly Son is revered nationwide as Vietnam’s "Kingdom of Garlic", acclaimed for its prized single-clove garlic (Toi Co Don) cultivated with ancestral care upon unique dual layers of white coral sand and fertile volcanic basalt soil. The island is also the sacred ancestral cradle of the historic Hoang Sa Flotilla dating back to the Nguyen Lords, preserving the sacred Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa ceremony honoring heroic seamen who sailed wooden boats into the East Sea to assert Vietnam’s eternal maritime sovereignty.