The Perfume River ( or ) is a river that crosses the city of Huế, in central Vietnam. In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Huế fall into the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma, hence the sobriquet.
The Perfume River has two sources; both begin in the Dãy Trðá»Âng Sán mountain range and meet at Bằng Lãng Fork. The Tả Trạch (left tributary) originates in the Trðá»Âng ÃÂá»Âng mountains and flows northwest towards the fork. The river then flows along southâÂÂnorth direction past the temples of Hòn Chén and Ngá»Âc Trản, then flows north-west, meandering through the Nguyá»Ât Biá»Âu and Luong Quan plains. Continuing on, the river flows northeast to Huế and passes the resting place of the Nguyá» n emperors. The river continues, passing Hen islet and various villages, crossing the Sinh junction (capital of ancient Châu Hóa) before emptying into the Tam Giang lagoon.
From Bằng Lãng to the Thuan An estuary, the river is 30 km long and runs very slowly (as the river level is not much above sea level). The river darkens as it winds along the foot of Ngá»Âc Trản mountain, where there is a deep abyss. The Perfume River basin has the highest rainfall in Vietnam.
The 105 m Mount Ngá»± Bình is strikingly symmetrical. On both sides of the Bang Son (Even Mount) are two small mounts, Ta Bat Son (left mount) and Huu Bat Son (right mount). After observing that Bang Son resembled a screen, the Nguyá» n dynasty decided to build up Huế, which became known as their "Forbidden Purple City". Emperor Gia Long approved the design of geomancers, which chose this mount as a front altar of the imposing and solid defending wall system, and renamed it Ngá»± Bình.