Vietnam: Looking towards the Peak of Love, Con Son Island, Con Dao National Park, Con Dao Archipelago

The Con Dao Islands (Vietnamese: Côn Đảo) are an archipelago of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province, in southeastern Vietnam, and are a Situated at about 185 km (115 mi) from Vũng Tàu and 230 km (143 mi) from Hồ Chí Minh City (Saigon), the group includes The total land area is 75 sq km, and the local population is about 5,000. The island group is served by Cỏ Ống <br/><br/><br/>The island group is served by Cỏ Ống Airport. The archipelago was formerly known as Poulo Condore, and it is mentioned under a variant of this Malay name by Marco Polo in the early 14th century. On June 16, 1702, the English East India Company founded a settlement on the island of 'Pulo Condor' off the south coast of southern Vietnam, and on March 2, 1705, The largest island is Côn Sơn Island (also known as Con Lon Island), infamous for its numerous prisons - eleven in all - built by the French colonial government. It was also used as a prison island after independence in 1954, by the pro-Western Republic of Vietnam regime, acquiring a fearsome reputation for isolation and brutality as well. It was also used as a prison island after independence in 1954, by the pro-Western Republic of Vietnam regime, acquiring a fearsome reputation for isolation and brutality as well as - conversely - functiong as a de facto insurgent 'university', where many leading nationalist and communist Vietnamese were imprisoned.<br/><br/><br/> In 1984, the archipelago became a protected area, Côn Đảo National Park, which was subsequently enlarged in 1998. Ecosystems represented in the park include seagrass meadow, mangrove and coral reefs. Ecosystems represented in the park include seagrass meadow, mangrove and coral reefs.