Канатная дорога

Platform: hackerlab | Category: OSINT | Type: Challenge | Difficulty: Easy | OS: Linux | Author: XESXOR | Date: 2025-12-14 | Status: Solved Techniques: Cross-reference with known locations, Geolocation by unique infrastructure, Visual landmark identification

Summary

Task: Identify the amusement park that a cable car leads to based on a photo. Solution: Visual analysis of unique infrastructure (cable car over sea with white towers) and mountain landscape identified Vinpearl Cable Car in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Канатная дорога — hackerlab.pro

Description

На фото — улика. Канатная дорога тянется куда-то вдаль, и лишь выяснив страну, ты сможешь раскрыть её тайну. Твой ответ — название парка на английском, куда ведёт дорога.

Формат флага: CODEBY{Park}

Files

• cable_car.zip — archive with image
• cable_car.png — cable car photograph (532x501 px)

Analysis

What is given

Image with evening/night view:

• Cable car over water (bay)
• White cable car towers on the right
• Mountain landscape with multiple ridges in the background
• Coastal city with lights along the shore
• Characteristic Asian landscape ‍​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‍

Metadata check

 bash read-only • copy allowed Copy
exiftool cable_car.png

EXIF metadata contains no GPS coordinates — only information about conversion from PDF.

Visual analysis

Key features for identification:

1. Cable car over sea — rare type, few exist in the world
2. White towers — characteristic design
3. Bay with mountains — specific geography
4. Evening view with waterfront lights — tourist destination

Research

There are few cable cars over sea in the world. The most famous ones:

• Vinpearl Cable Car (Nha Trang, Vietnam)
• Ngong Ping 360 (Hong Kong)
• Singapore Cable Car ‍​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‍

Based on the combination of features (mountain landscape, bay shape, white towers) — this is Vinpearl Cable Car in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Solution

Location identification

Vinpearl Cable Car — one of the longest cable cars over sea in the world:

• Length: 3,320 meters
• Connects mainland Nha Trang with Hon Tre island
• Crosses Nha Trang Bay

Where the cable car leads

The cable car leads to the Vinpearl amusement park (formerly Vinpearl Land, now VinWonders) on Hon Tre island.

Flag formation

‍​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‍

Park name in English: Vinpearl

Useful Resources

• Vinpearl Cable Car — Wikipedia
• Google Maps — Nha Trang Bay

Notes

• EXIF metadata didn't help — GPS was absent
• The key to the solution was knowledge about rare cable cars over sea
• Vinpearl Cable Car — a recognizable landmark of Vietnam
• Alternative approach: Google Reverse Image Search could have helped find similar photos ‍​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‍