The most famous Cham towers in Vietnam

08:04, 13/04/2015

Characterized by the art of building and carving of the ancient Cham people, Cham towers at the My Son Sanctuary and Ponagar tower are favorite tourist attractions.

 

Characterized by the art of building and carving of the ancient Cham people, Cham towers at the My Son Sanctuary and Ponagar tower are favorite tourist attractions.

Những tháp Chăm nổi tiếng nhất Việt Nam

My Son Sanctuary in Duy Phu commune, Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province is approximately 69 km from Da Nang City and about 20 km from the ancient citadel of Tra Kieu. It includes Cham temples in a valley about 2 km in diameter, surrounded by hills. 

Những tháp Chăm nổi tiếng nhất Việt Nam

The sanctuary hosted rituals of the Champa kingdom as well as the tombs of Cham Kings, princes ,and mandarins. My Son is considered to be one of the centers of temples of Hinduism in Southeast Asia, and is a unique heritage of its kind in Vietnam. 

Những tháp Chăm nổi tiếng nhất Việt Nam

Most of the statues do not have heads. There are many theories for this. The most supported explanation is that the Cham people decided to take the heads of statues to new settlements to worship. 

Ảnh: Đào Tiến Đạt

The central province of Binh Dinh is famous for eight vestiges, consisting of 14 towers, spreading over the three districts of Tay Son, An Nhon, Tuy Phuoc and Quy Nhon city. 

Ảnh: Dulichbinhdinh.

The clusters of towers were built not far from each other and around Do Ban citadel (now the Hoang De citadel in Nhon Hau, An Nhon). Most of the towers were built in the 10th-11th century. 

thap bình lâm. Ảnh: Mytour

The characteristic of these towers are the stone patterns and reliefs on arches. The bas-reliefs are female dancers, and gods of Silva, Ganesha, Goddess Uma, and Bhama. 

A3nh: Mygola.

Poklong Garai Towers in Do Vinh Ward, Phan Rang - Thap Cham City is about 5 km to the northwest of the city center. The towers were built atop Trau Hill in the late 13th century and early 14th century to commemorate King Poklon Giarai.

Ảnh: trekearth.com

The tower complex now consists of three towers: Cong (gate) tower, Lua (fire) tower and Chinh (main) tower. In photo: The main tower of over 21 m, 10 m long on each side, with 4 floors; the upstairs are smaller than the downstairs, ending with a stone linga. 

Ảnh: nhatrangsensetravel.com

Ponagar Tower, in Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province is one of the largest architectural complexes of Champa culture remaining in the central Vietnam. The tower was built in the 12th -13th century. 

Ảnh: Datvietdl/worldpress.

Ponagar Tower is a temple located atop a small hill of about 50 meters above the sea level. The overall architecture consists of 3 floors. 

Những tháp Chăm nổi tiếng nhất Việt Nam

Nhan Tower is located on the mountain of Nhan (Swallow) and is typical image of tourism in Phu Yen province. From a distance, the mountain is shaped like a swallow preparing to fly.

Những tháp Chăm nổi tiếng nhất Việt Nam

The tower was built in the Lord Nguyen Hoang in 1578-1580. The tower consists of three parts, representing the worldly, the spirit and divine. The tower has been damaged heavily. However, the patterns on the tower are still sharp, showing the architectural virtuosity of the ancients. 

 

(Source: VNN)