Po Nagar Cham Towers

The four surviving towers of Po Nagar sit on a granite hill at the northern end of Nha Trang bay, overlooking the mouth of the Cai River. Built between the 7th and 12th centuries by the Cham civilisation, they are among the finest examples of Cham Hindu architecture in Vietnam — brick-built, with distinctive curvilinear towers, ornate carvings, and still-active shrines inside.

The complex is genuinely ancient and genuinely alive — not a dead archaeological site but a working place of worship. Remove shoes before entering the tower chambers, where you will find altars, incense, and occasional worshippers. The views over the river estuary and the bay from the hilltop are excellent. Go early to beat the tour groups, which descend from mid-morning.

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A story
The towers were built between the 7th and 12th centuries by the Cham kingdom — a Hindu civilisation that dominated the central Vietnamese coast for over a thousand years before being gradually absorbed by the Vietnamese moving south. The main tower is dedicated to Po Nagar, the mother goddess of the Cham people, and is still actively used for worship by both Vietnamese-Cham Hindus and Vietnamese Buddhists. At festival times, the smell of incense and the sound of chanting fill the complex.