At 986 metres, Bà Đen is the highest peak in southern Vietnam — not tall by international standards, but dramatically prominent on the otherwise flat Mekong Delta plain. The mountain is visible from Tay Ninh town and from most of the surrounding countryside. A cable car runs to the summit area, where a complex of Buddhist and Cao Dai pagodas clusters around a cave shrine to the Black Lady. On weekends and festivals the mountain draws large numbers of Vietnamese pilgrims.
The hike to the summit is possible and takes about three hours up through dense jungle, with monkeys, hornbills and other wildlife along the way. The views from the top on a clear day extend to the Cambodian border and across the Mekong floodplain. The shrines themselves are atmospheric — smoking incense, coloured silk, and the steady murmur of devotional chanting. Most day-trippers from Ho Chi Minh City who come for the Cao Dai temple skip Bà Đen; those who include it have a much fuller picture of this corner of Vietnam.