Next to the poetic Cai River mouth, towering on the top of a small hill is the mysterious Cham architectural complex - Ponagar Tower. Through many historical ups and downs, this cultural heritage still retains its architectural and spiritual values, containing unique historical and cultural stories of the ancient Cham people.
Ponagar Tower is located on a small hill next to Cai River.
When first setting foot in Ponagar Tower, visitors will be overwhelmed by the unique and impressive architectural beauty. The majestic towers were built of baked laterite with sophisticated sculpting techniques, demonstrating the talent and creativity of the Cham people. Every decorative detail and pattern on the towers has symbolic meaning for the gods, reflecting the spiritual life and beliefs of the ancient Cham people.
Duc Minh (29 years old, Hanoi) said: "Whenever I come to Nha Trang, in addition to swimming, I always visit Ponagar Tower. No matter how many times I visit, I still never get bored, admiring the architecture, immersing myself in the sounds of trumpets and dances of Cham dancers to love the culture and beliefs of the Cham people more."
The vestibule (Mandapa) is the first stop when visiting Ponagar Tower.
Unique Champa architecture
Built from the 8th century to the end of the 13th century, when Hinduism was flourishing in Champa, Ponagar Tower is the most intact Champa relic complex in Vietnam, including 4 towers built on a high hill facing Cai River. This place worships the goddess Thien Y Ana Po Nagar, the Mother Goddess of the land revered by the Champa people.
The structure of the tower is quite solid despite the erosion of time.
The tower complex consists of three floors, each with its own unique features. The bottom floor is where visitors can find traces of the tower gate and stone steps leading to the middle floor - Mandapa, where pilgrims rest and prepare offerings before making offerings to the goddess.
The most impressive highlight of Ponagar Tower is the towering 23-meter-high tower located on the top floor. The tower was built with perfectly tight-fitting baked bricks, without using any adhesives, demonstrating the unique construction technique of the Cham people. The hollow tower opens from bottom to top, the tower door faces East, meaning to welcome the first dawn of a new day.
Each work contains the artistic quintessence of Champa culture.
Each tower has four doors facing East, West, South, and North, but currently only the East door is open for tourists to enter and visit.
The towers are designed in an ancient style, carved with mascots and divine images with profound spiritual significance.
The outside of the tower is decorated with many moldings, pillars, and sophisticated tower arch patterns, along with terracotta statues and reliefs depicting fairies, sacred animals such as deer, golden geese, lions, and especially statues of the god Ponagar and the god Tenexa.
Standing out among the tower complex is the four-story Ponagar Tower, symbolizing beauty, art and creativity. Inside the tower is a 2.6-meter-high statue of the goddess Ponagar, carved from black granite, majestically located on a lotus-shaped stone pedestal, leaning against a large Bodhi leaf-shaped stone slab. "The goddess statue is considered a masterpiece of Cham sculpture, demonstrating a harmonious combination of round statue and relief techniques, demonstrating the skillful sculpting skills of the Cham people," said the tour guide here.
The towers are all built with bricks stacked on top of each other very tightly without any visible adhesive.
This is a unique, mysterious feature that researchers have yet to discover, making it even more attractive to tourists who love curiosity and exploring archaeological sites.
In addition to Ponagar Tower, visitors can also explore other towers in the complex such as the Middle Tower (Ong Palace), East Tower (Co Palace), Northwest Tower (Co Palace, Cau Palace), each tower worships different gods in Champa religion.
Cham culture in the heart of the city
In addition to its historical and cultural value, Ponagar Tower is also the venue for many unique festivals, the most prominent of which is the Ponagar Tower Festival, which has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. The festival takes place in the third lunar month every year, attracting a large number of visitors from all over the world.
When visiting Ponagar Tower, in addition to learning about history, architecture and spirituality, visitors also have the opportunity to enjoy captivating Champa dances.
A moment of rest by the temple tower.
The festival is an occasion for people to remember and pay tribute to the merits of Goddess Thien Y Ana Po Nagar, praying for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather and wind. Visitors to the festival will be immersed in the bustling, vibrant atmosphere with traditional rituals such as: the ceremony of changing the Holy Mother's clothes, the ceremony of praying for national peace and prosperity, releasing flower lanterns on the Cai River, Cham dance, dance to worship the Mother, Tuong performances, ball dance...
Cham pottery
There are still echoes of the prosperous times of the ancient Champa kingdom.
Amidst the bustling life of modern Nha Trang city, Ponagar Tower is like a peaceful oasis, preserving the traditional cultural values of the Cham people. Visiting Ponagar Tower is not only an interesting travel experience but also an opportunity for visitors to learn about the history, culture and people here.
