Conquering Hon Chuong, the ancient tower gradually appears

The difference from the guide

Been to the footBell Islandand failed to find the way up the tower, everyone knew how difficult it was to find a way to climb that giant rock. However, this time we found a guide who was committed to reaching the tower. Even so, we still met together, agreeing that the safety of individuals was paramount, if a few people in the group could set foot on the top of Hon Chuong, it would be wonderful.

Instead of camping on the mountain the night before, this time we also "raised" our determination by leaving and returning during the day, to avoid having to carry tents and food, and focus on finding a way to reach the top of Hon Chuong.

As planned, we left Qui Nhon at 4am, heading towards Phu Cat in two 7-seat cars. After having breakfast at Chanh Danh village market, Cat Tai commune, Phu Cat, we stopped at a cafe to wait for the guides. When they arrived, we set off at 6:45am to go into the mountains.

After several years, the first part of the road was still the same: a narrow concrete road winding uphill through a large cashew garden. Luckily, in addition to the two guides, there were two local men, friends of one of the group members. They had three motorbikes, so they worked hard to go up and down, carrying both luggage and people to save time.

After leaving the cashew orchard, the motorbikes were left behind and the group trudged up the mountain. The scenery was almost the same as before. It took about an hour from the start to reach Hon Chong - where there was a large rock on the mountainside - and we stopped to rest like last time.

After a while, the landscape on the mountain trail also changed a lot. There were places where the trees were thicker, but there were also places where the forest was clearer. After passing Hon Chong for a while, there was a place where the forest was sparse, and Hon Chuong suddenly appeared, both far and near.

The guides this time - Khoa and Cuong - were both locals. Khoa was about 40 years old, dark-skinned and small, Cuong was much younger, also dark-skinned but very strong and toned. The important equipment we had prepared was a roll of parachute cord nearly 200 meters long with enough hooks and buckles for the user. The cord and buckle weighed about 20 kg; the night before departure, the four of us had to take the cord to the streets of Qui Nhon to spread it out and fold it into a small size, both to avoid tangles and to put it in the army backpack for easy carrying.

Anyone who tried to carry the backpack with the safety belt would shake their heads and stick out their tongues - because it was heavy, big, and lost its center of gravity when stuffed in the backpack. However, for Ho Cuong, it was just a small matter. He calmly slung the backpack over his shoulder and walked briskly on the rocky and steep mountain "road".

This time, Khoa and Cuong took us on the same route as last time to the abandoned coal furnace, then took a "shortcut" - which we only realized when we returned that we were going to buy sugar in the morning, not taking a shortcut.

Since the destination was Hon Chuong, everyone rushed along the way, rarely stopping to rest or do anything else. At 10:30, we arrived at the foot of Hon Chuong - a strange rock rising about 50 meters with a mysterious, ruined ancient tower above.

Conquering Hon Chuong, the ancient tower gradually appears

The group weaved through the forest, getting close to the foot of the giant rock, looking for a cool corner to rest and have an early lunch. Lunch was self-sufficient, anyone could bring whatever they wanted to eat. Everyone contributed everything to share, including rice, banh chung, sausages, chicken…

While everyone had just finished eating and were still resting and discussing how to get to the top of Hon Chuong, Khoa quietly left the group. Suddenly, a guy walked to a tree branch where he was hanging his backpack, looked up and shouted loudly in a thick local accent: "Fuck, he climbed to the top of Hon Chuong!"

The atmosphere immediately became heated, in fact there were a few people who were still half-believing that the guide could climb the tower - because when they reached the foot of Hon Chuong and looked up, they saw how difficult it was, and did not even know where to start.

We started leaving our luggage behind, only taking water and started climbing up the rock to reach the highest point. No one had time to notice where Khoa started to climb, and now he was trying to get closer to everyone to get the end of the safety rope and pull up to find a place to tie the rope.

From the lunch spot, we followed the base of the giant rock counterclockwise, leaning on small rocks and trees, and after about 10 meters of height, we reached the abyss. Above, Khoa also crept down to the same point where we stopped, but about 5-6 meters above.

The bait reel was thrown up, Khoa dropped one end of the rope down, we tied the main rope for Khoa to pull up, found an anchor point above, and after about 15 minutes, Cuong hooked the safety equipment to himself and the rope, demonstrating to us how to cross the cliff using the safety rope.

Then he slid down to help us put on our harnesses and hooks properly. And the first person made it up the cliff to where Khoa was waiting above.

In general, the journey to the top of Hon Chuong can be divided into 3 stages:

• Cross the first cliff using the vine to reach the first ledge where you can stop.
• Crawl, crawl through a very narrow and low crevice of rock to get to another wider and more convenient ledge for climbing higher, on the side.
• Continue up the cliff to the tower from the second assembly point.

The whole group of 13 people (not counting Khoa and Cuong who were the guides), 5 people passed the first stage, 3 people passed the second stage, and only 1 person, Le Thanh, passed the third stage with the help of Khoa and Cuong to reach the top of Hon Chuong and the tower. The two people stopped after passing the second stage because they were overwhelmed by the height.

According to Mr. Thanh - the only person in the group who reached the top of Hon Chuong, the top area of ​​the rock block is about 60 m wide.², slightly tilted. The ancient tower was built directly on the rock, with the two East-West sides about 3 m, the two North-South sides about 4 m, the tower wall about 0.8-1 m thick and gradually tapered towards the top.

The eastern wall has lost the top three rows of bricks and is the only side with a small spear-shaped door - commonly found in other Cham towers built around the 12th - 13th centuries in Binh Dinh. The western wall (the back of the tower) has the most severe erosion - losing about 2/3 of the tower's height. The body of the tower has absolutely no sculptures, and the bricks from the western wall of the tower were scattered outside when they collapsed. Inside the tower, plants and grass grow as high as the top of the tower wall, but according to observation, there is nothing else inside the tower.

The East, South, and North tower walls are still about 3.5 m high, the roof - which was mentioned in very few documents - has completely disappeared. On the top of Hon Chuong, there are many bricks scattered, and next to the ancient tower there is an old clay pile that has been carefully piled up, the surface has cracked over time.

Although only one member (not counting the two guides) reached the top of Hon Chuong, the whole group was very happy because they had overcome the challenges of nature. Hopefully, in the future, the regular survey teams of the Cultural and Historical management units will continue to research and clarify the mysteries of the ancient tower on the top of Hon Chuong.

Through the trip, we believe that it is true that many local people have set foot on the top of Hon Chuong before, and although it is difficult and dangerous, this is not too difficult or impossible.

South China