Vietnam: Po Shanu Cham Towers, Hindu temple near Mui Ne

Date: 28 October 2019

I arrived in the coastal town of Mui Ne in the afternoon. Mui Ne is located just outside Phan Thiết city. It’s a sleepy little resort town but Mui Ne is getting more popular on the Vietnam tourism trail, largely thanks to its unique attractions. I had booked a tour to see the sand dunes tomorrow but today, before the sun set, I decided to make the most of my time and visit a the Po Shanu Cham Towers.

I hailed a Grab bike taxi and negotiated with the driver, who agreed to take me there, wait and drive me back to Mui Ne for 70,000 VND (₹220/$3/€2.5).

Mui Ne highway sunset Vietnam — I sat on the back of the bike and did my best to photograph and take videos as we drove

Mui Ne beach sunset drive Vietnam — This looked like a nice spot and I decided to stop by on the way back

Mui Ne drive highway Vietnam — We were on what looked like a brand new highway

Property development Mui Ne Vietnam — A lot of new property developments coming up in Mui Ne

It really looks like Mui Ne only recently developed as a major tourism destination. I saw a lot of construction activity in Mui Ne along the coastline — new hotels, resorts, and housing projects.

The ride to Ba Nai Hill, where the Cham towers are situated, took less than 15 minutes. Once we arrived, I had to pay for parking.

Champa Po Sah Inu tickets Mui Ne — Entry tickets cost 15,000 VND (₹45/$0.65/€0.50). Timings are from 6:45am to 5:30pm.

Champa temple Po Sah Inu Vietnam — A map at the entrance

There are three towers still standing and the place is also referred to as the Champa temple complex because the towers house symbols of Hinduism — Yoni & Lingam in one, a Nandi bull statue in another, and Agni (fire god) in the third.

A quick history lesson: the Champa dynasty was an ancient South East Asian empire that lasted from the 2nd to 17th century, that ruled much of Vietnam during that time. Its people were called Chams. In fact the South China Sea was known as the Champa Sea during their reign as the Champa kingdom were a maritime force back then. Like the neighbouring Khmer empire (now Cambodia) and its people, the Chams were culturally and religiously influenced by India. Hinduism spread across Champa and the among the few remains of Cham temple structures still standing in Vietnam are the Po Sha Nu towers I came to see.

Champa hill climb Mui Ne Vietnam — You have to climb uphill a bit more to get to the towers

No drone allowed Champa Mui Ne Vietnam — There was a sign saying no drones allowed here

Po Sa Nu Cham towers Mui Ne Vietnam — Two towers are close to each other

Cham tower Hindu temple Vietnam — This is the third tower, standing apart from the other two

Altar cham tower Mui Ne Vietnam — Po Sha Nu was believed to have been built 1200 years ago. It was discovered during excavation work in the early 1990s.

Po Sha Nu cham towers Phan Thiet — The tallest tower is 15 meters high

Cham tower Hindu Mui Ne Vietnam — The towers are all built of sandstone

Cham temple Hinduism Mui Ne Vietnam — And has influences from Khmer architecture too

Cham temple linga Mui Ne Vietnam — Inside the tallest tower is the Shiva Lingam

There are other Cham temples across Vietnam and in fact, in 2020, the Archeological Society of India helped unearth another Lingam structure in the famous My Son Cham temple complex outside Hoi An.

After the temple, I decided to explore the rest of Ba Nai Hill.

Tai day monument Mui Ne Vietnam — This was a monument commemorating Vietnamese who fought against the colonial French at this hill

Panorama Ong Hoang Hill Mui Ne Vietnam — This is a view from the top

Mui Ne coastline Vietnam — The East Vietnam Sea

Top ong hoang hill Mui Ne Vietnam — This tower on top of the hill is called Prince’s Castle, and you can read the story about it here

There was nothing inside the ‘castle’ so don’t get your hopes up.

Ong Hoang hill Mui Ne Vietnam — This is the view of the other side from the hilltop. So it’s a good spot to catch the sunset…. but you have to leave the property by 5:30pm.

I walked back to the parking lot and left the place as it was nearing closing time. I’m glad I chose to make use of the time and come to Po Shanu Cham Towers before it closed for the day.

Sunset beach Mui Ne Vietnam — On the way back, I asked the Grab driver to stop by the beaches I saw along the way

Basket boats Mui Ne Vietnam — The shore was lined with these bamboo basket boats fishermen use in the waters

Mui Ne beach panorama Vietnam — Honestly, the beaches of Mui Ne aren’t that great

The sandy stretches are few and far in between and they aren’t that big. Like I said in my previous post, I wasn’t in Mui Ne for the beaches.

Mui Ne concrete shore Vietnam — In fact, where I was staying, which was lined with seaside restaurants… had embankments like this

Seafood restaurant Mui ne evening Vietnam — Once I was dropped back, I dumped all my camera gear in my room and just walked out with only my phone in my pocket

When I arrived in Mui Ne in the afternoon, the place seemed kinda dead. But as the sun set, the restaurants were all starting to buzz with lights on and music playing. Plenty of seafood on display. You pick what you want and they prepare it as per your desire.

Mr. Crab restaurant Mui Ne Vietnam — But there weren’t many diners though

Buddhist temple Mui Ne Vietnam — A Vietnamese-style Buddhist temple I saw along the way

Tam Hanh travels Mui Ne Vietnam — I bought my bus ticket back to Ho Chi Minh City from this travel agent

I saw a spa offering Vietnamese massage and decided to try it out. It cost just 200,000 VND (₹640/$8.75/€7) for an hour and it was really good! A bit different from Thai massage, the Vietnamese massage I got began from my toes all the way to my head.

Feeling really refreshed and relaxed after a long day, I sat down at a doner kebab place for the dinner.