Po Klong Garai Tower, the mysterious masterpiece of the Cham people in Ninh Thuan

In 2016, this project was recognized by the Prime Minister as a special National Monument.

Po Klong Garai Tower is located on the top of Trau Hill in Do Vinh Ward, Phan Rang - Thap Cham City (Ninh Thuan). The structure was built by King Che Man in the late 13th century and early 14th century to worship the king of the same name.

Having gone through many historical events and the ravages of time, this relic still retains intact artifacts and traditional values ​​in Cham culture. In 1979, the tower was ranked as a National Monument by the Ministry of Culture and in 2016 was recognized by the Prime Minister as a special National Monument.

The main tower is over 20m high, designed with many floors, and around the corners are attached stone statues of animals in the shape of dragon tails, leaves, sacred cows, fire symbols...

Po Klong Garai Tower is a sacred temple, considered one of the religious and cultural centers of the Panduranga region, a symbol and pride of the Cham community living in Ninh Thuan.

Po Klong Garai consists of three towers: the main tower (central tower), the fire tower (house tower) and the gate tower, built from dark red bricks. The gate tower and the fire tower are not used for worship, only the main tower is the place to worship King Po Klong Garai.

This tower has a main door facing East, above is a sculpture of the god Siva, a sacred god to the Cham people, below are two stone pillars supporting the tower engraved with ancient Cham characters.

This is considered a beautiful and majestic cluster of towers in the Cham tower system across the country, a masterpiece left by the ancient Cham people.

In front of the relic cluster is a gate tower over 5m high, carved with meticulous patterns. This place was the entrance for ceremonies, offerings and welcoming guests of the ancient king.

Inside the tower is a shrine to the king who had great contributions in ruling the country with the Mukha-Linga symbol.

To the south is the fire tower, which has the typical architecture of traditional Cham houses. This tower is designed with two curved roofs shaped like boats.

Every year, there are 4 festivals taking place at the Po Klong Garai tower relic including Chabun Festival (worshiping the mother goddess of the land), Peh bi mbeng Yang Festival (opening the tower), Yuer yang Festival (praying for rain) and Kate Festival... both preserving and exploiting cultural values, attracting tourists.

The most typical is the Kate Festival on the 1st of the 7th month of the Cham calendar (around September and October of the Gregorian calendar) with the meaning of commemorating the merits of King Po Klong Garai, praying for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather and favorable weather.

According to Vietnamnet