Po Klong Garai

Three towers on Trầu Hill in Phan Rang, built in the late 13th and early 14th century. Arguably the most photogenic Cham towers of all. The complex was raised under King Jaya Simhavarman III and dedicated to the deified ruler Po Klong Garai, whom the Cham venerate as the patron of irrigation canals. The state of preservation here is better than anywhere else in the country: the main sanctuary about twenty metres high, the gate tower and the elongated building with a saddle-shaped roof are all intact. Above the entrance is carved a six-armed Shiva in dance, in the gateway passage lies the stone bull Nandin, and in the gloom of the sanctuary stands a mukhalinga, a linga with a human face carved on it. The temple is active: the community of Brahmanist Cham gathers here for the new year festival of Katê, which falls in the seventh month of the Cham calendar, roughly at the beginning of October. The complex is one of the easiest to reach: the towers stand on Trầu Hill right by the highway on the western edge of Phan Rang, and the climb takes a few minutes. Admission is charged. The sanctuary is active, and it is especially crowded here during the Katê festival at the beginning of October.

On the map