Ponagar Tower, located on a small hilltop at the mouth of Cai River (Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa), has just been ranked as a special national monument by Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long under Decision No. 152/QD-TTg. The relic site is a complex of architectural and artistic works of the ancient Champa kingdom, built from the 8th to the 13th century.

This place worships the goddess Ponagar - the Mother Goddess of the Cham people, so it is called "Ponagar Tower". In the 17th century, the Vietnamese community continued to preserve and worship Thien Y A Na Thanh Mau.

The overall architecture of the Ponagar tower consists of 3 floors, going from bottom to top. The first floor, at ground level, was the gate tower, but it no longer exists. From there, there are stone steps leading up to the middle floor.

The middle floor has two rows of octagonal main columns, each side has 5 large columns over 3 m high and over 1 m in diameter, along with 12 smaller columns. All are located on a brick foundation over 1 m high. This structure shows that this was once a large building with a tiled roof, where pilgrims rested and prepared offerings before going up to the upper shrines.

The third floor is the temple tower area built at the highest position of Cu Lao hill, consisting of 4 structures. Including the Northeast tower (Chinh tower), Southeast tower (Co tower), South tower (Ong tower) and Northwest tower (Co Cau tower).

The Main Tower, about 23 m high, is the soul of the ancient tower cluster. According to researchers, the Main Tower was first built in the years 813-817 and after many historical events, it was rebuilt around the middle of the 11th century. This is the tower to worship the Goddess Ponagar of the Cham people, and according to Vietnamese legend, this is the place to worship the Holy Mother Thien Y A Na.

The towers are built of brick and artistically decorated with stone and ceramics.

According to the Khanh Hoa Provincial Monuments Conservation Center, the construction material of Ponagar Tower is baked bricks. The bricks are seamless, do not reveal adhesive, and are very sturdy.

Today, the Ponagar Tower relic is a must-see destination for domestic and foreign tourists when coming to the coastal city of Nha Trang.

Many tourists check-in at this ancient tower.

MINH MINH