Ponagar Tower Nha Trang is a special architectural complex with great cultural and historical value marking the brilliant development of Hinduism. Therefore, many tourists have chosen this destination in their journey to discover the beautiful coastal city of Nha Trang.
Although famous for sea tourism activities, Ponagar Tower in Nha Trang is also one of the ideal tourist destinations. Built from the 7th to the 13th centuries, this architectural work not only has historical value but also contains cultural and architectural values about a flourishing period of Hinduism.
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About Ponagar Tower Nha Trang
When traveling to Nha Trang, tourists often combine visiting places in the center such as: Tram Huong tower, Hundred Egg tourist area, Nha Trang night market… In addition, Ponagar Tower is also a place that many people visit. interested, especially those who love the ancient Champa culture.
Where is Ponagar Tower located?
Thap Ba Ponagar, also known as Thap Ba historical relic site, is located on a small hill next to the Cai river mouth, about 2km from Nha Trang city center. Thanks to its prime location and unique architecture, Ponagar Tower in Nha Trang attracts a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to visit every year, especially during the first festival season.
Legend of Ponagar Tower in Nha Trang
According to the description of Ponagar Tower, “Ponagar” in Cham language means “mother country”. This is the place to worship the goddess Po Ina Nagar, so Thap Ba is also known as the Yang Po Inu Nagar Tower (or Yang Po Ana Gar). This work was built from about the 7th to the 13th century – the flourishing period of the Champa kingdom and Hinduism.
To the ancient Champa people, the goddess Po Ina Nagar was Thien Y Thanh Mau, the creator of the earth, producing trees and rice for the people. Therefore, they consider her as the origin of life and worship her in order to pray for good crops and lush trees.
Perhaps that is why this is a place of special significance in the spiritual and religious life of the Cham people as well as containing many artistic quintessence in unique architecture. This is also the meaning of Ponagar Tower and the value of Ponagar Tower.
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Review Thap Ba Ponagar Nha Trang has anything attractive?
According to the perception of Ponagar Tower in Nha Trang by many visitors, this is not only a unique architectural work but also has many special festival activities. Here are some attractions of this Nha Trang tourist destination that you should not miss.
Admire the ancient Cham Pa architecture
If you are a tourist who is passionate about learning about Champa architecture and Hinduism, Ponagar Tower will definitely be an ideal stop. Many archaeologists consider the Ponagar Ponagar Tower complex as one of the works with unique and relatively complete architecture. In 1979, Ponagar Ponagar Tower was ranked as a national architectural and artistic monument.
Thap Ba complex consists of 3 floors with 4 towers, built of brick and decorated with stone – ceramic materials. A special feature is that these towers are built according to Cham Pa architecture, bricks are built tightly and do not see adhesives.
In addition, on the top of the tower there is a statue of Lord Shiva riding the bull god Nandin and many different mascots. Outside the tower wall is decorated with stone sculptures such as rowers, rice millers, hunters with bows and arrows… It is thanks to this unique feature that every year, Ponagar Nha Trang attracts about 160,000 visitors each year. come visit.
Visit the 3 floors of the relic
Ponagar Tower was built with 3 main floors. The first floor is the gate tower floor. Due to the vestiges of time, this floor is not intact, only a few small remnants such as stone steps, pillar legs … are covered by soil. Therefore, you can only move to the 2nd floor by stone stairs.
The 2nd floor, also known as Mandapa (ie guest house, retreat house), is where people prepare rituals and costumes before going to the main hall to perform the ritual. Overview of the architecture in the middle floor includes 10 large pillars divided into 2 rows, more than 3m high, 1m in diameter. Surrounded by 12 smaller columns of lower height and all placed on a pedestal with a height of about 1m. Finally, visitors will continue up the steep stairs in the middle floor to reach the 3rd floor.
The top floor is where the worshiping towers were built, now there are only 4 towers left. The main tower in the front row is quite large, about 23m high, called Ponagar Tower (Ba Dinh). The middle tower is the Ong palace, the southeast tower is the Co palace and the northwest tower is the Co and Cau palace. This is also the main space to organize cultural and artistic activities during festivals.
Immerse yourself in a unique cultural festival
Ponagar Nha Trang Thap Ba Festival is held from March 20 to 23 of the lunar calendar. This is a festival to express respect and gratitude to Ponagar’s mother – who has helped teach people how to raise livestock, plant rice, and weave cloth, helping the Cham Pa people have a prosperous life.
The festival takes place solemnly with rituals similar to a traditional folk festival. You can experience many different activities such as: flower dropping ceremony, incense offering ceremony for Mother Goddesses, Ball dancing and Van singing, lion dance performance, water procession contest and fruit tray presentation for Mau…
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Ponagar Ponagar Tower travel experience in Nha Trang
To have a complete trip, you need to refer to some tourist information about Ponagar Tower Nha Trang as follows:
Ticket price Ponagar Tower
Currently, the entrance ticket to Ponagar Tower is 25,000 VND/person , applicable to everyone and does not incur any other costs.
Ponagar Tower opening hours
Ponagar Tower opens to welcome guests at 8:00 and closes at 18:00 . Therefore, you can combine visiting Thap Ba with many tourist attractions in Nha Trang city center for convenient transportation and fun.
How to go to Ponagar Tower in Nha Trang?
Because it is only about 2km from Nha Trang city center, you can choose many other means of transportation such as cars, taxis, buses, motorbikes… If you choose a personal vehicle, you just need to go. along Tran Phu road running to the North. Then, drive across Tran Phu bridge and turn onto Thap Ba street. When you reach the end of the road, you will see the architectural complex of Thap Ba Ponagar Nha Trang appear right in front of you.
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Notes when visiting
Not only an ordinary sightseeing place, Ponagar Tower is also a place of worship of the Cham people. So, you need to keep a few things in mind after coming here to visit.
- Do not comment, say rude words related to goddess Ponagar.
- Do not bring food from outside, do not eat or litter in the premises.
- Wear polite and discreet clothes if you want to quickly light up and worship inside the temple. In case of inappropriate attire, you can borrow a blue shirt in the main tower area.
- Don’t forget to apply sunscreen, wear a hat, wear sunglasses or bring an umbrella to use when it’s sunny.
Some fun places near Ponagar Tower
For your convenience, you can combine visiting Ponagar Tower with some fun places below.
Tower Incense
Located right in the center of Nha Trang city, Tram Huong tower is considered as the symbol of this beautiful coastal city. The tower was built in a unique architectural style, carrying the meaning of an incense burner and also acting as a lighthouse on the sea. If you have the opportunity to travel to Nha Trang, do not forget to visit Tram Huong tower to admire the unique architecture, learn about the people and culture of the city and take beautiful check-in pictures in Nha Trang.
Nha Trang Oceanography Institute
Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography was established in 1922 with a construction area of up to 20ha. This is the largest study of marine life in Southeast Asia with more than 4,000 species of creatures and 20,000 specimens stored over the years. Visitors to the Institute can not only learn more information about various marine species, but also admire the miniature ocean area and impressive specimen storage area.
If you have the opportunity to come to the beautiful coastal city, take the time to stop at Ponagar Tower in Nha Trang, discover the unique architecture of the Cham Pa people, feel the historical, cultural and religious values. that this place offers.
