Hon Chen Temple

Hon Chen stands on the bank of the Perfume River upstream of Hue, at the foot of Ngoc Tran hill, and it is dedicated to Thien Y A Na - the Vietnamese form of Po Nagar, the Cham mother goddess, absorbed into Vietnamese practice as the Cham lands were taken over. Nguyen emperors patronised it, and Dong Khanh rebuilt it in the 1880s. It is the principal site of the mother goddess worship in central Vietnam, and its festivals in the third and seventh lunar months fill the river with boats and involve len dong, the spirit possession ritual that UNESCO recognised in 2016. There is no road: access is by water.

What you actually see

• A temple to a Cham goddess - Po Nagar taken into Vietnamese worship.
• Rebuilt by Dong Khanh - under Nguyen patronage in the 1880s.
• Reached only by boat - no road runs to it.
• Len dong at the festivals - the possession ritual recognised in 2016.

When to go

Year round; the third and seventh lunar months for the festivals. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Boat hire from Hue is negotiated and prices vary widely. The temple is small and steep steps run up from the landing. Festival days are crowded and the rituals are religious practice, not performance.

Nearby

Thien Mu pagoda is downstream; Hue is beyond it.