My Son Sanctuary

My Son is the most important surviving site of the Champa kingdom, which ruled central Vietnam for many centuries and followed a form of Hinduism absorbed from India. In a jungle valley ringed by hills, the Cham built clusters of temple towers of a warm red brick, dedicated largely to Shiva, from around the fourth century to the thirteenth, and though many have fallen or been damaged over the long centuries, dozens of structures survive in evocative groups, carved with dancers, deities and mythical creatures. What still puzzles scholars is how the Cham fitted the bricks so precisely, seemingly without mortar. The setting, with the towers rising among trees against a backdrop of a sacred mountain, is atmospheric, and traditional Cham music and dance are performed for visitors. It is best seen early, before the day's heat and the tour buses.

History

The kings of Champa built the temples here between the 4th and 13th centuries as a place of royal ceremony and burial, and the earliest recorded event is the foundation by King Bhadravarman I, who ruled from 380 to 413, of a hall with a lingam to Shiva as Bhadreśvara, whose stele dedicates the whole valley to the god and begs his successors not to undo the gift. The wooden temples were lost to a great fire in 535 or 536, and King Sambhuvarman, who reigned from 572 to 629, rebuilt them and reinstalled the god as Sambhu-Bhadreśvara, though in his reign, in 605, the Chinese general Liu Fang sacked the Cham capital. More than 70 temples and tombs survive, partly ruined, and the site is a World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Mỹ Sơn archaeological site).

What you'll find

• The brick temple groups - the surviving clusters of Cham towers among the trees.
• The carvings - dancers, deities and creatures cut into the red brick.
• The valley setting - the towers below a backdrop of forested hills and a sacred peak.
• Cham music and dance - traditional performances staged for visitors near the entrance.

When to go

February to August is drier and more comfortable; the wet season brings heavy rain to central Vietnam. Early morning is much cooler and quieter than mid-morning when the tour buses from Hoi An and Da Nang arrive. Allow a couple of hours plus travel.

What to expect

Many of the towers are ruined or partly collapsed after the long passage of time and the damage of the centuries, so this is an atmospheric ruin rather than an intact monument, and its scale is modest compared with Angkor or Bagan. The valley is hot and shadeless by mid-morning. It gets busy with day-trippers from the coast, so an early start makes a real difference to the experience.

Nearby

The old town of Hoi An and the beaches of Da Nang are within an hour; the marble mountains lie between.

Key facts