# Po Nagar Cham Towers, Nha Trang > Po Nagar (Tháp Bà Ponagar) is a Cham Hindu temple complex built between the 8th and 13th centuries on a low hill at the mouth of the Cai River, about 2.5 km north of Nha Trang's beachfront. It's still an active shrine to the goddess Po Nagar. Entry is **30,000 VND** (children free), it's open daily from roughly 6 am to 6 pm, and an hour is enough. Cover shoulders and knees — robes are lent free at the gate. Web page: https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/po-nagar - City: [Nha Trang](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang), Vietnam - YesGo score: 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - Entry: 30,000 VND, children free - With kids: Fine with kids - Entrance fee: 30,000 VND per visit - Free entry: Children, people with disabilities, regular worshippers - Hours: Daily, roughly 6:00–18:00; the province lists 8:00–18:00 - Closed: Never - Dress code: Shoulders and knees covered; free robes at the entrance - Payment: Cash in VND at the ticket counter - Address: 61 Hai Thang Tu, Bac Nha Trang ward (formerly Vinh Phuoc), Nha Trang - From the beach: 5–10 minutes by Grab or taxi, 30–40 minutes on foot - Coordinates: 12.26528, 109.19556 - Facts checked: 07.11.2026 ## Key facts - **30,000 VND** — entrance fee; children go in free (source: Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Council Resolution 20/2022/NQ-HĐND) - **Daily** — no closing day; opening time given as 6 am or 8 am (source: Khanh Hoa tourism portal; Vietnam Airlines; Local Vietnam — they differ) - **4 of 6** — towers still stand; the two rear ones survive as foundations (source: Khanh Hoa tourism portal; Vietnamese Wikipedia; MIA.vn) - **≈ 23 m** — height of the main tower of the goddess Po Nagar (source: Khanh Hoa tourism portal; Vietnamese Wikipedia; MIA.vn) - **781** — date of King Satyavarman's stele, one of the temple's oldest inscriptions (source: English and Vietnamese Wikipedia) - **813–817** — the years the main tower is dated to (source: Khanh Hoa tourism portal; Vietnamese Wikipedia) - **10 arms** — on the stone statue of the goddess inside the main tower (source: English and Vietnamese Wikipedia) - **20th–23rd day** — of the third lunar month — the yearly Po Nagar festival (source: Khanh Hoa tourism portal; Báo Văn hóa) - **1979** — year it was listed as a national monument (source: Báo Văn hóa; Vietnamese Wikipedia) - **2025** — year it became a Special National Monument (source: Báo Văn hóa; Vietnamese Wikipedia) - **10–12 m** — height of Cu Lao hill above sea level (source: Vietnamese Wikipedia; MIA.vn) - **≈ 2.7 km** — in a straight line from Tram Huong Tower on the beachfront (source: Wikidata and OpenStreetMap, our measurement) ## Po Nagar entrance fee and opening hours A ticket costs **30,000 VND** per visit — the rate set by the Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Council and in force since 2023. Children, people with disabilities and regular worshippers get in free. You pay in cash at the counter at the foot of the hill, so bring small dong notes; Grab is the place to use a card, not the ticket window. The complex is open **every day**. Published hours don't agree: Vietnam Airlines and most travel guides say 6 am to 6 pm, closing at 5:30 pm from October to December, while the provincial tourism portal says 8 am to 6 pm. To be safe, arrive after 8 am and be done by 5:30 pm. Once a year, from the **20th to the 23rd day of the third lunar month** (it falls in April or May), the site hosts the goddess's festival: a ceremony changing her robes, a procession, floating lanterns on the river and dancing. Expect big crowds. The province also runs evening programmes among the lit towers on the 1st and 15th lunar days — check times locally. > **Dress code: it's a working temple** Shorts, mini skirts and tank tops won't get you into the towers — staff will ask you to cover up. Free robes are handed out at the entrance, but a light scarf or trousers of your own are more comfortable. Take your shoes off before stepping into a tower, keep your voice down during worship and don't touch the offerings. ## What are the Po Nagar Cham Towers? Po Nagar is Nha Trang's oldest monument and one of the key temples of the **Cham**, whose kingdom of Champa ruled this coast for centuries before it became part of Vietnam. The temple is dedicated to **Yan Po Nagar**, the mother goddess of the land, who was linked with the Hindu goddesses Bhagavati and Durga. In Vietnamese it's **Tháp Bà Ponagar** — the Lady's Tower — or just **Tháp Bà**. When the Vietnamese took over the region in the 17th century they kept worshipping the goddess here under the name **Thiên Y A Na**, so today Vietnamese Buddhists and Cham people both come to pray, and incense burns for most of the day. The complex sits on **Cu Lao hill**, only 10–12 metres above the sea but right over the river mouth. The towers are red brick laid with almost invisible joints, with carved stone lintels and terracotta figures — classic Cham work. Of the original six towers, **four** survive. ## How to get to Po Nagar from the beach 1. **By Grab or taxi** — the easy way: 5–10 minutes from the Tran Phu hotels, unofficially around 30,000–70,000 VND. Grab takes cash or a linked foreign card. Set the pin to **Tháp Bà Ponagar**. 2. **On foot from Tram Huong Tower** — 30–40 minutes north along Tran Phu, over the Tran Phu bridge across the Cai River, then left to the hill. There's little shade, so walk early and ride back. 3. **By city bus** — one guide says route 4 runs from the tourist area past the towers; ask to get off at Tháp Bà and pay cash on board. Route numbers vary between sources, so treat it as a backup. 4. **By hop-on hop-off bus** — the open-top day route stops right at the complex. Sources quote different fares, so check when you buy. 5. **By motorbike** — 10–15 minutes; bike parking is about 4,000 VND and cars park under the Tran Phu bridge. To ride legally you need a home licence with a motorcycle category plus a 1968 Vienna Convention International Driving Permit. 6. **From Cam Ranh airport (CXR)** — about 35 km south: 40–60 minutes by taxi or Grab, or the airport bus to town and a short taxi. Drop your bags first — there's no left-luggage at the temple. ## What to see at Po Nagar - **The mandapa** — two rows of thick octagonal brick pillars on the middle terrace, all that's left of a roofed hall where pilgrims prepared their offerings. - **The main tower**, about 23 metres high. A carved stone pediment above the door shows a many-armed goddess; inside, in the smoky half-dark, sits the ten-armed stone statue of Po Nagar, dressed in bright Vietnamese robes. - **The south tower**, about 18 metres, a shrine to Shiva with a stone linga. - **The northwest tower** with its long saddle-shaped roof, the best preserved of the smaller towers at about 9 metres. - **The southeast tower**, the smallest at about 7 metres. - **Inscribed steles** in Sanskrit and Old Cham — key records of Champa's history. - **Cham dance** — dancers in traditional dress perform in the courtyard to drums and the saranai horn; there's no fixed timetable. - **The view** over the Cai River mouth, blue fishing boats and the bridges — one of the best free views in old Nha Trang. ## Is Po Nagar worth visiting? Yes, if you have more than a beach day in Nha Trang. It's the city's oldest monument and a Cham temple that's still in use rather than a museum piece. The ticket costs about a dollar, it's ten minutes from the beach, and with Dam Market and the Hon Chong rocks it makes an easy half day in the north of town. Keep expectations in check. It's small — four towers and a pillared hall that you'll see in 40–60 minutes. Tour groups arrive from about 9 am and the main tower doorway gets crowded. A lot has been restored, and the steps up the hill are steep and unshaded. If you've been to My Son near Hoi An, Po Nagar is more modest — but it's a living temple, not a ruin. Go **at opening time or after 3 pm** for soft light on the brick, fewer groups and less heat. The spring festival and the first days of Tet are packed; if you're there for the architecture, pick an ordinary weekday. ## A short history of Po Nagar A shrine to the goddess stood on this hill before any of the brick towers, and it was built of wood. A stele dated **781** records King Satyavarman restoring the temple, and by 784 it had been rebuilt in brick. The main tower is dated by the province and Vietnamese historians to around **813–817**, with rebuilding in the 11th century; the other towers were added up to the 13th century. The steles here are among the most important sources on Champa: kings recorded gifts of land, gold and jewels to the goddess from the 8th to the 13th century. French archaeologists of the École française d'Extrême-Orient shored up and partly rebuilt the towers in the early 20th century. Po Nagar became a national monument in **1979**, its festival joined Vietnam's intangible heritage list in 2012, and in **2025** it was raised to Special National Monument, the country's top heritage rank. ## Po Nagar or Hon Chong? | | Po Nagar Cham Towers | Hon Chong rocks | | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Working Cham temple, 8th–13th century | Granite boulders on the seafront | | Entry | 30,000 VND, children free | 30,000 VND, children free | | From Po Nagar | — | ≈ 1.5 km in a straight line, 5 minutes by taxi | | What to wear | Shoulders and knees covered | Anything, with grippy shoes | Both fees come from the same Khanh Hoa provincial resolution; the distance is our OpenStreetMap measurement. They're easy to pair in one trip. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Clothes covering shoulders and knees, or a scarf - [ ] Small dong notes for the ticket - [ ] Shoes that slip off easily - [ ] Hat and water — the hilltop has little shade - [ ] Leave at opening time or after 3 pm - [ ] Grab pin on Tháp Bà Ponagar, not the hot springs ## Temples in Nha Trang Temples and shrines in Nha Trang rated by YesGo. - [Nha Trang Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/nha-trang-cathedral) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Long Son Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/long-son-pagoda) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free - [Po Nagar Cham Towers](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/po-nagar) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 30,000 VND, children free ## North Nha Trang in half a day: pagoda, market, Po Nagar and Hon Chong Start at Long Son Pagoda and its white Buddha, walk Dam Market, cross the river to the Po Nagar towers and finish at the Hon Chong rocks by the sea. Add them to your route and YesGo will sort out timings and transfers. 1. [Long Son Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/long-son-pagoda) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free 2. [Dam Market](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/dam-market) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free entry 3. [Po Nagar Cham Towers](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/po-nagar) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 30,000 VND, children free 4. [Hon Chong Promontory](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/hon-chong) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 30,000 VND, children free ## Don't mix it up Tháp Bà is also the name of the Thap Ba Hot Spring mud baths a few kilometres west — a separate place with its own ticket. Po Nagar, Ponagar, Tháp Bà Ponagar and the Cham towers are all the same temple. ## Tips - Arrive at opening time to have the main tower almost to yourself. - Bring your own sarong or scarf — cooler than the loan robes and better in photos. - Inside the main tower it's dark and smoky; give your eyes a minute to make out the statue. - For the best view of the river mouth and boats, walk to the edge of the terrace behind the south tower. - Cham dances repeat through the day; if nothing's on, wait 20–30 minutes. - Afterwards it's five minutes by taxi to the [Hon Chong rocks](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/hon-chong), and [Dam Market](https://yesgo.io/vietnam/nha-trang/dam-market) is on the way back. ## Questions ### How much is the Po Nagar entrance fee? 30,000 VND per visit; children go in free. Pay cash at the counter at the foot of the hill. ### What are Po Nagar's opening hours? Daily, with no closing day. Guides give 6 am to 6 pm (5:30 pm October–December); the provincial tourism portal says 8 am to 6 pm. ### Is there a dress code? Yes. Cover shoulders and knees; free robes are lent at the entrance if you turn up in shorts or a tank top. ### How do I get to Po Nagar from the beach? Take a Grab or taxi — 5–10 minutes from Tran Phu. On foot it's 30–40 minutes from Tram Huong Tower over the Tran Phu bridge. ### How long do I need? 40–60 minutes for the towers and the view, plus 20–30 minutes if you want to catch a Cham dance. ### Is Po Nagar worth it? Yes, for a short visit: it's Nha Trang's oldest monument and a living temple, with a cheap ticket and a quick ride from the beach. It's small, so don't plan a whole morning around it. ### How old are the Po Nagar towers? The brick temple dates from 784, the main tower from around 813–817, and the last towers from the 13th century. ### When is the Po Nagar festival? From the 20th to the 23rd day of the third lunar month, usually in April or May. ### Can I combine Po Nagar with other sights? Easily: the Hon Chong rocks are 1.5 km away and Dam Market just over a kilometre across the river. ## How we checked The 30,000 VND fee and free entry for children come from the text of Khanh Hoa People's Council Resolution 20/2022/NQ-HĐND, which replaced earlier rates and took effect in 2023; the provincial tourism portal still shows 22,000 VND, which is out of date. The resolution doesn't define a child's age. Hours differ: Vietnam Airlines, Local Vietnam (May 2026) and Vietnamnomad say 6:00–18:00 (Local Vietnam and Vietnam Airlines add 17:30 closing from October to December), MIA.vn says 6:00–17:30 and the provincial portal 8:00–18:00; we found no dated official timetable, so both are shown and marked unofficial. The main tower's height is 23 m per the provincial portal, Vietnamese Wikipedia and MIA.vn; English and Russian Wikipedia say about 25 m. Festival dates of the 20th–23rd of the third lunar month come from the provincial portal and Báo Văn hóa; the Vietnamese Wikipedia article on the towers says 21st–23rd. Sources give different heights for the goddess statue (1.2 m and 2.6 m), so we leave it out. Bus route 4 comes from a single guide; taxi fares are unofficial; for the sightseeing bus Vietnam Airlines and Local Vietnam quote 250,000 VND for 24 hours and Báo Văn hóa (2024) 50,000 VND, so we give no figure. Distances are our own measurement from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap coordinates. ## Sources - Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Council Resolution 20/2022/NQ-HĐND: Po Nagar and Hon Chong entrance fees, exemptions, in force from 01.01.2023 - Khanh Hoa provincial tourism portal (ttdhsdl.khanhhoa.gov.vn): hours, number and heights of the towers, building dates, festival - English, Russian and Vietnamese Wikipedia: Po Nagar / Понагар / Tháp Po Nagar — steles, mandapa, goddess statue, history; Wikidata Q600269 - Báo Văn hóa (2024): national monument since 1979, festival on the intangible heritage list since 2012 - Báo Văn hóa (2026): Special National Monument since January 2025, Cham dances - Báo Khánh Hòa (2024): evening programmes on the 1st and 15th lunar days - Vietnam Airlines, Local Vietnam (May 2026), Vietnamnomad, MIA.vn, Nashaplaneta: hours, dress code, robes, getting there, parking, bus route 4 - Wikidata and OpenStreetMap: coordinates, distances --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.