3 Best Sights in The South-Central Coasts and Highlands, Vietnam

Perched on Cu Lao hillside overlooking the Cai River, the four remaining towers of an original seven or eight are reminiscent of those found at Angkor Wat and offer a glimpse of the Kingdom of Champa, who built the complex in the 8th century to praise their deity. It doesn't look like much from the main road outside, but up close it is a humbling site. The largest tower of the four stretches 75 feet high and contains a statue in honor of Goddess Ponagar, praised for her knowledge of agriculture and civilization. The center tower was built for Cri Cambhu, the god of fertility, and the south tower commemorates the god of success, Ganesh, recognizable by the human body and elephant head. The northwest tower is of the god Shiva. Visitors must cover knees and shoulders to enter the temple. If you happen to be in Nha Trang on the 20th to 23rd day of the third lunar month, you can catch the Po Nagar Festival that takes place near the ancient towers.

These three crumbling towers, relics from the 8th century when the Cham empire ruled this part of Vietnam, are not the best examples of such ruins—the towers in Nha Trang and Hoi An are more extensive and better preserved even though they pale when compared to the magnificence of Angkor Wat in Cambodia—but still worth spending an hour or so exploring. The towers, in front of a working monastery, are about 7 km (4½ miles) east of Phan Thiet on Ong Hoang Hill. Even if ancient history does not appeal, the hilltop where the towers are situated offers possibly the most panoramic view of the city of Phan Thiet and the ocean.

These restored Cham towers, built some time between the 11th and 13th centuries, are some of the most easily accessible in southern Vietnam, set in a little park that's a popular meeting place for locals. The twin towers, with their intricate carvings of mythical animals, are considered unusual relics of the Cham empire because most other towers were built in clusters of three. In truth, there are more impressive towers to be found further out of town, but these are worth a visit at breakfast time simply for the wealth of cheap, delicious street food on offer right outside.