For years, Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh Province has been frequented by pilgrims during the first lunar month, with most of them visiting the pagoda and temple complex on the mountain. Conquering the 986-meter-high mountain, the highest in the nation’s southeastern region, might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The cable car system takes tourists to the top of Ba Den Mountain, with the fare costing US$7.5 for a return ride

Ba Den Mountain is part of the Nui Ba Historical and Cultural Complex in the southern province, which is famous for its majestic natural landscapes, magnificent caves and sacred pagodas and temples.

A two-way cable car ride between the foot of the mountain and Linh Son Thanh Mau Temple, 900 meters above sea level and near the peak of the mountain, costs VND170,000 (US$7.5). It takes 15 minutes each way.

Soaring on the cable car, tourists can take a panoramic view of a waterfall under the glistening sun, mysterious caves and dense forest. However, if visitors do not want to go by cable car, they can trek to the top of the mountain.

Large numbers of pilgrims have flocked to the mountain to visit Linh Son Thanh Mau Temple which worships a local girl identified as Ly Thi Thien Huong who fell in love with and was engaged with a young man called Le Sy Triet.

Pilgrims burn incense and pray at Linh Son Thanh Mau Temple

When he joined the army, she was raped by a group of local men. She jumped from the top of the mountain to protect her virginity. After her death, local people built a temple on what is now known as Ba Den Mountain to commemorate and worship her.

Now it is the most popular spiritual site in the south.

Data of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shows Ba Den Mountain attracted more than one million visitors in the first 12 days of the lunar new year.

SGT