The tower is located on the top of Trau hill in Phan Rang - Thap Cham city in the central province of Ninh Thuan. The work was built by King Che Man in the late 13th and early 14th centuries to worship the king of the same name.
This relic displays the traditional values of Cham culture. In 1979, the tower was classified as a national relic by the Ministry of Culture and in 2016 it was recognized by the Prime Minister as a special national monument.
The main tower, which is more than 20m high, has many floors. All of its corners are decorated with stone statues and patterns. It is a sacred worship temple, considered one of the religious and cultural centers of the Panduranga region, and the pride of the Cham community in Ninh Thuan.
Po Klong Garai consists of 3 towers including the main tower, fire tower and gate tower. The gate and fire towers are not used for worship. The main tower is the place to worship King Po Klong Garai.
The main tower has a main door in the east, the top is carved with an image of Siva, a sacred god for the Cham people, below are two stone pillars carved with ancient Cham characters.
The gate tower is more than 5m high, carved with meticulous patterns.
In the south is the fire tower, with the typical architecture of the traditional houses of the Cham people.
Four festivals are held at this site annually, including Chabun ceremony (the ceremony to worship the mother goddess), Peh bi mbeng Yang ceremony (to open the tower door), Yuer yang ceremony and Kate Festival.
The largest festival is the Kate Festival, which takes place on July 1 of the Cham calendar (September or October of the solar calendar), to remember the merits of King Po Klong Garai, praying for national peace and good weather.
Hoang Ha