Pô Klong Garai Tower is located on the top of Betel Hill in Do Vinh Ward, Phan Rang City - Thap Cham (Ninh Thuan). The building was built by King Che Min in the late 13th and early 14th centuries to worship the king of the same name.
Through many historical events and the ravages of time, this relic still retains intact artifacts and traditional values in Cham culture. In 1979, the tower was classified as a National Monument by the Ministry of Culture and in 2016 was recognized as a special National Monument by the Prime Minister.
The main tower is more than 20m high, designed with many floors, around the corners are attached stone statues of dragon tails, leaves, god cows, fire symbols ... Pô Klong Garai Tower is a sacred temple of worship, considered as one of the religious and cultural centers of Panduranga region, symbol and pride of the Cham community living in Ninh Thuan.
Pô Klong Garai consists of 3 towers including the main tower (central tower), fire tower (house tower) and gate tower, built from dark red baked bricks. Particularly, the gate tower and fire tower are not used for worship, only the main tower is the place of worship of King Pô Klong Garai.
This tower has a main gate in the east, above which is sculpted the image of Siva, the god sacred to the Cham people, below are two stone pillars supporting the tower engraved with ancient Cham characters. This is considered a beautiful and majestic tower cluster in the Cham tower system across the country, a masterpiece left by the ancient Cham.
In front of the monument cluster is a gate tower with a height of more than 5m, carved with meticulous patterns. This place was the entrance gate to officiate, sacrifice and receive guests of the king in the past. Inside the tower is dedicated to the king who has many great merits in the rule of the country with the Mukha-Linga symbol.
In the south is the fire tower, which has the typical architecture of traditional houses of the Cham ethnic group. This tower is designed with two curved roofs shaped like a boat.
Every year, there are 4 festivals taking place at the ruins of Pô Klong Garai tower including Chabun Ceremony (worship ceremony to the mother goddess of the land), Peh bi mbeng Yang Ceremony (tower opening ceremony), Yuer yang Ceremony (island bridge ceremony) and Katê Festival... both preserving and exploiting cultural values and attracting tourists.
The most typical is the Katê Festival on 1/7 Cham calendar (around the 9th and 10th month of the Solar calendar) with the meaning of commemorating the merits of King Pô Klong Garai, praying for Thai Dan An, favorable rain and harmonious wind. In 2016 it was recognized as a Special National Monument.
According to VNN