My Son Sanctuary Half Day – from Hoi An

Discovery Wildlife

0 booked

Gallery

Duration: 7 hours

Overview

MY SON is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Shaiva Hindu temples in central Vietnam, constructed between the 4th and the 13th century by the Kings of Champa, an Indianized kingdom of the Cham people. The temples are dedicated to the veneration of God in accordance with Shaivism, wherein God is named Shiva, or The Auspicious One. In this particular complex, he is venerated under various local names, the most important of which is Bhadreshvara.

MY SON is located near the village of Duy Phú, in the administrative district of Duy Xuyen in Quang Nam Province in Central Vietnam, 69 km southwest of Da Nang, and approximately 10 km from the historic Champa capital of Tra Kieu. The temples are in a valley roughly two kilometres wide that is surrounded by two mountain ranges.

From the 4th to the 13th century AD, the valley at MY SON was a site of religious ceremony for kings of the ruling dynasties of Champa, as well as a burial place for Cham royalty and national heroes. It was closely associated with the nearby Cham cities of Indrapura (Đồng Dương) and Simhapura (Trà Kiệu). At one time, the site encompassed over 70 temples as well as numerous stele bearing historically important inscriptions in Sanskrit and Cham.^[3]

MY SON is perhaps the longest inhabited archaeological site in Mainland Southeast Asia, but a large majority of its architecture was destroyed by US bombing during a single week of the Vietnam War.

The MY SON temple complex is regarded one of the foremost Shaiva Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia and is the foremost heritage site of this nature in Vietnam. It is often compared with other historical temple complexes in Southeast Asia, such as Borobudur of Java in Indonesia, Angkor Wat of Cambodia, Wat Phou of Laos, Bagan of Myanmar and Prasat Hin Phimai of Thailand. As of 1999, Mỹ Sơn has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. At its 23rd meeting, UNESCO accorded Mỹ Sơn this recognition pursuant to its criterion C (II), as an example of evolution and change in culture, and pursuant to its criterion C (III), as evidence of an Asian civilization which is now extinct.

Inclusion

Modern Air Conditioned Transport
Experienced Tour Guide
All Entrance Fees
Local Lunch
Bottled Water
Motorized boat

Exclusion

Beverage in Meal

For Children

Kids <5y: free of charge
Kids from 5y to under 10y : pay 75%
Kids from 10y and older: as adults.

What To Expect

Iti

Itinerary

At 7.30 am – 8:00 am: Our driver and Guide will pick you up at your hotel in Hoi An center and depart to My Son Holy Land to explore and research.

At about 9:00 am: Arrive at My son sanctuary and start to visit My son

In My Son Holy Land, the towers and tombs have been dated from VII century to XIV century, but archaeological findings show us that the Cham kings were buried here since IV century.

The total of buildings are more than 70 towers including small, normal and large towers. My Son Sanctuary supposedly is the religion center and culture of the Champa Ancient Kindom.

Most of the buildings were built by wood, but they had been destroyed since the 6th century in fires. In the 7th century.

My Son Ruins was restored by Sambhuvarman who rebuilt the temples with special bricks which have existed until now.

Up to the 13th century, more than 70 similar temples had been built, establishing My Son as a sanctuary of Hinduism in the Champa Kingdom.

Although scientists have been conducting researches for many years. They still do not know the secret of how to make those bricks and build those towers.

At about 11:00 am – 12.30 pm: Transfer for Lunch at a local house with local food

Then we will move to Cau Lau boat station and travel up the Thu Bon river by motorized boat back to Hoi an
Bus takes you back to hotel. Tour ends in Hoi An at 13:30 – 14:00 pm