Smash Travel Vietnam

Featuring triple towers, Dương Long Champa Tower is one of the most impressive archaeological sites in Vietnam, and yet hardly anyone visits it. The three towers stand in a row, with the two shorter ones flanking the central tower which, at 39m, is the tallest surviving Cham structure in Vietnam. The red brick towers are on a colossal scale and several giant stone lintels remain in place above the entrances, as do some decorative sculptures on the sides of the towers. As with most of the sites in the region, the Dương Long temple complex is about 900 years old, dating from the 12th century. As well as being one of the most striking Cham sites in the nation, the fact that few people visit makes it feel as though you’ve stumbled upon these ancient ruins in the Central Vietnamese landscape for the first time. There’s a small ticket kiosk and a large exhibition building that has already fallen into disrepair with mold on the walls and plants growing up its walls. But surely it won’t be long before these triple towers start to draw many more visitors. It certainly has a lot of potential

Across the river south of Dương Long Champa Tower is the 11th century Cham tower of Thủ Thiện. Standing all alone on the river plain, until 1985 this tower was apparently overgrown by a large banyan tree, whose roots enveloped the top of the ancient monument. Locals were too superstitious to attempt to disentangle the tree and the monument, but one day a violent storm passed through and blew the banyan tree over without damaging the tower