Located in the south-central part of present-day Vietnam, the Kingdom of Champa flourished from the 6th to the 16th centuries before being completely absorbed into Vietnam. Today, most of the Cham people, whose culture is Hindu, have adopted Islam as their religion. Their population is estimated at 160,000.
A visit to the Cham Museum in Da Nang will help you learn more about the artistic style of the Cham people. Admire sculptures that were discovered by archaeologists during the 19th and 20th centuries, such as the altars of My Son and Trà Kiêu, which are more than a thousand years old.
If you want to see one of the best-preserved remnants of the Champa Kingdom of Nha Trang, you can visit the Po Nagar site. Located on a hill overlooking the river, the buildings of this complex include a four-foot-high statue of the goddess Yan Po Nagar.
Your visit to the My Son sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is sure to be one of the highlights of your discovery of the heritage of the Cham people. The sanctuary's sacred towers were built between the 6th and 13th centuries.