Po Sah Inư Tower, also known as Poshanu tower, (or more accurately Poshanu tower complex) was built around the end of the 8th century and completed at the beginning of the 9th century with the original purpose of worshiping Shiva – one of the supreme deities of Hinduism.

Po Sah Inư Tower is located on Bà Nài hill, around 7km from the center of Phan Thiết city to the northeast. The attraction of Poshanu tower lies in its architecture. This is really a masterpiece of the Chăm people have left. Although the temple does not have a massive scale, it preserves the most quintessential architectural techniques and decorative arts of the ancient Champa Kingdom.

These towers were designed in Hòa Lai architectural style – an ancient art style of Champa. Currently, there are only three towers remaining (main tower, medium tower, and small tower). The main tower has 4 floors. This is a fairly intact work of the Po Sah Inư tower cluster, with dense rows of carvings with flowers and strange images. Inside the main tower, there are dark blue stone altars of Linga and Yoni. The medium tower is located separately, about 12m high, basically quite similar to the main tower but simpler. Previously, there was a stone bull, named Namdin, worship in here. However, the stone had disappeared. In 1995, when excavating underground, a stone cow’s foot and ear were found. And the small tower is now only remaining with a height of more than 4m, the architecture and art deco outside have been eroded over time, leaving only a few original lines. This tower is worshiping the deity of fire.

Not only the architecture but also the name of the tower have associated with the deep love story of Poshanu Princess – the daughter of King Para Chanh. She loved by people for her virtue and conduct. She taught local people how to grow rice, plant, constructing irrigation works and breed.

Every year, Po Sah Inư Tower attracts a large number of Chăm people come to pray for peace with other traditional rituals to express their gratitude to ancestors and their divine devotion which have been handed down from generation to generation.

The main festivals include Rija Nùga Festival, Poh Mbang held in the first lunar month and Kate Festival with many special performances take place in July (lunar canlender). This is an opportunity for tourists to witness the traditional dances with an unique musical instruments such as Ginang drum, Paranung drum, gong, Xaranai trumpet, Gron…

In 1991, Po Sah Inư Tower was ranked by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Vietnam as a national architectural monument. Therefore, visiting the tower is one of the great thing to do in Phan Thiết.

Po Sah Inư Tower