Banh It Cham Towers

Tháp Bánh Ít / Silver Towers

This is one of the best large sites of Cham ruins still surviving, and certainly the most accessible and best restored in the countryside. A cluster of four towers built in the 10th–11th centuries on a hilltop overlooking the river. The Cham constructed the Bánh Ít site to fit in harmony with the environment, and while not as enormous as ancient sites in Angkor or Borobudur, the site even today is a beautiful medley of rolling countryside hills, river and towers. Although the site had nothing to do with silver, early French colonialists named Champa sites after minerals, and their name of "Silver Towers" stuck and is still used today by many foreign sources. The most common name used for the towers by the Vietnamese, Bánh Ít, is also the name of the local sweet cake specialty. Approaching from the east, the first tower is the 13-metre (42-foot) gate. Up the hill from the gate are the three larger towers. The biggest is 20 metres (65 feet) high, with intricate carvings of humans, birds, flowers, and the elephant god Ganesa and the monkey god Viyu in dancing pose. The architectural style is unique among Cham ruins for the vertical columns and grooved tiles, the use of sandstone for the roof edges, and false doors topped by soaring arches in the shape of spears. The site held many statues, but sadly, most of them were shipped off to Europe by French colonialists in the late 19th century. The most impressive of the artworks, an intricately-carved 11th-century statue of a three-eyed Shiva seated on a lotus, is held in the Musée Guimet in Paris, while copper statues of Genesha, Uma, and Brahma vanished into private French collectors' hands in the early 20th century. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, the undeveloped countryside around the main towers is full of small centuries-old ruins. Although only the four complete towers survive, the area had many more buildings, and poorly-funded archaeological surveys haven't had the resources to completely investigate the

• outdoors
• history

Address

Đại Lộc village, Tuy Phước district

Getting there

17 km (10 mi) northwest of Quy Nhơn, just east of the junction between Highway 1A and Highway 19. Halfway between Quy Nhơn and Phù Cát airport, you can easily combine a visit with a trip to or from the airport. Two bus routes, T4 and T6, run infrequently from stops in the city at the Quang Trung roundabout and Tháp Đôi Towers, leaving you a 20-minute walk from the towers at the junction.

Hours

Daily 07:00–11:00 and 13:30–17:00

Price

Entry to the towers is 10,000 dong and parking 5,000 dong, but the site is little visited and it's possible you might enter and never see anyone or be asked for money