SamMountain is the highest mountain in the Mekong Delta. On the way there,you can enjoy the sights of the two rice fields along the road, anddrop by for a short visit to a small Khmer village. You will have ashort walk up on the mountain side to see the daily life of mountainpeople. There are dozens of pagodas and temples, many of them set incaves, around Sam Mountain. The Chinese influence is obvious and SamMountain is a favourite spot for ethnic Chinese (both pilgrims fromVietnam and abroad).

Themountain does not only offer beautiful landscapes, but it is also wheremany historic remains deeply loved by the inhabitants of Nam Bo plainare located. Ba Chua Xu Temple, Tay An Pagoda, Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb, TaoNgo Garden, and Bach Van Hill are among the famous sites to visit nearSam Mountain. To the top of the mountain, there is a shrine with goodviews of the surrounding countryside.

View from Sam Mountain

Climbingthe peak is, of course, the highlight of a visit to Sam Mountain. Theviews from the top are spectacular if weather permitting and you caneasily look out over Cambodia. There is a military outpost on thesummit, a legacy of the days when the Khmer Rouge made cross-border.The outpost is still functional and the soldiers are quite used totourists taking photos now; however, you should ask permission andperhaps ply the soldiers with cigarettes before taking photos of themor anything that could be considered militarily sensitive.

Walkingdown is easier than walking up, so if you want to cheat, have amotorbike take you to the summit. The road to the top is on the eastside of the mountain. You can walk down along a peaceful, traffic-freetrail on the north side which will bring you to the main temple area.The summit road has been decorated with amusement-park ceramicdinosaurs and the like. But there are also some small shrines andpavilions, which add a bit of charm and also remind you that this isindeed Vietnam and not Disneyland.

People from all over Vietnam make the pilgrimage to Sam Mountain. If you are in Chau Doc, it is worth a visit...