Published:  14:37 Friday - April 13, 2012

Co Thach Temple, also known as Hang Temple or Rock Temple, is located in Binh Thanh commune, Tuy Phong district, Binh Thuan province, about 105km northern far away from Phan Thiet city. The temple has appeared for more than 100 years, near the Ca Duoc seven-color rock field.

• Mother Au Co Temple - Phu Tho

Co Thach Temple fits entirely among grottos in a majestic rock mountain which is 64m higher than the sea level. From the far, the temple appearing and disappearing in sky background looks like fairy landscape. Visitors can follow 1A national highway going about 10km further from Lien Huong town (Tuy Phong) to reach the temple. It was recognized as national heritage, attraction in 1993.

Co Thach Temple area is an architectural population including hermitage, temple, and cave built scattered, continuously, covering 4 ha land on the rock mountain. The main temple interferes big rocks which are impressively vertically straight, imposing. Next to the main temple, there are meditation house, hall, ancestor house, bell floor, vacancies, temple where the incense smoke always flies around.

Hang Temple area is established from huge rocks which have strange shapes, set on and overlap each other, creating mysterious grottoes. Each cave worships a Buddha, or a Bodhisattva, or a bonze. In the cave worshipping the Co Thach Temple establisher bonze Bao Tang, there are statues of bonzes and many ancestral tablets of other bonzes that had contribution to the temple establishment.

If come to Co Thach Temple in the full moon day or big ceremonies of Buddhism, guests will have a chance to take part in crowded, bustling air with thousands of people who come to join in festival of Hang Temple with sincere faces wishing their dreams, prays will come true! In those days, the temple provides free meals with many special, delicious vegetarian dishes for travelers.

Along two sides of the road to the temple, there are many stalls selling memorial gifts, jewelries made from coral, sea snails and Co Thach stones like mortar and pestle, teapot, flower vases, bracelets, Buddha statues, strings… Local fruits contain dragon fruit, banana, green grape, pineapple, mango…There are also many stall serving vegetarian steamed rice, foods, drinks, sweet porridges for the visitors.

The road to Hang Temple is clear but winding, mazy following the rock steps, risers; along the road, there are many pictures, statue describing the life of Buddha and the bodhisattvas. On the top of the small rock mountain near the coast, there stands majestic Buddhist bodhisattva Avalokitesvara ( Phat Quan The Am Bo Tat) statue facing the sea.

Standing on the top of the rock mountain, people can have an overview of the immense sea area with thousands of big and small rocks which cumbersomely overlap each other, creating various shapes. Due to the domination of rain and wind, Co Thach rock mountain has many wild and mysterious grottos. After visiting the scenery of the temple, tourists can move to Ca Duoc field to contemplate millions of stones with seven colors: black, white, yellow, grey, brown, pink and dark violet. The rock field longs more than 1km in the bottom of Co Thach mountain.

The landscape around Hang Temple is wildly, majestically beautiful. Many pretty, small houses are built for the visitors’ accommodation.