Places to visit in Chau Doc, Vietnam

For traveling to Chau Doc, consider the highlights of the National Cultural Relic of The Lady Temple, Vinh Te Canal, Tay An Pagoda, Sam Mountain, and the floating villages. Chau Doc is just perfect for a spiritual trip and ecotourism.
Chau Doc - home of many Khmer, Cham and Chinese people is only a few kilometers from the Cambodian border and located on the Hau Giang diffluence (Bassac River). There is lively boat traffic on the river and also an impressive floating market. The street market is worth a visit too.
One of the pleasures of visiting Chau Doc is simply walking around; the river bank is a popular spot. Locals are a little shy but may talk to you as you walk. You can head for the markets and must be prepared to haggle.

This Chau Doc travel guide recommends visitors enjoy both land and water. Basing on topographic features, we should divide Chau Doc into three distinct areas. Each area has its own attractions. Depending on the number of days and the purpose of the trip, you will select the option that you like most.

I. Sam Mountain Circle Area - Religious sites

1. Sam Mountain

Sam Mountain is the 230 meters high mountain with beautiful landscapes and many historic remains. Sam Mountain considered the main attraction in Chau Doc which is the highest mountain in the Mekong Delta. Climbing the peak is, of course, the highlight of a visit to Sam Mountain. Sam Mountain offers a spectacular view over the surrounding. There is a military outpost on the summit, a legacy of the days when the Khmer Rouge utilized this cross-border. The outpost is still functional and the soldiers are standing around here now. You should ask permission and perhaps give the soldiers with cigarettes before taking photos of them or anything that could be considered militarily sensitive

2. The Lady Temple - The Ba Chua Xu Temple

Ba Chua Xu Temple - Located at the foot of Sam Mountain – the main attraction in Chau Doc. The temple was established at the beginning of the 19th century in Vinh Te Hamlet, Chau Doc Town. At first, the temple was made of bamboo. In 1962, it was roofed with double tiles. Then in 1972, it was rebuilt (except the 10 meter-long stone wall at the back, which was the old platform of the tower). The monument was completed in 1976. Ba Chua Xu Temple Festival is held from 23 to 27 of the 4th lunar month. Thousands of pilgrims come to the festival to attend the washing of the statue, to burn joss-sticks, to offer flowers, and to pray for health and luckiness.

Read more: Weather & Best time to visit Chau Doc, Vietnam

• Entrance fee: VND 50,000/adult
• Time open: 07 : 00 - 22 : 00

3. Tay An pagoda

Tay An Pagoda is An ancient pagoda with a mixture of Vietnamese and Asian architectural styles in Chau Doc. Lying on one side of Sam Mountain, under the lights looking like a monk dressed in yellow and heading towards the town with a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, Tay An pagoda is really a beautiful sight. The pagoda was constructed in 1847 and has been renovated and repaired many times. In 1958, it was completely upgraded to a total area of 1,250 m2 with nearly 200 statues. The main temple has more than 100 statues each representing the power of Buddhism; the most highlight statue is a Buddha sitting on the Lotus Tower. It can be said that the solemnity and holiness of Tay An pagoda has become an invisible power, attracting a great number of monks and pilgrims. But the solemn and ancient style of the pagoda and peaceful space are what visitors will never forget.

• Entrance fee: Free
• Open time: 07 : 00 - 17:00

4. Thoai Ngoc Hau tomb

Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb is located in front of Ba Chua Xu Temple, that is the biggest monument at the foot of Sam Mountain, 5 kilometers south-west of Chau Doc. The worshiped person, originally named Nguyen Van Thoai (1761 - 1829), was the first man from this area to exploit the virgin soil, establish living settlements, and dig Vinh Te and Thoai Ha channels. He was buried there along with his two wives and a temple in his honor was built in the 1930s. Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb is a great piece of art of ancient architecture.

• Entrance fee: Free
• Open time: 07 : 00 - 17:00
   

5. Phuoc Dien Pagoda - Hang Pagoda

One of the highlights of the tour to Chau Doc – An Giang is climbing over 400 stairs to Phuoc Dien Pagoda which is also Hang Pagoda (Cave Pagoda) on Sam Mountain. The main sanctuary features the statues of A Di Da (the Buddha of the Past) and Thich Ca Buddha (Sakyamuni, the Historical Buddha), while in the caverns and grottoes you’ll find a host of deities, including a 1000-arm and 1000-eye Quan Am. There’s also a mirror room of Buddhas and an effigy of Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism.

Read more: What to eat in Chau Doc, Vietnam

Hang Pagoda is a community of relics with beautiful architecture, representing the imbuement of the traditional cultural identity of the nation. Carrying the beauties of the ancientness, the seriousness and the majesty, many visitors are impressed and curious because the attachment with the name of Hang Pagoda is a natural cave with many legends transmitted orally in many generations…

• Entrance fee: Free
• Open time: 07 : 00 - 17:00

6. Vinh Te canal

Vinh Te Canal is an 87-kilometers-long which is the largest and the most important location canal in the southern border of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty, designed to connect two famous tourist spots in the west, Chau Doc city - An Giang province and Ha Tien town - Kien Giang province. This is a significant work in the field of economics and defense, associated with the name of Thoai Ngoc Hau - the worshiped person in the above tomb.

The Khmer Rouge used Vinh Te Canal as a proof in anti-Vietnamese propaganda because the canal’s construction caused thousands of deaths of the workers from fatigue and consequent disease, especially the Khmers.

II. Tra Su Forest Area

1. Tra Su Cajuput Forest

Tra Su Cajuput Forest located in Van Giao Commune, Tinh Bien District, is far 20 kilometers from Chau Doc city is which attract a huge number of tourists to the southern An Giang province.

In the floating season, going by boat into the forest, you will feel relaxed as you are walking in the middle of a green grass on the water.

This forest has a lot of potentials to develop ecotourism, outdoor activities, and exploration as well as giving scientists a chance to learn and research the local environment and typical ecological system of the southern region. 

To visit the Tra Su Cajuput Forest you only go by boat. If you go alone, your fare will be VND 130,000. The bigger the group is, the cheaper the price is, the group of 10 people will only VND 45,000 per person. So if you go alone or in person, you can buy tickets with some other tourists when you come here to get a cheaper ticket.

2. Tra Su Bird Sanctuary

Tra Su Bird Sanctuary is worth a visit that is a surprisingly beautiful landscape around 25 kilometers from Chau Doc. whether you are the person who interested in watching the bird or just looking for a quiet time in a stunning natural setting. There are the handful of nature reserves and bird sanctuaries. Tra Su is home to a rich array of bird and others wildlife that lives among the canals and cajuput trees

Tra Su should be visited on the floating season. 1 hour boat excursion is around VND 230,000 - VND 320,000 with 5 - 10 person capacity.

3. Tinh Bien Market

Tinh Bien market is Cambodian/Vietnamese border market in Chau Doc. Goods here are mostly imported goods, the most are goods imported from Thailand and prices are relatively cheap than goods from many places in the country. On Saturdays and Sundays visitors increase much more, mainly of them are from the Eastern provinces, Ho Chi Minh City and provinces of the Mekong Delta following spiritual tourism, mountainous and border tourism.

From Chau Doc Town, it takes about 30 minutes to get to Nha Bang Town. From there, move on about 10 kilometers heading to Xuan To Town to get to the Tinh Bien border gate market

4. Cam Mountain - Forbidden Mountain

Addressed at An Hao ward, Tinh Bien District, An Giang province, Cam Mountain locates an elevation of 705m above the sea level with a panoramic view on the top. Cam Mountain is considered as a Dalat (a famous highland resort) in the Mekong Delta with giving such spectacular mountainous terrain. The Great white sitting Buddha statue is the best impressive symbol of the Cam Mountain area.

The mountain is has a cool climate year-round, original natural sights associated with interesting, heart-warming stories that attracting numbers of tourists and vacationers. Cam Mountain cable car has become a new remarkable for An Giang tourism and also been a pride of people here. As one of the most expensive tourist destinations of Chau Doc, Cam Mount annually welcomes thousands of tourists to visit. Since it is channeled more capital to the cable car, Cam Mount has become extremely crowded and attractive destination of the region. 

III. Drappeping along the banks of the Bassac River Area

1. Cham Minority village with many mosques

Quietly draped on the banks of Hau River, Chau Giang village with white Mosques as a peaceful place in the opposite of Chau Doc. The Cham minority village named Chau Giang is the largest Cham community in An Giang. From Chau Doc city, just over 5 minutes by ferry you are in Chau Giang village. 

The Cham religion of the coastal Cham is influenced by Hinduism. Beside The Cham people around Chau Doc, represent the mixture between a rustic form of Sunni Islam, due to being come by seafaring Muslim traders in the late 10th and early 11th centuries and immigrated of Muslim Chams from Cambodia to the Mekong Delta in the mid-19th century. Chau Doc is home to diverse ethnic and religious communities where Cambodian Buddhists, Vietnamese Buddhists, ethnic Chinese and Muslim Cham living peacefully side by side.

There are many beautiful mosques in the Cham village but two of them are the most impressed:

Murabak Mosque: Located in Tan Chau Township, Mubarak Mosque is near Chau Doc City and can be reached by the river. After some minutes on Chau Giang ferry, tourists will see the onion-shaped peak in the distance and crescent moon patterns in – a typical feature of Muslim architecture.

Masjid Jamiul Ahza Mosque: Masjid Jamiul Azhar is one of the oldest and most fabulous mosques in An Giang province, located in Chau Phong commune, Tan Chau town, An Giang province. The Masjid Jamiul Azhar mosque was built in 1959 and upgraded in 2012, and is now under construction and officially opened on 3 August 2014.

Masjid Al Ehsan Mosque: Masjid Al Ehsan was built in 1937. The canals that flow quietly alongside the border town of Chau Doc, are all tributaries which feed the Mighty Mekong River. The Cham Muslim people have made these backwaters their home. The Masjid Al Ehsan lies riverside, the treasured heart of their community. White domed and marble tiled tranquility offers respite from the heat and bustle of the thronging markets that lie on the shores nearby. Masjid Al Ehsan, through whose arched windows one can stare off into the marshy fields of the Mekong, is a destination most worthy!

2. Floating village

Coming to Chau Doc, you will have a chance to discover the charming attraction in a three-hour tour. This tour will take you on the floating market, the floating village offshore, a Cham village across the river, and perhaps a peek at the  Vinh Te canal.

Being busiest at 7AM, the floating market is about 10 minutes downstream from the central market. In the morning, many boats will be fully loaded up with goods, especially fruit to prepare for a market day. Boats head off to pick up fruit in Sa Dec or Can Tho every few days, but there’s always plenty of business in the early hours.
Another stop you should not miss is the floating village, which is the group of houses with the roof and wall made of aluminum. Embedded inside are lots of huge, netted “fish farms”. Some visitor can get shipped downriver to Can Tho and beyond. Note the huge moored wooden boats, which flood their lower decks to keep the fish alive during the trip.