The summit view
Out to Cambodia.
Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0 · dalbera from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0 · McKay Savage from London, UK — CC BY 2.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0
Sam Mountain is a granite hill 284 metres high that rises alone from the flat rice plain southwest of Chau Doc, near the Cambodian border. Emperor Minh Mang named it Vinh Te Son in honour of Thoai Ngoc Hau, who dug the Vinh Te canal between 1819 and 1824 along today's border. From the top, where a military fort stood before 1975, the view stretches over a patchwork of fields and canals into Cambodia, and in the flood season from September to November the plain becomes a sea of water broken by villages and roads. Sunset here is one of the finest sights in the region. At the foot of the mountain is the Ba Chua Xu temple, one of the busiest folk pilgrimage sites in southern Vietnam; UNESCO listed its festival in the fourth lunar month as intangible heritage in 2024, and the area is packed on those days. A road climbs to the top for cars and motorbikes, there are steps for walkers, and going up is free.
Out to Cambodia.
A sea of water in autumn.
Over fields and canals.
Vinh Te, about 5 km southwest of central Chau Doc
Late afternoon, before sunset, and the view is best in the flood season from September to November, when water covers the plain. Avoid the festival days in the fourth lunar month unless you are going for them.