Among the newest of Vietnam's Cham towers, Po Ro Me Cham Tower (Thap Po Ro Me) is about 15km south of Phan Rang on a rocky hill 5km west of Hwy 1. The ruins are very interesting, but are also difficult to reach and your own motorbike or a xe om is required. The trip is guaranteed to be worthwhile as long as getting lost is a part of your agenda.

The sanctuary, which is decorated with numerous paintings and occupied by bats, has two inscribed doorposts; two stone stat­ues of the bull Nandin; a bas-relief repre­senting a deified king in the form of Shiva; and two statues of queens, one of whom has an inscription on her chest. The towers are named after the last ruler of an independent Champa, King Po Ro Me (r. 1629-51), who died as a prisoner of the Vietnamese.

To get here, take Hwy 1 south from Phan Rang, about lkm into the town of Phuoc Dan. A narrow sealed road just after the Petrolimex (petrol) station on the right takes you to a T-junction, where you should turn left. Stay on the road meander­ing through a dusty village, and you'll see the towers ahead. A sign at the base of a hill points the way towards the last 500m. This dirt track may be negotiable on a mo­torbike, but it is deeply rutted, and studded with rocks and cacti.

Po Ro Me Tower was built between the end of 16th century and the beginning of 17th century. Like many other typical Cham Towers, Po Ro Me Tower has a square shape with 4 stories and is 8 meters high, with a nearly 8-meter wide base, and the door, which has the special style, faces to the East. At present, there exists only the 19m-high main tower. The statue of the king is 1.2m high and made into a high relief. It is put in front of an arched tombstone decorated with small relief at the back. Behind the main tower is a small shrine dedicated to the stone statue of Queen Bia Thanh Chih of Cham origin. Though not big, the tower has a distinctive style. Po Ro Me Tower is one of very few Cham Towers which has remained virtually intact up to now, and is the place where Cham people often pray to King Po Ro Me on festival days.

If you're lucky, the Cham caretaker of the ruins, Mr Truong Dai The, will be around to hike up the steps and unlock the temple door for you. The temple affords a won­derful view of the surrounding countryside and is blessedly quiet.