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Tay Ninh Travel Guide
The province of Tay Ninh is approx. 96 kilometers northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, and borders Cambodia on the west, Song Be Province to the east, and Ho Chi Minh City to the southeast. The temperature is high almost all year round with average temperatures being between 26°C and 28°C. The rainy season is from May to November, and the dry season is from late November to around the end of April.
The province is known for producing and processing tropical agricultural products such as sugar cane, rubber, shrimp, etc. Forest covers approx. 36% of the total area of the province, and there is logging and wood processing in the Tay Ninh Forest. The main ethnic groups in the province are the Kinh, Cham, and Khmer.
What To See & Do Attractions in the province include Black Lady Mountain, Dau Tieng Reservoir, Ba Den Mountain, and the Cao Dai Great Temple. Ba Den Mountain (Black Lady Mountain)
Located about 10 or 11km to the north of the town of Tay Ninh town is Black Lady Mountain. At 986 meters above sea level, it towers above the surrounding plain, and from far away the mountain looks like a giant conical hat.
According to the legend, the beautiful Ly Thi Thien Huong, the Black Lady, was being forced to marry the son of a rich mandarin while the one she loved was away fighting. But rather than marry someone she did not love, she threw herself off the mountain.
Many years ago the mountain became a place of worship for the local population, and several shrines and temples were built on the mountain as well as in the picturesque grottoes and caves. These places of worship attract many visitors during the New Lunar Year, and the Vu Lan Festivals.
There is a kind of switchback trail going up the mountain to the peak, and at the summit you get a fantastic sweeping view of the countryside, and you can see the distant mountain peaks of Cau to the east, and the Heo and Phung mountain peaks to the northwest. The temperature on the mountain is often cooler than in Tay Ninh Town.
The headquarters of the Vietnamese liberation forces was located at Ba Den Mountain, and during the Vietnam War there were many battles fought in the area. There is a museum displaying relics and photographs of the war. The mountain is considered a natural and historic treasure by the people of Tay Ninh.
Cao Dai Great Temple
Located in Long Hoa Village, 5km southeast of Tay Ninh Town, the temple is the cathedral of the Cao Dai religious sect which was stared in 1926. The temple itself was built between 1933 and 1955, and is the main attraction in Tay Ninh. The temple is 140 meters long and 40 meters wide, and has four towers called Tam Dai, Hiep Thien Dai, Cuu Trung Dai and Bat Quai Dai. It is a very striking structure.
The interior of the temple has a sanctuary, and a great hall with two rows of colonnades. The pillars are decorated with dragons painted in white, red and blue, and the domed ceiling is divided into nine parts symbolizing the night sky full of stars. Beneath the dome is a huge blue globe with the "Divine Eye" on it, and 3,072 stars on it
The official symbol of worship of the Cao Dai religion is the "Divine Eye," and followers also worship Jesus Christ, Confucius, Lao-tze and Buddha.
Dau Tieng Reservoir
This reservoir, located 20 km from Tay Ninh, was constructed in 1981 to provide water for agriculture in Tay Ninh province as well as neighboring provinces. The lake formed by the reservoir covers an area of 27,000 hectares, and contains up to 1.5 billion cubic meters of water. The reservoir is set in a beautiful surrounding landscape of mountains, and has many islets.
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meters above sea level, it towers above the surrounding plain, and from far away the mountain looks like a giant conical hat. 