Thất Sơn, also known as Bảy Núi (seven mountains) or Thiên Cấm Sơn (the Cấm Mountains), is a range of small mountains located in the Tri Tôn

Tri Tôn

Tri Tôn is an urban municipality and town in the Tri Tôn District of An Giang Province, Vietnam....

 and Tịnh Biên districts in Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

's An Giang province

An Giang Province

An Giang is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the Mekong Delta, in the southwestern part of the country, sharing a border with Cambodia to the northwest.- Geography :...

.

Overview

The common names of the seven mountains in the That Son range are:

• Núi Cấm (Thiên Cẩm Sơn, "heaven's forbidden mountain"),
• Núi Dài Năm Giếng (Ngũ Hồ Sơn)
• Núi Cô Tô (Phụng Hoàng Sơn),
• Núi Dài (Ngọa Long Sơn),
• Núi Tượng (Liên Hoa Sơn)
• Núi Két (Anh Vũ Sơn)
• Núi Nước (Thủy Đài Sơn).

The 710-metre Núi Cấm is the highest among the mountainous region of Thất Sơn and it is the highest peak in the whole Mekong Delta

Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...

 region. Endowed with such spectacular mountainous terrain, Núi Cấm is known as the "Da Lat of the Mekong Delta". The mountain is commonly busy with tourists and pilgrims during the festival season, from the 4th to the 7th lunar month. About 3,000 people live on the mountain, with an average of 1,000 visitors per day.

History

The prince Nguyễn Ánh, who later proclaimed himself the first emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802–1945), sought refuge in the mountain from the Tây Sơn insurgents. Anh forbade anyone to come to the mountain, hence its Vietnamese name meaning "Forbidden Mountain". Followers of the Buu Son Ky Huong

Buu Son Ky Huong

Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương refers to a religious tradition originally practiced by the mystic Đoàn Minh Huyên and continued by Huỳnh Phú Sổ, founder of the Hòa Hảo sect of Buddhism...

 tradition, founded in An Giang in 1849, refer to these mountains as Bửu Sơn ("Precious Mountains"), since their founder, Đoàn Minh Huyên, is said to have spent time in meditation in these mountains.

Tourists can now visit Ba Chua Xu

Ba Chua Xu

Bà Chúa Xứ is a prosperity goddess from southern Vietnam, a supporter of business, health, and a protector of the Vietnamese border. She is housed in Vĩnh Tế village at the foot of Sam Mountain, near Cambodia...

temple complex on Sam mountain, Great Buddha Pagoda and the Nui Cam Natural Reserve (Lam Vien Nui Cam), located nearby.