But Ba Den Mountain is still known as the "roof of the Southeast" because on a beautiful day, people in Ho Chi Minh City can see the mountain from a distance of 100km.
In the book Gia Dinh thanh thong Chi, an important historical guide about the South during the Nguyen Dynasty by Trinh Hoai Duc written in the early 19th century, Ba Den Mountain is described as: In the middle of the plains, Ba Dinh Mountain (Ba Den), on beautiful days, from Saigon, you can see this mountain blurred in the misty clouds....
Perhaps, that is why Ba Den Mountain is considered the gate to Gia Dinh citadel, located in the Doai palace (to the west), creating a mountain-like position towards the sea for the citadel to be the brain of the Southern land. Therefore, Ba Den Mountain has spiritual and freshwater value sacred to this new land.
That role is similar to Tan Vien mountain with Thang Long citadel - now Hanoi capital - and Ngu Binh mountain in Hue citadel. Overall, Ba Den Mountain is considered one of the most sacred mountains in Vietnam, along with Nuong Mountain (Thanh Hoa), Da Chong Mountain (belonging to the Tan Vien - Ba Vi mountain cluster, Hanoi) and Fansipan (Lao Cai).
Standing anywhere in Tay Ninh, we can see Ba Den Mountain in the shape of a hat, with the top always covered with white clouds or occasionally a very rare lenses or flying disc. That cloud screen seems to symbolize an extremely sacred world.
The prominence of Ba Den Mountain on a flat and low terrain, with no other mountain in all four directions reaching the attention has brought the title "Southeast Mountain Premier", as well as a unique weather phenomenon of this land.
Tay Ninh in the last days of the dry season has a terrible dry heat during the day, always always at 38 - 39 degrees, but always makes people feel like they are above 40 degrees. Just like that, Tay Ninh people still keep saying, "this is the place where clothes are dried the fastest in Vietnam".
The dry heat of the person comes from the low terrain compared to the surrounding geographical areas, making the moisture in the wind cannot fly here, like the phenomenon of hot wind (Laos wind) as hot as roasting in the North Central region because it has been blocked by the Truong Son mountain range.
But the lower the hotter, the higher the climbing up to Ba Den mountain (only about 10km from the center of Tay Ninh city), the more we feel the cool, hidden landscape in the clouds. The temperature between the top of the mountain and the foot of the mountain sometimes differ to 10 degrees.
Therefore, in spring (the peak of the dry season in the South), people in Tay Ninh and neighboring provinces often flock to the hottest dry places in the Southeast region to attend the Nui Ba Spring Festival (January) and the Ba Festival (Lunar New Year), and... combine hot resorts.
In 2025, Tay Ninh will be more crowded than other years due to major holidays such as: 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South, National Reunification or the International Buddha's Day Vesak 2025. Those are all good opportunities for us to have the opportunity to travel on the sacred mountain of Van Son (another name for Ba Den Mountain).
Unable to be on the top of Ba Den Mountain from last night to launch a cloud hunting at dawn because the number of people climbing the mountain was too large, I had to climb the mountain early. In Tay Ninh, 4:30 am has turned yellow, even though the temperature is still cool, that comfort will disappear in just a few hours.
And When I was at my peak, I was just a cloud, my compatriot and I had come here to start a business for a long time, and were present at the foot of the mountain to report. Ba Den Mountain is actually a cluster of 3 mountains: Ba Mountain, Heo Mountain, Phuong Mountain, so there are 7 routes to the top, of which the easiest route has a route of about 4.5km, climbing for about 2 hours.
We chose this popular route instead of the dangerous routes that last up to 3 days for professional climbers. Anyway, using your legs to climb is fine, instead of sitting on a cable car or climbing a ferry, before you can break the burst, you have reached the top. But it turned out to be a spiritual journey.
In general, the height and slope of Ba Den Mountain on the main road (also known as the pagoda road) are quite soft compared to the conquests of the highest peaks in the North. The road up is airy, with wide stairs, railings and signs, enough to facilitate a mountain trip.
Along the route, there are many "rest" are spiritual points. In total, we went through Ba Linh Son Holy Mau, Venerable Temple, Huong Tich Pagoda, Cao Dai Temple, and Ba Den Pagoda. Due to many "rest" like that, when stepping on the top of the mountain, looking at the clock, it was nearly 7 am, the breath was still not urgent.
Fortunately, the clouds that morning were still spreading into the ocean in front of cloud hunters. Standing on the top of the mountain, it is like standing in the middle of a citadel made of cool, pure clouds. The morning sunlight issued a magical pink color to that citadel, making people's souls like dreams, like drunken, and their steps suddenly floating like flying.
Then, there was a time when the great cotton blanket was suddenly blown away by the wind, clearly showing the whole city of Tay Ninh, the entire vast plains with thick forests and fruit gardens. Sparkling like a mirror in the sunlight is the beautiful Dau Tieng artificial lake in Dau Tieng district, Binh Duong province.
Then, the sea of clouds will come like a magical gate of the linh Son area containing many legends such as: Phat Pagoda, Hang Pagoda, Ha Pagoda, Trung Pagoda, Van Son Pagoda, Thanh Long Cave, Ba Co Cave, Ba Tuan Cave, Kim Quang Cave, Ma Thien Lanh Valley, Ong Ho Cave, Suoi Vang...
Looking up, suddenly seeing the cloud ceiling spreading out, revealing a blue sky like a blue gem, emitting a thousand rays of glory around the face of the black Buddhaess of the Western Capital, Da Son, who is gently looking down at the world, wholeheartedly praying for the nation to be safe and for eternal peace.
People's hearts suddenly rang out a bell and happily opened a peaceful smile!
