01Bhadreshvara’s valley
King Bhadravarman I set up a linga here at the end of the fourth century and named it after himself, Bhadreshvara, in the Khmer and Cham way of joining the king’s name to Shiva’s. That first shrine was of wood and burned. In the seventh century Shambhuvarman rebuilt it, and from then on the Cham built in fired brick, fitted so closely that the joints are hard to see and how they bonded it is still debated. More than seventy towers rose in groups in a valley ringed by hills, with Mahaparvata, the Cat’s Tooth mountain, standing over them.
02Bombs in 1969
Champa lost its northern lands to the Vietnamese over the following centuries and the valley went quiet. French scholars cleared and recorded it from 1898, and Henri Parmentier numbered the groups A to N. The worst blow came during the Vietnam War, when the valley sheltered Viet Cong fighters and American bombing in August 1969 destroyed much of the site, including the great tower A1. Fewer than twenty structures stand in fair condition now. Restoration, partly with Indian help since 2016, continues, and the site joined the UNESCO list in 1999.
The life of this place
- late 4th centuryBhadravarman I installs the linga of Bhadreshvara in a wooden shrine.
- 1898French scholars begin clearing and recording the temples.
- August 1969American bombing destroys much of the site, including tower A1.
- 1999Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
About 40 km south-west of Hoi An. Stay on marked paths; the valley was cleared of unexploded bombs only in parts.
