Cam Mountain

Forested mountains spread green across the Bảy Núi region of An Giang, and Núi Cấm, also called Thiên Cấm Sơn, rises at the center of them. It covers 3,100 hectares and rises 710 meters above sea level. People in the area fondly call it the roof of the western delta, though that is a nickname and not an official title. The Mekong Delta around it is vast and flat, with fields that run to the horizon, so a mountain like this seems a strange wonder of nature.

What sets Núi Cấm apart is its climate. The plain below is hot and humid. Up on the mountain, the average temperature is only 18 to 25 degrees Celsius. The rainy season lasts from June to November, and the dry season from December to May. That is why Núi Cấm has long been compared to a place of rest and recovery for the An Giang region.

A cable car carries visitors up to the central area on the mountain. An Giang Tourism Development Joint Stock Company invested in it, and it began taking passengers on February 14, 2015. The line is 3.5 kilometers long. From the cabin, the forested mountains of the Bảy Núi region lie green below, and the fields of the plain fade away toward the horizon.

In the central area, the first sights from a distance are Thủy Liêm Lake and a large white statue of Maitreya, the Buddha of the future. Close by stands Chùa Phật Lớn, a pagoda. Local tourism sources record a history for it going back to 1912. About 100 meters away, in the same cluster, is Chùa Vạn Linh, a pagoda with three towers. One of them is the Quan Âm Tower, 40 meters high. Quan Âm is the bodhisattva of compassion. Together, these places make one connected space of faith and landscape, and it is strangely quiet halfway up the mountain.

Núi Cấm has many other natural places. Two streams run here, Thanh Long and Tiên. A cave bears the name Thủy Liêm, and two more are called Bác Vật Lang and Ông Hổ. The high point is called vồ Bồ Hong.

The provincial portal of An Giang once described a trekking route of six kilometers. It crossed palmyra palm fields and passed a place called Đồi Mãng Cầu. Then came Thanh Long Stream, and then the mango garden of Núi Cấm. Those footpaths help explain why the people of the western delta love this mountain like a familiar friend.

The Thiên Cấm Sơn Flower Lantern Festival is a cultural event that people remember here. In 2026, the second festival took place on March 7, at the grounds beside Thủy Liêm Lake. The People's Committee of Núi Cấm Commune organized it together with the management board of the Núi Cấm tourist area. Thousands of flower lanterns were set afloat on the lake that night. Their glittering light reflected on the tall white Buddha above the water, a scene that is hard to forget.

Núi Cấm has been bound up with the spiritual life of the people of An Giang for many generations. Early in the morning, mist still lies over the forest canopy, and the sound of pagoda bells drifts down into the valley. That is when the name Thiên Cấm Sơn makes sense. It means the mountain that heaven forbids, as though this were a sacred place that nature set apart to keep its original beauty in the heart of the plain.