Go to the market with leaves, participate in the sacred offering ceremony and enjoy the cool breeze in the midst of the summer heat, these are experiences only found on Ba Den Mountain, Tay Ninh - the highest mountain in the South.
Feeling the "winter in summer"
At an altitude of 986m above sea level, the top of Ba Den Mountain seems to have a completely different "climate zone" compared to the city. In the summer, visitors can clearly feel 4 seasons in one day when they reach the top of the mountain: cool in the morning, cool in the afternoon, and cold in the evening. In particular, on peak hot days in the South, the temperature at the top of the mountain is always 8-10 degrees C lower than the city. With daytime temperatures ranging from 24-32 degrees C, this is considered an ideal place to escape the heat every summer.
The top of Ba Den Mountain floats in the clouds in the evening. Photo: Sun World Ba Den Mountain
In the evening, when you go to the top of Ba Den Mountain, you will need to wear an extra jacket because the temperature can drop below 15-17 degrees C. If you encounter clouds or fog surrounding the top of the mountain, you will clearly feel the "winter" in the heart of summer. That is why many people call Ba Den Mountain the "mini Da Lat" of the Southeast region, and choose to go up Ba Den Mountain after 5 pm to cool off during hot periods.
To enhance the experience for visitors when choosing to go to the top of Ba Den Mountain in the evening, Sun World Ba Den Mountain Tourist Area has a promotion program offering a voucher worth VND 100,000 for visitors who buy cable car tickets to the top of the mountain after 5 pm from Monday to Friday. The program applies from June 16 to August 29, 2025. Visitors can use the voucher to purchase services at food and souvenir outlets managed by Sun World Ba Den Mountain (not applicable for online purchases). The program does not apply to special tickets (annual tickets, free tickets, student tickets, monks and nuns, elderly people...).
Going to the market with Bodhi leaves
The leaf market is a unique specialty of Tay Ninh that takes place on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year. However, now visitors can attend the leaf market at the top of Ba Den Mountain every Saturday in June this year.
Bustling crowds of tourists at the Ba Den Mountain leaf market. Photo: Sun World Ba Den Mountain
The leaf market sessions at the top of Ba Den Mountain will take place from 5 PM to 7 PM. Each tourist taking the cable car up Ba Den Mountain will receive a free Bodhi leaf between 4 PM and 6 PM. With the Bodhi leaf, tourists can buy delicious dishes with a strong folk flavor of Tay Ninh such as banh trang, banh it, banh cuon, banh u, banh xu xe, banh bot loc, banh bo, banh da lon, xoi, che…, and receive a variety of complimentary drinks.
Many fun activities in the Ba Den Mountain leaf market. Photo: Sun World Ba Den Mountain
Ba Den Mountain leaf market is also special in that, not only are there stalls decorated with a strong traditional flavor reminiscent of the peaceful old country markets, but the market also has fun and lively activities, vibrant folk art performances. All this makes the leaf market not only a culinary experience, but also a space for tourists to return to childhood memories, connect with each other and feel the beauty in the simple cultural life of the people of Southern Vietnam.
Attend the sacred lantern offering ceremony
After the Leaf Market, the activity that tourists most look forward to on Saturday evenings is attending the lantern offering ceremony at the square on top of Ba Den Mountain. Here, each tourist receives a free lantern, writes their wishes on the lantern, and joins the crowd to perform the meditation, offering, and releasing lanterns into the water at the foot of the Tay Bo Da Son Buddha statue.
The lantern offering ceremony takes place on Saturday evenings on Ba Den Mountain. Photo: Minh Tu
Each lit candle is a sincere prayer, a wish for peace and good fortune. Thousands of lanterns lit up at night at the foot of the Buddha statue create a memorable spiritual cultural experience on the sacred mountaintop. For many years, the lantern offering ceremony on top of Ba Den Mountain on Saturday evenings has not only been a religious ritual, but also a symbolic ceremony of the highest mountain in Southern Vietnam for tourists to seek peace where heaven and earth meet.
Water music show beside the Maitreya Bodhisattva statue. Photo: Sun World Ba Den Mountain
After the offering ceremony, the water music show, utilizing Vietnam's leading modern technologies in the area of the Maitreya Bodhisattva statue, will take visitors through five levels of meditative emotions and explosive feelings with countless unique effects from sound, light, and water.
Known as the “first great mountain”, Ba Den Mountain not only possesses majestic natural beauty but is also famous as a leading spiritual destination in Southern Vietnam. Along with the ancient temple system associated with the legend of Linh Son Holy Mother Bodhisattva, the magnificent cultural and spiritual structures on the mountaintop make it a pilgrimage destination for Vietnam and the world, welcoming millions of visitors for worship each year.
