Black Virgin Mountain

Black Virgin Mountain is a mountain in the Tây Ninh Province of Vietnam. To the Vietnamese the mountain is the center of a myth about Bà Đen, a local deity of Khmer origin. During the Vietnam War the area around the mountain was very active as the Ho Chi Minh Trail ended a few kilometers west across the Cambodian border. As such there were many battles and American and Vietnamese soldiers based in the region remember the prominent landmark. After the war the mountain turned from a battleground to being famous for its beautiful temples and theme park.Geography and faunaAt 996m, the extinct volcano rises from the flat Mekong Delta jungle and farmland. The mountain is almost a perfect cinder cone with a saddle and a slight bulge on her northwest side. The mountain is honeycombed with caves and is covered in many large basalt boulders. The mountain is located approximately 10 km northeast of Tây Ninh and 96 km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City.A species of gecko, Gekko badenii, is named for the mountain and is endemic to the mountain.HistoryPre-Vietnam WarVariations of the legend of Núi Bà Đen exist. The oldest Khmer myth involves a female deity, "Neang Khmau" who left her footprints on the mountain rocks. The Vietnamese myth centers around a woman, Bà Đen, falling in love with a soldier and then through betrayal or suicide Bà Đen dies on the mountain. It has special significance to the Vietnamese Buddhist population and has a famous shrine about two thirds of the way up the mountain. Also, to the Cao Dai sect the mountain has special religious significance and its temple, the Tay Ninh Holy See, is close to the mountain.