For sea lovers, a hydrofoil trip to Vung Tau City to relax on the beach, climb the mountains, wait for sunset at the lighthouse and enjoy seafood is the norm at weekends away for city folk.

Tourists trek up to the statue of Jesus Christ on Nho Mountain in Vung Tau City

However, one thing that should be recommended to tourists is a trek to The Statue of arm-outstretched Jesus Christ.

Standing imposingly on the top of the Nho (Small) Mountain in Vung Tau City, the 32 metre statue was built in 1974 at an altitude of 170 metres facing the sea. It took 20 years for the statue to be completed.

The challenge for tourists, though, is to walk up 1,000 stone steps to reach the summit. It is a long trek but there are some stops for trekkers to take a break, drink water and take some photos of the sea and surrounding areas below.

The path is decorated by many trees and flowers, especially plumeria flowers, spreading its fragrance around the location.

Standing in front of the statue, you can imagine a giant stretching his hands out to hold you as it is 32m high and extending hands is 18.3m long putting in parallelepiped with a bas-relief of Christ and his 12 disciples, a replica of the painting ‘The party of separation’ by Leonardo da Vinci. The monument is similar to the famous statue in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.

The statue’s body can hold hundreds of people, there are about 130 steps up to the neck, shoulders and wrists of the statue in which four or five people can stand and enjoy the panoramic view of Vung Tau. Each hand is 2.2m wide and the middle finger is 1.1m long, and each foot is 1.1m wide.

The statue is south-facing to the East Sea with the benevolent and tolerant face, the widely outstretched arms to protect his followers. Under its foot are exhibits illustrating its construction from start to finish. There are also statues describing metaphors that Jesus Christ taught his followers more than 2, 000 years ago.

The site is not only an attraction for tourists but also a site for fit locals to do some morning exercise.