The Hai Ba Trung Temple, founded in 1142, is 2km south off-loan Kiem Lake on Pho Tho Lao (see Central Hanoi map).A statue here shows the two Trung sisters (1st century AD) kneeling with their arms raised, as if to address a crowd. Some people say the statue shows the sisters, who had been proclaimed queens of the Vietnamese, about to dive into a river. They are said to have drowned themselves rather than surrender following their defeat at the hands of the Chinese.

Located at the end of Gia Phuc Village, Nguyen Trai Commune, Thuong Tin District, Hanoi. Dau Pagoda is famous for the two bronzes’ Xa Loi bodies: Vu Khac Minh and Vu Khac Truong.

A visit to Dau Pagoda helps visitors to see rare and precious exhibits: bases and stone-bases from Ly Dynasty decorated with lotus flowers. On staircases of the main hall, there are two stone dragons, a masterpiece of Tran Dynasty. The dragons were built in round bodies, winding as waves on blocks of stone; it’s really an artistic masterpiece. Visitors will be deeply interested in the ancient traditional architectures, the sculpture pictures on beams, columns or panels… all depict legendary traditions: fairies on dragons, boys fighting tigers, or four sacred animals: dragon, lion, turtle and phoenix (long, ly, quy, phuong) or 4 seasons: pine-tree, butter­cup, ivory-bamboo and apricot (tung, cuc, truc, mai). The sculpture designs look very beautiful, realistic.

All architectural works and projects: the main hall, the worship house, the temple, the male and female monks’ houses… were built of rectangular­ – shaped bricks (Mac Dynasty). The typical identities on the bricks lie in patterns of sacred animals: houses, dragons, carps to turn into dragons or vegetation and flower world.

But most interesting is the story of the monks: Vu Khac Minh and Vu Khac Truong. The story has it that: after reciting prayers, the monks burnt themselves by the innermost lire of meditation, they died under the altars of statues and their followers protected their bodies in meditativeness and coated with special paint, then put on closed-­in temples. This is the most special culture heritage in Dau Pagoda. It’s also a product of spiritism culture, the most sacred and interesting. The pagoda is admitted by Ministry of Culture and Information as “culture historical” monument.

Ngoc Son (Jade Mountain) Temple, founded in the 18th century, is on an island in the northern part of Hoan Kiem Lake (see Old Quarter map). Surrounded by water and shaded by trees, it is a delightfully quiet place to rest. The temple is dedicated to the scholar Van Xuong, General Tran Hung Dao (who defeated the Mongols in the 13th century) and La To, patron saint of physicians.

Ngoc Son Temple is reached via the red painted, wooden The Huc (Rising Sun) Bridge, which was constructed in 1885. To the left of the gate stands an obelisk whose top is shaped like a paintbrush. The temple is open daily from 8 am to 5 pm; the entrance fee is 12,000d (US$0.85).

Quan Su Temple was built in the 15th century under the Le dynasty. At that time there was no Buddhist temple here but some cottages used as a place of worship. According to Hoang Le nhat thong chi, during Emperor Le The Tong’s reign, Chiem Thanh (Champa), Ai Lao (Laos) usually sent ambassadors to offer tributes to Dai Viet (official name of Viet Nam under the Le Dynasty). The Emperor ordered to construct a building called Quan Su (Embassy) to receive foreign ambassadors to Thang Long. Because those ambassadors were all Buddhist, they decided to build a temple on the premises for worship. Today only the temple remains.

According to Doctor Le Duy Trung’s essay carved on the 1855 stele, the temple was close to Hau Quan Base in the early years of Gia Long Era (1802-1819). In 1822, the temple was renovated so that the local residents could practise worship here. When the troops withdrew, the temple was returned to the villagers. Monk Thanh Phuong, who hosted the temple then, had corridors built, statues painted, bell made. The front palace is dedicated to the Buddha and the rear palace is delicate to Master Minh Khong of the Ly dynasty.

In 1934, the General Buddhist Society of Tonkin was founded, Quan Su Temple was chosen as its headquarters. In 1942, the temple was reconstructed in accordance with the design of architects Nguyen Ngoc Ngoan and Nguyen Xuan Tung, passed by First Master Vinh Nghiem.

The Tay Dang Communal House was built in the late 16th century in the Ba Vi District. It features five main rooms, four roofs and 48 columns. The top of each column is decorated with pictures of dragons, unicorns, turtles ans phoenixes made of dark brown terra-cotta. Wooden components of the communal house include beams and rafters carved in diiferent shapes.

The main characteristic of the Tay Dang Communal House is the role played by sculptures in the architectural style of the building. The carved scenes illustrating the daily life of 16th century villagers are impressive. Besides its unique wooden architectural value, the Tay Dang Communal House is where people worship Tan Vien Son Tinh, a legendary hero who was supposedly able to control nature.

Located in Yen Village, Thach That District, about 35 km from central Hanoi. It is also an exposition gallery for many national engraving and sculpture masterpieces.

The pagoda was built in the 8th century and has been restored several times since. In 1632, the pagoda was rebuilt according to the Sino-Vietnamese character Tam (three), featuring three sections: the upper sanctuary, back palace, and lobby rooms.

After climbing 239 stone steps bearing the signs of the passage of time and sheltered by the shade of age-old trees one reaches a gate. The gate carries the name of the structure: Tay Phuong Co Tu (Ancient Pagoda of the West). According to the inscription on a 17th century stone stele it also has two other names: Sung Phuc Tu and Hoang Son Thieu Lam Tu.

In 1794 under the Tay Son regime, it was completely renewed, hence its present design. It comprises three successive constructions: the Hall of Prostration, the Main Shrine, and the Sanctuary, all with doubletiered roofs. It seems that this architectural arrangement is inspired by Buddhist and Confucianist thought: the three constructions symbolize the three forces governing the world.

All the wooden parts of the pagoda are beautifully sculpted following folk motifs: mulberry leat Ficus leat lotus flower, chrysanthemum; dragon, phoenix, etc. But the Tay Phuong Pagoda is mostly famous for the statues it contains, magnificent wooden sculptures representing Buddhas as well as Vajrapanis (Kim Cuong) and Arhats (La Han) who are middle-ranking Buddhist deities. One in particular portrays Sakyamuni in meditation at the foot of Tuyet Son (Snow Mountain). He was then leading a life of extremely severe ascetics, and his emaciated body, as represented by the statue, shows good knowledge by the artist of human anatomy. The figures of the Arhats each bear distinctive features which depict meditation in original aspects. All are impressive works of art.

A festival is held in the grounds of the Tay Phuong Pagoda in early spring each year. It features many games and entertainment: marionette performances, tug-of-war, cock fighting, chess with human chess pieces… The central piece of the festival is the Sam Hoi (Expiation) ceremony, held on the 6th day of the 3rd lunar month, which calls on all men to practise compassion and charity, to avoid wrong doing, and aim for serenity and quietude.

Tay Phuong Pagoda is not only an historical site with valuable architecture, but also a scenic spot in Hanoi.

Location: One Pillar Pagoda is on Chua Mot Cot Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

Characteristic: The One Pillar Pagoda is a cultural and historic relic, unique for its architectural features.

Hanoi’s famous One Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot) was built by the Emperor Ly Thai Tong, who ruled from 1028 to 1054. According to the annals, the heirless emperor dreamed that he had met Quan The Am Bo Tat (Goddess of Mercy), who, while seated on a lotus flower, handed him a male child. Ly Thai Tong then married a young peasant girl be met by chance and bad a son and heir by her. To express his gratitude for this event, he constructed the One Pillar Pagoda in 1049.

The One Pillar Pagoda, built of wood on a single stone pillar 1.25m in diameter, is designed to resemble a lotus blossom, symbol of purity, rising out of a sea of sorrow. One of the last acts of the French before quitting Hanoi in 1954 was to destroy the One Pillar Pagoda; the structure was rebuilt by the new government. The pagoda is on Pho Ong Ich Kiem near Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum.

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The Perfume Pagoda (Chua Huong) is about 60km south-west of Hanoi by road. The pagoda is a highlight of the Hanoi area and should not be missed. The fun boat trip along the scenic waterways takes about three hours. A word of warning: bring good walking shoes! The path to the top is steep in places and if it’s ruining the ground can get very slippery.

The Perfume Pagoda itself is a complex of pagodas and Buddhist shrines built into the limestone cliffs of Huong Tich Mountain (Mountain of the Fragrant Traces). Among the better known sites here are Thien Chu (Pagoda Leading to Heaven); Giai Oan Chu (Purgatorial Pagoda), where the faithful believe deities purify souls, cure sufferings and grant offspring to childless families; and Huong Tich Chu (Pagoda of the Perfumed Vestige).

Great numbers of Buddhist pilgrims come here during a festival that begins in the middle of the second lunar month and lasts until the last week of the third lunar month (usually corresponding to March and April). Pilgrims and other visitors spend their time here boating, hiking and exploring the caves’. Weekends also tend to draw crowds, as one pair of travellers reported.

Avoid Sundays! This is the busiest day for locals we had (he misfortune of travelling there on a Sunday and elided lip in a mob of thousands of locals pushing and shoving on the stairs leading to the temple. We were very disappointed alter haying spent all the time in transit.

The main pilgrimage season at Chua Huong is during the Huong Pagoda festival, when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims make their way to Huong Tich cave and the other temples. The longest lasting festival in Vietnam, it officially begins on January 6th on the lunar calendar, to the middle of March. The Festival is seen by some as a good opportunity for young people to find romance and begin courtships.

Getting There & Away

Getting to the pagoda requires a journey first by road and then by river.

If you want to do the river trip, which is highly recommended, you will need to travel from Hanoi by car for two hours to My Duc, and then take a small boat rowed by two women for 11/2 hours to the foot of the mountain.

The main pagoda area is about a 4km (two-hour) walk up from where the boat lets you off. The scenery is comparable to Halong bay, although you are on a river rather than the sea. The combined fee for the boat journey and general admission ticket is US$7. The return trip to your vehicle is also by rowboat.

Most or the travellers’ cafes offer inexpensive tours to the pagoda. You can find day trips as cheap as US$9 or US$10, inclusive of transport, guide and lunch (drinks excluded). For a better quality tour (meaning smaller group and a more comfortable vehicle) expect to spend around US$14 to US$16.

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The pagodas arc about 30km south-west of Hanoi. Hanoi’s cafes catering to budget travellers can arrange combined day tours or the Thay and Tay Phuong pagodas.

Thay Pagoda (the Master’s Pagoda), also known as Thien Phuc (Heavenly Blessing), is dedicated to Thich Ca Buddha (Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha) and 18 arhats appear on the central alter. On the left is a statue of the 12th-century monk Tu Dao Hanh, the ‘Master’ after whom the pagoda is named; on the right is a statue of King Ly Nhan Tong, who is believed to have been a reincarnation of Tu Duo Hanh, In front of the pagoda is a small stage built on stilts in the middle of a pond; water-puppet shows arc staged here during festivals.

The pagoda therefore consists of 3 sections: Ha Pagoda, Trung Pagoda, and Thuong Pagoda. The outer part, Ha Pagoda, is a place for offerings and ceremonies; the middle part, Trung Pagoda, is a place for worship of Buddha; and finally, the inner part is a place for worship of Priest Tu Dao Hanh. An automated sandalwood statue of Tu Dao Hanh that stands and sits is located in a red lacquered shrine trimmed with gold and covered with a curtain.

In front of the pagoda is Long Tri pond, in the middle of which is a stage called Thuy Dinh, where water puppet performances are held. Nhat Tien and Nguyet Tien Bridges, built by Doctor Phung Khac Khoan in 1602, are located on each side of the stage.

The pagoda’s annual festival is held from the fifth to the seventh days of the third lunar month. Pilgrims and other visitors enjoy watching water puppet shows, hiking and exploring caves in the area.

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Located in Tien Lu Village, Chuong Mỹ District. It is an impressive construction and history immerse the visitor immediately: its multi-pillared temples, ornate altars, leisure areas, where mandarins would play chess with live human pieces .

Tram Gian Pagoda, also called Tien Lu Pagoda, is built in the “noi cong ngoai quoc” architectural style which means Cong Chinese character in the inner part and the Quoc Chinese character in the outer.

The pagoda was probably originally built in 1185 during the reign of King Ly Cao Tong on its present site at the top of the low Tien Lu, or Ma Hill. It nestles snugly on that hill in a natural cushion of mature trac, or kingwood and tram, or canari trees, and watched over by giant pines.

At festivals the separate pavilions were given over to all-consuming and lavish praise, no more so than the Gia Ngu where the statue of Buddha was paraded during water puppet performances on the semi-circular lotus lake.

A visit demands a degree of effort: a climb of several hundred steps, a walk down an alley paved with bricks and stone, reveals a two-storey bell tower of eight elegantly corner-curved roofs. Known as the Bell Tower of Tram Gian, it still preserves its detailed art work, its supporting columns carved with intricate lotus shape, the wood panels in the shape of dragons, flowers and leaves, clouds and the sky. Under the roof hangs a 1.4m tall bell, made in 1794.

There the statues of two Guardian Spirits, the Good-encouraging Spirit and the Bad-punishing Spirit, preside and the Thien Huong, or Celestial Perfume, and in the inner part of the second house two Thuong Dien , or Upper Altars, for the praise of Buddha. A four curved-cornered and columned roof shelters a drum, an equally large gong, both dating from the 10th Year of Canh Hung (1750).

The pagoda is seen as one entity or 100 smaller ones. It houses 153 statues mostly made of wood, some of clay red lacquered and trimmed with gold, all to the greater glory of Tam The, the Past, Present and Future Lives. A large terracotta platform supports an ornately carved altar bearing lotus flower, legends, and dragon, tiger, horse, and elephant reliefs. Nearby stands the black-lacquer jackfruit-tree wood statue of Tuyet Son styled on one found in the Himalayas. The imagery goes on at every turn: arranged and ornate altars to worship 18 Arhats and the Ruler of Hell in the Ten Great Halls, a separate pagoda and altar to worship Saint Boi or Monk Nguyen Lu also known as Binh Yen. Legend has it the statue is actually his rattan preserved body covered by an oil cloth.

In the pagoda itself, a statue lauds General Dang Tien Dong, who served King Quang Trung in the historic battle of Dong Da and then in 1794 helped repair the pagoda, casting its bell and erecting stele. He too was commemorated as one of the architects, if not of the pagoda itself, then certainly of its place in history.

Located in Phung Chau Commune, Chuong My District, about 25 km from central Hanoi. Nature has endowed Mt. Tu Tram with picturesque caves and caverns. Long Tien is the most beautiful cave.

Mt. Tu Tram is indeed a precious gift of nature. The landscape with its mountain and water is a Holy Land. Enamored with the beautiful landscape of Mt. Tu Tram, in 1516 King Le Chieu Tong had a royal stopover pavilion built and ordered the digging of canals and clearing of streams around the mountain for dragon-boat rides whenever he was free from national affairs. Quite a few religious structures such as altars and shrines, temples and pagodas were built during following dynasties. As a result, today, many architectural vestiges of different times are found, such as the Pagodas of Long Tien, Quan Yin, Vo Vi and Ba Lang, the Cao Son Temple, Mother’s Temple, stone-slab pavilions and towers. Due to the wear of ages and the devastation of wars and nature, some of the architectural relics could not be kept intact and others lie in ruins such as the tower and little temple on the southwestern slope of the mountain.

Long Tien Pagoda, also called Tram Pagoda, was erected in the 7th year of Canh Tri 1669. It has been repaired and restored several times. A group of Buddha statues in the pagoda bears the style of 18-19th century art with very delicate and sophisticated curving lines.

Each year, when spring comes round, the local people around Mt. Tu Tram hold the Tram Pagoda Festival on the second day of the second lunar month. In the festive atmosphere, village elders recount for the young generation the myths and legends of Mt. Tu Tram.

The Ambassadors’ Pagoda is the official centre or Buddhism in Hanoi, attracting quite a crowd – mostly old women – on holidays. During the 17th century, there was a guesthouse here for the ambassadors of Buddhist countries. Today, there are about a dozen monks and nuns at the Ambassadors’ Pagoda. Next to the pagoda is a store selling Buddhist ritual objects.

The Ambassadors’ Pagoda is at 73 Pho Quan Su (between Pho Ly Thuong Kiet and Pho Tran Hung Dao – see Central Hanoi map); it is open to the public daily from 7.30 to 11.30 am and 1.30 to 5.30 pm.