Travelling to the temple at the start of the year is an essential activity for the Vietnamese people that has become a cultural beauty to this day. This is the time when people from all over the country go to the sanctuaries to visit, sightsee, and pray for the best luck of the year.
Some of our recommendations might be the perfect place for you and your loved ones to spend the spring.
Perfume Pagoda
Hương (Perfume) pagoda is located in Hương Sơn Commune, Mỹ Đức District, about 60km southwest of Hà Nội.
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| Visitors to the Hương (Perfume) Pagoda are carried down the Yến stream by boats. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng |
It is one of the largest and most unique religious sites in the capital with a complex of pagodas, shrines and communal houses scattered on Hương Sơn (Perfume mountain). The Hương Tích (Traces of perfume) pagoda, which can be found inside the Hương Tích grotto, is considered to be the holiest and most significant location in the entire complex.
Many people visit the pagoda every year to take part in its festival, the largest in the country, which takes place from January to the end of March of the lunar calendar.
It is believed that the Bodhisattva Kwan Yin attained enlightenment at the Hương Pagoda, hence various ceremonies and artistic events are staged there during the three-month festival.
Thousands of pilgrims and visitors, including many from abroad, make the journey up the Hương Sơn mountain range to experience the peace that has moved poets for decades and even one of the Trịnh warlords to pen odes to the area’s heavenly beauty.
Đồng Pagoda
Đồng (Bronze) Pagoda can be found on top of the 1,068-meter-high Yên Tử mountain in Uông Bí District of Quảng Ninh Province.
The pagoda was built in the 17th century, with the initial architecture consisting of only a modest bronze cast.
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| Bronze was used in the creation of the Đồng Pagoda, which may be found on the highest point of Yên Tử mountain. The pagoda’s design is reminiscent of a lotus flower opening up to reveal its petals. VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt |
Previously, the only way to get to Đồng Pagoda was to traverse thousands of stone stairs and mountain roads for nearly 6 kilometres to reach the peak of Yên Tử.
Nowadays, the cable car has been used by the Yên Tử Scenic Area Management Board to assist visitors from all over the world to arrive at the Đồng Pagoda without much difficulty. Guests may get a bird’s eye view of Yên Tử mountain from the cable car and then set out on foot to reach the summit of the sacred peak.
The Lunar New Year is the finest time to visit this location. This is the time for highly spectacular events in Yên Tử, drawing thousands of travellers from all across the country to visit and pray.
Tam Chúc Pagoda
Tam Chúc is Việt Nam’s biggest pagoda complex, located in Kim Bảng District, Hà Nam Province, about 60 kilometres from Hà Nội.
This is one of the spiritual spring tourism spots that draw a large number of visitors who come to pray for good fortune.
With its front side facing Lục Ngạn lake and its back resting against Thất Tinh Mountain, Tam Chúc Pagoda occupies a magnificent position. Limestone peaks rise up everywhere around the pagoda, adding to the area’s already impressive beauty.
The Tam Chúc Pagoda’s spiritual tourism complex is split into four sections: the reception centre, the monastery proper, the experience hub, and the natural reserve.
Like many other sacred sites, the pagoda is at its most stunning in the milder months of autumn and spring.
According to the Tam Chúc Pagoda Management Board, on Wednesday alone (the fourth day of the Lunar New Year), there were around ten thousand visitors and Buddhists who came to visit and worship at the pagoda. VNS
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