SACRED HANOI MOTORBIKE TOUR TO PERFUME PAGODA – 1 DAY

Itinerary:

HANOI MOTORBIKE TOUR TO PERFUME PAGODA – 1 DAY

* Pre-words:

The Perfume Pagoda is a vast complex of Buddhist temples and shrines built into the limestone Huong Tich mountains. It is the site of a religious festival which draws large numbers of pilgrims from across Vietnam. The centre of the Huong Temple lies in Huong Son Commune, Mỹ Đức District, former Hà Tây Province (now Hanoi). The centre of this complex is the Perfume Temple, also known as Chua Trong (Inner Temple), located in Huong Tich Cave.

It is thought that the first temple was a small structure on the current site of Thien Tru which existed during the reign of Lê Thánh Tông in the 15th century. Legend claims that the site was discovered over 2000 years ago by a monk meditating in the area, who named the site after a Tibetan mountain where Lord Buddha practiced asceticism.

A stele at the current temple dates the building of a terrace, stone steps and Kim Dung shrine to 1686, during the reign of Le Hy Tong, at around the same time that Chua Trong was being constructed. Over the years some of the structures were damaged and replaced. The original statues of Lord Buddha and Quan Am were cast from bronze in 1767 and replaced with the current statues in 1793. More recently, damage was done during both the French and the American wars. Both the gate and the bell tower at Thien Tru Pagoda were destroyed, the bell tower rebuilt in 1986 and the gate completed in 1994.

* Detailed Itinerary:

In this morning, we’ll start our motorbike tour a bit ealier by riding our bikes through the crowed city to get to the suburb then follow the National Road 21B to pass by Ha Dong city, Van Dinh, Te Tieu …to Perfume Pagoda (60Km from Hanoi) which is known as one of the most important religious sites in Buddhist Vietnam. The pagoda itself is built into limestone cliffs and can only be reached by boat and foot. Along the road, you’ll have a chance to shoot photos of rice paddies, handicraft villages or get a take-away coffee to wake up yourself.

Upon getting the Duc wharf, you’ll leave your motorbikes there then take an hour boat Trip on Yen Stream to Perfume Pagoda. Here is really a time for you to relax and enjoy the rural stunning scenery. If you are a truly Buddhist follower, there will be a very nice stop at Den Trinh or the Registration Shrine where you can make some offerings to pray good things for yourself as well as your family.

After a scenic cruise trip, we’ll walk up mountain paths to visit Thien Mu’s complex of the pagodas and temples that were built over centuries then probably it’s a good time to enjoy a lunch at a local restaurant nearby before continueing our trekking trip to the most important relic named Huong Tich Cave which is recognized as the most beautiful cave in the region as well as the most sacred spiritual site for Vietnameses. Right here, you can free your mind, experience the beauties of stalagmites and staclactites as well as the typical in-cave pagodas and pray for your better life.

Finally, you can walk down the path or take a cable car to go back to Thien Tru wharf where you’ll take a boat backing to your stored motorbikes then from here, we’ll ride back to Hanoi.

* Summaries:

+ Distance: 150Km

+ Activities: Motorbiking, visiting countryside landscapes, boat trip, enjoying local foods & experiencing the ancient pagodas