Perfume Pagoda - the first ranking Southern grotto

Annual cultural festival in Perfume Commune

Around 60 kilometers southwest of Ha Noi, Chùa Hương (Perfume Pagoda) is one among the largest and unique religious sites in Hương Sơn (Perfume Mountain) Commune, My Duc District, Ha Noi, right banks of Day River, northern Vietnam.

It comprises a complex of pagodas and Buddhist shrines built into the limestone cliffs of Hương Sơn, scattering alongside the mountain up to the peak. The complex’s center is right inside Hương Tích caven. Huge numbers of pilgrims flock to the site during Perfume Pagoda festival, which begins in the middle of the first lunar month and lasts until the middle of the third one (or from February till March) in order to pray for happiness and prosperity in the coming year. Also, it is a very popular opportunity for young couples to meet and for numerous budding romances to be formed. On this special occasion, a wide range of traditional cultural activities is incorporated. Perfume Pagoda is not only a religious site, but a great sight-seeing spot in Vietnam as well.

Sampans on Duc Pier 

Duc Pier (Bến Đục)

It takes more than 2 hours to go from Ha Noi to Duc Pier. During the annual festival months, Duc Pier is packed with thousands of row boats used for shutting visitors. For many visitors, this one-hour boat ride on the Yen Stream from Duc Pier is actually the highlight of the trip, and inspiration sources of quite a few famous poets.

Quiet Yen stream in spring

Suối Yến (Yen Stream)

Yen Stream flows between two mountains for 3 kilometers. Nevertheless, sitting on the boat, leisurely enjoying the surrounding landscape, you may feel that the stream is endless. Despite a facilitated road from Duc Pier to Perfume mountain, most people choose to use row boats on Yen Stream, which is by far a much more romantic and scenic route to Perfume Pagoda.

While travelling along Yen Stream, tourists pass by stunning landscape of blazing green rice paddles studded with jagged limestone mounts to the base of Perfume Mount.

Thien Tru Pagoda

Thien Tru Pagoda (Chùa Thiên Trù)

Stepping inland, there comes an interesting informal protocol for tourists! The first stop before climbing up to Huong Mount must always be a visit to Den Trinh, which means “registration shrine”. The next point of  interest would be a visit to Thien Tru Pagoda (chùa Ngoài - Outer Pagoda), which was built in the 18^th century under King Le Thanh Tong dynasty. “Thien Tru” means a heaven kitchen, derived from the imagination of the locals in this region, of which the rock formations in this area look like chefs busily working in the kitchen. Thien Tru Pagoda is famous for Thuy Tien tower, a granite monolith. On the right is Tien Son grotto, popular for five granite statues and various formations on the walls of the cave. Coming here, pilgrims have chances to admire the pagoda’s beauty and wonderful local landscapes.

Huong Tich Grotto in festival season

Huong Tich Grotto (Động Hương Tích) 

After more than one hour along the stream and visiting the initial ancient pagodas from the riverbank, and then down 120 stone steps to Huong Tich Grotto, literally meaning "traces of fragrance". The path to Huong Tich winds its way through magnificently luxuriant landscapes. In front of the cave lie  stone stairs. Stepping down the 120-step stairs, tourists will find the inscription "The first-ranking grotto under the Southern Sky" in  Han scripts, which are traces of Lord Tinh Do Vuong Trinh Sam's calligraphy in the 3^rd lunar month of the year of 1770. Getting into the grotto what is noteworthy is the statue of Avalokitesvara carved out of emerald stone on a rocky lotus, constructed in 1793. The unique carving art together with the extremely magnificient works of Nature makes the Huong Pagoda complex the top-revenued tourism destination among others in Ha Tay, and the foremost destination of Buddhists in particular and tourists in general.

Contact information by travel Vietnam