Yen Tu Mountain

Being one of the highest peaks in the Northeastern area of Vietnam and located in Dong Trieu Tow (Quang Ninh Provine), Yen Tu Mountain is famous for its natural landscape and numerous historical relics and the holy land to Vietnam’s millions of Buddhists. Vietnamese people often say that besides practicing charity and doing good things, the only way to achieve enlightenment is coming to Yen Tu.

King Tran Nhan Tong is the person who established the Truc Lam Zen sect to bear the Buddhist tradition on Yen Tu Mountain. Due to the quickly increasing numbers of followers coming here from different regions in the country, the King required to build more constructions to adapt the needs. Phap Loa Dong Kien Cuong, his successor, took the duty to keep the complex well-maintained and from that time, Yen Tu became the country’s most important Buddhist center through the Le and Nguyen dynasties.

The complete journey to visit Yen Tu starts from Giai Oan (Salvation of Wandering Souls) Spring running in Thuong Yen Cong Commune before reaching Hoa Yen Pagoda at a height of 534 meters. This is the biggest structure among the pagoda complex and it has two 700-year-old frangipani flower trees. Next, tourists can make optional stops at other sites along the way such as To tower, An Ky Sinh stone statue, Ngoa Van Temple, Mot Mai, and Bao Sai pagodas. Depending on your health condition, you can choose the suitable option to set foot on the peak of Yen Tu Mountain: taking the cable car or do the trekking. By cable car, you will have the transfer of about 1.2 kilometers to a height of 400 meters above sea level, near Hoa Yen pagoda where you can take a panoramic view of magnificent Yen Tu Mountain. The trekking route lasts for about 6 kilometers on stone steps and among the beautiful mountainous landscape.

The best time to visit Yen Tu Mountain is in May, September, October, and November. Due to the festival lasting for 3 months after the Lunar New Year, the pagoda is always very crowded with visitors coming from different regions to do the sightseeing, indulge in the animated atmosphere, and get more knowledge about the traditional cultural features. Located just 140 km from Hanoi, Yen Tu Mountain can be easily reached by 2.5 hours of driving. The cruise to visit Halong Bay is ideal to combine with the trip to sacred Yen Tu Mountain as it is only 50 km far from each other.

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