Vietnam has many famous pagodas, some of them have been existing more than 1000 years. They not only direct link with the religious life of the locals but also become attractive destinations for many tourists around the world. Now, let discover with us the top 10 famous Pagodas in Vietnam as bellow.
1. Bai Dinh Pagoda – Ninh Binh
About 100km north of Ha Noi, Bai Dinh Pagoda is located at the western gate of Hoa Lu Citadel – a Historic vestige. Covering more than 500ha in Gia Sinh Commune, Gia Vien District, Bai Dinh nestles amidst Trang An Eco-tourism Complex. Here is a cluster of Buddhist architectural structures, consisting of new, giant and imposing temples of the newly-built Bai Dinh Pagoda area which play of ancient and respected shrines of the ancient Bai Dinh Pagoda area.
The first feeling when setting foot in Bai Dinh Pagoda is probably being overwhelmed by the vast mountain scenery, the impressive scale and architecture of the complex, and the sacred space. Bai Dinh Pagoda is divided into 2 areas:
- The ancient pagoda area (Bai Dinh Co Tu) was built by Zen master Nguyen Minh Khong in 1136. After thousands of years, ancient relics are still preserved quite intact such as Light Cave – Dark Cave, temple of Cao Son, Saint Nguyen, Jade Well.
- The new pagoda area was built in 2003, with impressive architectural works, typical of Vietnamese Buddhist culture such as Tam Quan gate (Triple Gate), Stupa, 500 lively monolithic green stone Arhat statues, cultural park and Buddhist academy.
Since its construction, Bai Dinh Pagoda has established many records in Vietnam and Asia such as: the largest gold-plated bronze Buddha statue in Asia, the longest Arhat corridor in Asia, the tallest and heaviest Shakyamuni Buddha statue in Asia, the largest bronze bell in Vietnam…
The most suitable time to travel to Bai Dinh Pagoda is from January to March of the lunar calendar when the spring weather is still cool. You can combine spring sightseeing, pagoda ceremonies for good luck and participating in major festivals in both Trang An and Bai Dinh.
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2. Con Son Pagoda – Hai Duong
The highlight of the relic site is Con Son Pagoda, which reflects Vietnam’s historical, cultural and religious value. Vinh Phong reports. Con Son pagoda, also known as Hun pagoda, is located at the foot of Con Son Mountain. It was built in the 10th century and was expanded in the 13th century during the Tran dynasty.The pagoda consists of a front hall, an incense offering hall, an upper hall and an ancestor worshipping hall. The upper hall worships Buddha and has a 3-meter Buddha statue.
In the ancestor worshiping hall, there are statues dedicated to King Monk Tran Nhan Tong, Venerable Monk Phap Loan, the second founder of Truc Lam Zen sect and his successor Huyen Quang, high-ranking mandarin Tran Nguyen Dan and national hero Nguyen Trai.
There are two annual festivals held at Con Son Pagoda. The spring festival takes place from the 16th to 23rd of the lunar January to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Venerable Monk Huyen Quang.
The festival includes many rituals, a water procession, a worshiping ceremony, a prayer ceremony, wrestling, human chess, and Quan Ho folk singing. The autumn festival is held from the 16th to 20th of the 8th lunar month to mark the death anniversary of national hero Nguyen Trai. Participants take part in ceremonial singing, requiems, lantern festival, swimming, and wrestling competitions.
3. One Pillar Pagoda (Ha Noi Capital)
How can a list of beautiful temples in Vietnam lack the One Pillar Pagoda – the temple with the most unique architecture in Asia. One Pillar Pagoda is located in the park behind Ong Ich Khiem Street, in Ba Dinh District, and has long been a symbol of the Capital in terms of both architecture and spiritual life. Therefore, the pagoda is a unique and sacred tourist destination that attracts many domestic and foreign tourists.
The pagoda is like a lotus floating on the water, a harmonious combination of architecture and creative stone sculpture. The details are carved with bold Vietnamese cultural symbols, harmoniously interwoven to create a picture that is preserved and archived to this day.
One Pillar Pagoda was first built in 1049 during the reign of King Ly Thai Thong. According to legend, aging King Ly Thai Tong, who had no children, often went to pagodas to pray to Buddha for a son. One night, he dreamed that he was granted a private audience with Buddha. Months later, when the queen gave birth to a male child, the king ordered the construction of a pagoda supported by only one pillar to resemble the lotus seat of his dream in the honor of Buddha.
Time to visit the pagoda is from 7:00 – 18:00. On the first or full moon days, One Pillar Pagoda will hold worshiping ceremonies for Buddhists and people to offer incense.
Reference price: Free visit
4. Tran Quoc Pagoda
Located on an islet in West Lake, Tran Quoc Pagoda is one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam. Its construction was under King Ly Nam De (544-548). Standing at one end of Thanh Nien Road, one can see the towers of the pagoda rising above the lake’s surface.
The pagoda’s highlight architectural work is the lotus stupa built in 1998. The large stupa has 11 floors with 15m high. Each floor of the tower has 6 arched doorways, in each of which is placed a precious stone statue of Amitabha Buddha. The top of the tower has a 9-storey lotus platform also made of precious stones.
This stupa is built symmetrically with the Bodhi tree – extracted from the original tree in Boh Gay where Buddha meditated and attained enlightenment, given by the President of India – Mr.Rajendra Prasad when he visited Hanoi in 1959. And also a stele dating from 1639 tells the story of this pagoda.
5. Huong Pagoda (Perfume Pagoda)
Huong Pagoda is a cultural and religious complex of Vietnam that includes a lot of Buddhist Pagodas, Temples, Shrines with the agricultural belief.
The center of Huong Pagoda is located at Huong Son town, My Duc District, which is about 60 kilometers from Ha Noi and along the right bank of Day River. The heart of this pagoda complex is Huong Pagoda located in Huong Tich Grotto, which is also known as Trong Pagoda (The Inside Pagoda).
Huong Tich cave is the most beautiful and famous of the caves in the area. It was discovered more than 2000 years ago. In the middle of the cave is a statue of Bodhisattva Kuanin. Surrounding the statue are stalagmites resembling golden trees, silver trees, cocoons, hillocks, and a group of nine dragons. Visitors can trek up or take the cable cars from Thien Tru Pagoda to Huong Tich cave.
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6. Dai Tong Lam Pagoda (Ba Ria – Vung Tau)
Dai Tong Lam Tu Pagoda is an imposing relic of Phu My Commune, Tan Thanh District, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. Located on National Road 51, about 70 kilometers from HCMC, the sanctuary is an ideal place to indulge in sacred tranquility.
Built-in 1958 on 100 hectares, the pagoda has a statue garden, tower, and sanctum. The highlight of the pagoda is the 17-meter-high statue of Bodhisattva standing on a dragon head. The two-story sanctum built-in 2002 is 91 meters long and 46 meters wide.
In front of the sanctum is a statue of Maitreya Buddha carved from a granite rock from Khanh Hoa Province. The rock weighs 40 tons and is 5.1 meters in height. The statue holds the Vietnamese record as the country’s largest statue of Buddha made of granite.
The second floor is dedicated to the worship of nine granite statues of Buddha. The surrounding walls are carved with 10,000 small Buddha statues ;each 0.25 meters wide and 0.3 meters high. It also holds a Vietnamese record as the country’s largest sanctum.
The pagoda is renowned for the statue garden that includes 48 statues, including an 18-meter-Buddha Amitabha.
7. Keo Pagoda (Thai Binh)
Keo Pagoda is located in Dung Nhue village, Duy Nhat town, Vu Thu District, approximately 18km south of Thai Binh city. The full name of this pagoda is Tran Quang Pagoda. It is one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam, which is nearly 400 years old.
Keo Pagoda still fully reserves its unique and ancient architect during such a long period of time. The architectural arrangement of pagoda follows the style “tien Phat Hau Thanh” (the front is dedicated to the Buddha and the back to deities). At present, the pagoda preserves many valuable votive objects. At its back sanctuary, there is a statue of a Zen Master Khong Lo make of aloe wood in 1094, several ancient statues in the Le Dynasty and ancient porcelain objects.
8. Giac Lam Pagoda (Ho Chi Minh City)
This pagoda is also known as Cam Son Pagoda, located at 118, Lac Long Quan Street, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City. It is one of the oldest pagodas of this city and the center of Rinzai school in the Southern Region of Vietnam. It is built in the shape of the Kanji Letter “San” (means Three) including the main hall, lecture hall and two buildings serving foods. Along both sides of the main hall is two collections of 18 Arahants (a big one and the smaller one).
There are 133 statues made of precious wood, which are skillfully lacquered and gilded. All of the statues, chairs, tables, antique grave towers, etc. are livelily sculptured by talented artists.
On spring days, Giac Lam Pagoda welcomes thousands of pilgrims and foreign tourists coming here to pray for peace and happiness as well as contemplate the antique beauty of this pagoda.
9. Linh Phuoc Pagoda Da Lat (Lam Dong)
This is the most special pagoda in Vietnam situated in Lam Dong Province. It attracts a great number of tourists, who come here to observe its strange and unique architecture. The whole pagoda is covered by fragments of porcelain and bottles, which creates such a strange and impressive appearance.
On paying a visit to Linh Phuoc Pagoda, the first impression of tourists must be the beautiful appearance of 7-floor-tower, which is the highest pagoda’s tower of Vietnam. Legend has it that when the tower was completely built, there was a shining halo appearing on its top in several days.
Another highlighted feature of this pagoda is the Long Hoa Vien, which is a work of a 49-meter-long dragon winding around the statue of Maitreya Buddha. The fins of this dragon are made of 12 000 fragments of beer bottles. Under this wonderful work is a beautiful lake with some artificial mountains.
On the other hand, the Statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva is also a highlight of Linh Phuoc Pagoda. This statue is made of thousands of golden everlasting daisies on the occasion of Da Lat Flower Festival in 2011.
10. Linh Ung Pagoda (Da Nang City)
A beautiful pagoda in Da Nang that anyone who comes to the coastal city should visit once, Linh Ung Son Tra Pagoda is located on But Beach – Son Tra Peninsula with an impressive mountain-like terrain facing the sea. The pagoda is famous for its sacredness even among indigenous people, so it is both a tourist destination to enjoy the scenery and a spiritual place for people to pray for peace and luck.
Although the pagoda is 10km from the city center, from afar you can easily see the silhouette of Linh Ung Pagoda in Son Tra with the tallest statue of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva in Vietnam (67m high, 35m lotus diameter, equivalent to a 30-story building), majestic in the middle of the mount.
The pagoda has quite simple architecture, carry a contemporary style combined with the inherent tradition of pagodas in Vietnam, with a curved roof in dragon shape, the solid pillars surrounded by sophisticated sinuous dragons. After going up the stairs of Tam Quan gate, you will see the Main Hall at the other end of the large yard. The pagoda grounds, in addition to Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, also have rows of Arhat statues, a 9-storey Xa Loi tower and Buddha statues sitting under cool green trees.
You can visit and sightsee Linh Ung Pagoda at any time of the year. However, if you come to the temple on the full moon day, Buddha’s Birthday, Vu Lan, or Mid-Autumn Festival, there will be more bustling festivals and activities.
Reference price: Free visit
Conclusion
Vietnam has many pagodas throughout the country. If you are following Buddhism, this would be a great chance, when travel to Vietnam, for you admire and learn about the history, culture, enjoy the peaceful at these pagodas.
