Truc Temple is hidden in a thousand-year-old bamboo forest, located in the Truc Temple – Ngu Dong Thi Son Tourist Area, Thi Son Commune, Ha Nam province. Together with Ngu Dong (Five Grotto), both have been attracting many tourists to visit the ancient, wild beauty and the heroic historical story of the Vietnamese people nearly 1,000 years ago.
Historical story associated with Truc Temple
According to history, when Ly Thuong Kiet, a national hero, led his army to attack Champa in 1069, when passing through this land, he suddenly encountered a storm that broke one of the army’s sails, and the wind blew the flag up to the top of the mountain. Seeing a strange sign, Ly Thuong Kiet ordered his soldiers to go ashore to prepare offerings to heaven and earth, praying for victory. And it was so effective that on that expedition, Ly Thuong Kiet commanded the army to win a great victory.
On the way back to the capital, passing through the old mountain area, remembering his prayer that had now come true, Ly Thuong Kiet stopped his army, set up camp in the bamboo forest, offering sacrifices… to thank heaven and earth, rewarded his soldiers, and invited the local villagers to celebrate the victory.
The altar of Ly Thuong Kiet
During his stay here, Ly Thuong Kiet taught the local people here to grow mulberry, raise silkworms, weave cloth… To honor his great contributions, after his death, the villagers built a temple to worship him at the place where he camped, leaning against the bamboo forest, facing the Day River.
Architecture of Truc Temple in Ha Nam
In terms of architecture, Truc Temple is designed including the temple gate, the front hall and the back hall. The temple gate has 4 pillars: 2 main pillars in the middle are over 6m high and 2 small pillars on both sides.
The front hall of Truc Temple is divided into 5 compartments and the back hall has 3 compartments, all built in the traditional style of the 17th-19th century, with roofing tiles, built with seven-pointed bricks, exposed veins, and a door system carved with the themes of the four sacred animals, the four seasons… with high artistic value.
Nearly a thousand years have passed, the ancient Truc temple made of ironwood has been restored many times but still retains its sophisticated carvings; still retains its quiet, majestic features.
a stone dragon in Truc Temple
In recent years, this has been a popular scenic and spiritual tourist destination for many people when traveling to Ha Nam.
Ngu Dong Son
Cam Mountain has a unique cave system: 5 caves connected together, forming a continuous cave, called Ngu Dong (Five Grotto) Son. The entrance to the cave is high up, overlooking the Day River.
The entrance of Ngu Dong (Five Grotto).
The exit is on the other side of the cliff, so the air in the cave is very cool. The structure of the caves is extremely diverse with many types of stalactites in a myriad of shapes, giving visitors a rich imagination: the shape of a mother’s breast, an open-lidded rice pot, an elephant, a turtle, an oyster, a mussel, a flag, buffalo…
The color of the stalactites, the gloss, the porosity, … are also different. There are stalactites hidden deep in the dark, when exposed to torchlight, they suddenly glow like pearls.
Many grow from the ground, while others grow from the cave walls and ceilings.
The scenic area of Truc Temple and Ngu Dong Son has historical, cultural and artistic values, bringing visitors unexpected and interesting experiences, especially in the new year when spring creates a fresh beauty for the sky and earth.
Source: collected by An
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