Perfume Pagoda

Perfume Pagoda is a famous place in the North. This is a complex of temples and pagodas scattered from the foot of Huong Tich mountain to the top of this mountain. People often go to Huong Pagoda on the occasion of the Festival of Perfume Pagoda from January to March of the lunar calendar. But you can travel to Perfume Pagoda year round.

Overview of Perfume pagoda

Perfume pagoda is a popular way of speaking, in fact, Perfume pagoda or Huong Son pagoda is a cultural and religious complex in Vietnam, including dozens of temples to worship Buddha and agricultural threshold. The center of Perfume Pagoda is located in Huong Son Commune, My Duc District, Hanoi, located on the right bank of Day River. The center of the temple complex in this area is Huong pagoda located in Huong Tich cave or Trong pagoda.

The temple was built on a major scale around the end of the 17th century, then destroyed in the resistance against the French in 1947, then restored in 1988 by Thuong Thich Vien Thanh under the guidance of the late monk Thich Thanh Chan.

Perfume Pagoda

How to go to Perfume Pagoda

There are two routes to get to Perfume pagoda from Hanoi. You can go from Nguyen  Trai street to Ba La junction and turn left to Van Dinh. When coming to Te Tieu, you can ask local people to know the direction to Perfume pagoda. The second route is you go along the national road 1A (Phap Van - Cau Re), this road is for cars only. If you travel to Perfume pagoda by motorbike, you can ride along the old national road 1A towards Thanh Tri. In order to visit Perfume pagoda, you have to take a hour to sit on the boat, along the two sides of Yen stream are the undulating mountains with many strange shapes. When you arrive at the dock, you have to take a walk to reach Thien Tru Pagoda, then a high mountain road to Huong Tich cave. If tired, you should choose to take the cable car. 

Time to visit Perfume pagoda

According to Perfume pagoda travel experience, if you want to go to admire the natural beauty of Perfume pagoda, you should avoid to come during the Perfume pagoda festival, because of too crowded. Apart from that, you should visit this pagoda at any time of the year. However, if you want to have a pilgrimage in Perfume pagoda, you surely have to visit this pagoda in the festival time from January to March.

Sightseeing spots in Perfume pagoda

The most famous spots in Perfume pagoda are definitely Thien Tru pagoda and Huong Tich cave. You can choose to walk or sit on the cable car to visit Huong Tich cave. Huong Tich cave is the unique cave pagoda in Vietnam, inside the cave is the Buddha statues that are decorated as in the typical northern pagodas.

Perfume pagoda

The routes visit the Perfume pagoda scenic:

• Huong Tich route: Trinh Temple- Thien Tru Pagoda - Tien Son Cave - Giai Oan Temple - Tran Song Temple - Huong Tich Cave - Hinh Bong Pagoda. 
• Thanh Son route: Thanh Son Pagoda - Huong Dai Cave
• Long Van route: Long Van Pagoda - Long Van Cave - Soong Sam Cave
• Tuyet Son route: Bao Dai Pagoda - Chua Ca Cave - Tuyet Son Cave

Ticket price for sightseeing of Perfume Pagoda

According to tourist information of Perfume pagoda, the usual price is 40,000 VND / person for ferry tickets and 50,000 VND / person for ticket tickets. If you go to a large group, you can rent a big boat for about 15-20 people. There is also a motorboat service. Price of cable car is 140,000 VND for 2 way and 90,000 VND for 1 way.

Being the sacred pagoda in the north of Vietnam, Perfume pagoda is where people rush into during the spring.