The Vietnam Book of Records (Vietkings) has announced the top 10 spiritual tourist attractions in Vietnam that attract many domestic and foreign tourists.
1. The Mot Cot Pagoda
The Mot Cot Pagoda (one pillar pagoda), built on a 4m high pillar with a diameter of 1.2m in Hanoi in 1049, is recognized as the most architecturally unique.
The temple was built by Emperor Ly Thai Tong, who ruled from 1028 to 1054. According to the court records, Ly Thai Tong was childless and dreamt that he met the Avalokitesvara Boddhisattva (Kuan Yin – Goddess of mercy), who handed him a baby boy while seated on a lotus flower. The Emperor then married a peasant girl that he had met, and she bore him a son. He constructed the temple in gratitude for this in 1049. According to a theory, the pagoda was built in a style of a lotus emerging out of the water.
During the Ly Dynasty era, the temple was the site of an annual royal ceremony on the occasion of Vesak, the birthday of Gautama Buddha. A Buddha-bathing ceremony was held annually on April 8 in the Lunar Calendar by the monarch, and it attracted monks and laypeople alike to the ceremony. The monarch would then free a bird, which the people followed.
2. Chua Huong (Perfume Pagoda)
Chua Huong (Perfume pagoda) is located in Huong Son (Perfume Mountain), 70 km southwest of Hanoi. Chua Huong is a cluster of temples and shrines in the general vicinity of Huong Son. The pagoda is located in My Duc hamlet in the province of Ha Tay.
According to the book Huong Son Thien Tru Pha, the Huong Tich temple was built during the reign of Le Chinh Hoa (1680-1705) by a monk who happened on the site on his way to search for enlightenment. Other shrines and temples were later built in this area to take advantage of the beautiful local scenery.
Perfume pagoda has a long history in Vietnamese literature. This temple has been a theme of many songs, topics of poetry, used in literary works, and backdrops for paintings.
3. Yen Tu Mountain
Located in Thuong Yen Cong Commune, about 40 kilometers from Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province, Yen Tu is a magnificent mountain in Vietnam with silky streams running around bamboo forests, green pine forests, and towers, and ancient temples appear and disappear alternately.
Yen Tu region is well-known worldwide for its beautiful landscapes, historical relics, and hundreds of ancient pagodas and towers, especially Dong (Bronze) Pagoda, with its peak at 1,068 meters above sea level.
King Tran Nhan Tong devoted his life as a Buddhist monk in Yen Tu after his abdication.
4. Bai Dinh Pagoda
Bai Dinh Pagoda is a complex of Buddhist temples on Bai Dinh Mountain in Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province. The compound consists of the original old temple and a newly created, more significant temple. It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist temples in Vietnam and has become a popular site for Buddhist pilgrims from across Vietnam.
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The 700-hectare complex holds many records in Vietnam and also in Asia like a giant Buddha Shakyamuni statue in Asia, the most significant bronze Trikaya (the three bodies of Buddhas) in Vietnam, the largest Ngoc (Pearl) Well in Vietnam, a giant bronze bell in Vietnam, the longest corridor with 500 Arhat statues, and the most significant number of Bodhi trees in Vietnam.
5. Thien Mu Pagoda
Thien Mu Pagoda (namely Heaven Fairy Lady Pagoda), also known as Linh Mu Pagoda, is a most fascinating and ancient pagoda in Hue city. It is situated on Ha Khe hill, on the northern bank of the Perfume River, in Huong Long Village, 5 kilometers from Hue city, which is easy to reach from the city center.
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The name of the pagoda derives from a particular legend. A long time ago, an older woman appeared on the hill where the pagoda stands today, telling local people that a Lord would come and build a Buddhist pagoda for the country’s prosperity. Lord Nguyen Hoang, therefore, ordered the construction of the pagoda. With this mysterious history, the pagoda has attracted many tourists from inside and outside of the nation to come and explore the legend themselves.
6. Truc Lam Monastery
Truc Lam is a Zen Buddhist temple outside the resort town of Da Lat.
The construction of Truc Lam Monastery started on April 28, 1993, and ended in 1994. The inaugural ceremony followed on March 19, 1994. Two days later, Master Thich Thanh Tu announced closing the inner part of the monastery from the public so that the monastic practitioners could practice without distraction.
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Intending to renovate the Vietnamese Zen of the Tran dynasty, the Master translated and lecture all writings and teachings of Truc Lam’s sect. Since that time, all monasteries founded by the Master applied the same rites and practiced the “Rite of Repentance” each night, which was written by King Tran Thai Tong.
7. Christ the King
Christ, the King of Vung Tau, is a statue of Jesus, standing on Mount Nho in Vung Tau, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The Vietnam Catholic Association built the figure in 1974 and completed it in 1993.
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It is 32 meters (105 ft) high, standing on a 4 meters high platform, for a 36 meters total monument height with two outstretched arms spanning 18.3 meters. There is a 133-step staircase inside the statue.
8. Ba Den Mountain
Ba Den Mountain has located 11km Northeast of Tay Ninh Town and 106km from Ho Chi Minh City. It is a famous complex of cultural, historical, and beautiful sites covering more than 24 square kilometers.
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The complex includes three mountains: Heo, Phung, and Ba Den, of which the 986meter-high Ba Den is the highest peak in the south.
Ba Den Mountain is also called Black Lady Mountain. According to legends, Ly Thi Thien Huong, Black Lady, was forced to marry the son of a wealthy mandarin while she fell in love with a poor man who was fighting the aggressors. Rather than marrying a man she did not love, she threw herself from the mountain.
9. Cao Dai Temple
Cao Dai Temple, also known as Holy See, is the center of the Cao Dai faith. This indigenous Vietnamese religion incorporates Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and some elements of Christianity and Islam.
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The Great Temple was built between 1933- 1955 in Tay Ninh province, about 90 kilometers northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. Caodaiists believe that all religions are the same in principle, and they credit God as the religion’s founder.
10. Ba Chua Xu Temple
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Ba Chua Xu Temple (Lady of the Realm) lies at the foot of Sam Mountain, Chau Doc Town, An Giang Province. It is said that the goddess is so sacred that anyone who offers incense to her can realize all their wishes.
