Perfume Pagoda

Perfume Pagoda is famous not only for its landscape but also for its sacredness in the religious culture of Vietnamese people. 

Unlike other spiritual sites, Perfume Pagoda possesses a good combination of temples, pagodas, mountains and forest; or in other words, a vast landscape complex with harmony of nature and artificial construction.

Tourists usually go to Perfume for a pray

Tourists usually go to Perfume for a pray

 

Starting the pilgrimage

As one of the most important religious sites in Buddhist Vietnam, every spring, after the Vietnamese New Year, thousands of Vietnamese pilgrims come here to pray for all the happiness and prosperity. This stream of pilgrims reaches its peak at the Perfume Pagoda Festival – devotees travel through a picturesque gauntlet to the sacred caves, first boarding boats that pass a landscape of rice paddies and limestone mountains, then going by foot past historical shrines and up hundreds of stone steps. The Festival starts on February 15 of the lunar month which leads to heavy crowds at the site from mid January to mid March.

Perfume Pagoda Festival

Perfume Pagoda Festival

 

Follow the Yen Stream to explore the temple complex in Perfume Pagoda

Follow the Yen Stream to explore the temple complex in Perfume Pagoda

 

A cluster of temples and shrines

Perfume Pagoda is located in Huong Son Commune, 70 km southwest of Hanoi. It is not one temple but a cluster of temples and shrines in the general vicinity of Huong Son such as Thien Chu (Pagoda Leading to Heaven); Giai Oan Chu (Purgatorial Pagoda), Huong Tich Chu (Pagoda of the Perfumed Vestige), etc. Legend claims that the site was discovered over 2000 years ago by a monk meditating in the area, who named the site after a Tibetan mountain where Lord Buddha practiced asceticism. Then more shrines and temples were built in this area to take advantage of the beautiful scenery in this area.

Huong Tich Cave

Huong Tich Cave

Tips visit Perfume Pagoda:

  • Visitors should bring good shoes for walking and avoid festival time if prefer serenity.
  • It is recommended to visit the pagoda as part of an organised tour instead of getting to Perfume Pagoda independently to be able to enjoy the crowded scenes.

Perfume Pagoda Map

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