Vietnam Information - “Perfume Mount is an ever wish/ With mountains, water, and clouds/ People always ask if this is the top-ranking cavern…” (extracted from “Perfume Mount passion” written by Chu Manh Trinh)
Around 60 kilometers southwest of Hà Nội,
Perfume Pagoda is one among the largest and unique religious sites in
Huong Son Commune, My Duc District, old Ha Tay (or enlarged Hanoi),
right banks of Day River, northern Việt Nam. It comprises a complex of
pagodas and Buddhist shrines built into the limestone cliffs of Perfume
Mount (Hương Sơn), scattering alongside the mountain up to the peak. The
complex’s center is right inside Huong Tich cavern (or in other words,
Inside Pagoda). Huge numbers of pilgrims flock to the site during
Perfume Pagoda festival, which begins in the middle of the first lunar
month and lasts until the middle of the third one (or from February till
March) in order to pray for happiness and prosperity in the coming
year. Also, it is a very popular opportunity for young couples to meet
and for numerous budding romances to be formed. On this special
occasion, a wide range of traditional cultural activities is
incorporated. Perfume pagoda is not only a religious site, but a great
sight-seeing spot in Vietnam as well.
Starting the pilgrimage
Coming
to Huong Pagoda, what should not be left home is a good camera, since
you will regret unless you catch all the snapshots of this fascinating
nature drawings!
Bến Đục (Pier Duc)
The
very first starting point of the pilgrimage is Ben Duc (Pier Duc).
Normally, it takes more than 2 hours to go from Hanoi to Ben Duc. During
the annual festival months, Ben Duc is packed with thousands of row
boats used for shuttling visitors. For many visitors, this one-hour boat
ride on the Yen Vi Stream from Pier Duc is actually the highlight of
the trip, and inspiration sources of quite a few famous poets.
Suối Yến (Yen stream)
Yen
stream flows between two mountains for 3 kilometers. Nevertheless,
sitting on the boat, leisurely enjoying the surrounding landscape, you
may feel that the stream is endless. Despite a facilitated road from
Pier Duc to Perfume mountain, most people choose to use row boats on Yen
Vi Stream (or Yen Stream), which is by far a much more romantic and
scenic route to Huong Pagoda.
While
traveling along Yen Stream, tourists pass by stunning landscape of
blazing green rice paddles studded with jagged limestone mounts to the
base of Huong Mountain. If you are on a boat there, you can easily see
on your left the Phoenix Mountain, and Doi Cheo Mountain, which looks
like an Indian python (Tran). Also on the left are Bung and Voi, the two
mountains associated with interesting legends. On your right is Ngu
Nhac mountain with the Trinh Temple where visitors stop and burn
incense for the God of the Mountain. Before reaching Tro Wharf where the
tour begins, the boat also passes by the Deo and Phong Su Mountains,
Son Thuy Huu Tinh Cave, Trau Cave, Hoi Bridge, and Dau Valley.
Chùa Thiên Trù (Thien Tru Pagoda)
Stepping
inland, there comes an interesting informal protocol for tourists! The
first stop before climbing up to Huong Mount must always be a visit to
Den Trinh, which means “registration shrine”. The next point of interest
would be a visit to Thien Tru Pagoda (chuà Ngoài - Outer Pagoda), which
was built in the 18th century under King Le Thanh Tong
dynasty. “Thien Tru” means a heaven kitchen, derived from the
imagination of the locals in this region, of which the rock formations
in this area look like chefs busily working in the kitchen. Thien Tru
Pagoda is famous for Thuy Tien tower, a granite monolith. On the right
is Tien Son grotto, popular for five granite statues and various
formations on the walls of the cave. Coming here, pilgrims have chances
to admire the pagoda’s beauty and wonderful local landscapes.
Động Hương Tích (Huong Tich Grotto)
After
more than one hour along the stream and visiting the initial ancient
pagodas from the riverbank, now pilgrims would climb up hundreds of
stone steps, and then down 120 stone steps to Huong Tich Grotto,
literally meaning "traces of fragrance". The path to Huong Tich winds
its way through magnificently luxuriant landscapes. The moss-grown Huong
Tich Grotto came to life thanks to the most venerable Van Thuy Thien
Tran Dao Vien Quang Chan Nhan, the Chief monk of Thien Tru Pagoda. In
front of the cave lie stone stairs. Stepping down the
120-step stairs, tourists will find the inscription "The first-ranking
grotto under the Southern Sky" in Han scripts, which are traces of Lord Tinh Do Vuong Trinh Sam's calligraphy in the 3rd
lunar month of the year of the Tiger (Canh Dan -1770). Getting into the
grotto, you will find a purely cool atmosphere in a dim light before
figuring out naturally architectural works such as Dun Gao (Rice) rock,
gold and silver trees, Girl and Boy Mountains (in the shapes of a girl
and a boy), and so forth. Yet, what is noteworthy is the statue of
Avalokitesvara carved out of emerald stone on a rocky lotus, constructed
in 1793, under the Tay Son dynasty, and a 1.24m bronze bell, moulded in
the 3rd Thinh Duc Year (1655). The unique carving art
together with the extremely magnificient works of Nature makes the Huong
Pagoda complex the top-revenued tourism destination among others in Ha
Tay, and the foremost destination of Buddhists in particular and
tourists in general.
Saying
goodbye to Perfume Grotto, now tourists may choose to further go up to
the top Mount by climbing up hundreds of stone steps, all worn smooth by
passage of countless feet, or take a short rest and complete the
pilgrimage.
These
days, the Vietnamese believe that Huong Son is Buddha's Heaven due to
its sacredness and 100% natural works of beauty. Quite a few tourists
would like to come back this mysterious and sacred mountain annually for
religious reasons on the one hand, and on the other hand, for the
enchanting natural landscapes..
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