Perfume Pagoda, 70 km southwest of
Hanoi, is a complex of pagodas and Buddhist shrines
on the limestone rocks of Huong Son Mountain. Among the better known sites here
are Thien Tru, Giai Oan Tru and Huong Tich Tru. From January to early April, Perfume
Pagoda gets busy and exciting by a great number of Buddhist pilgrims. And Perfume
Pagoda is more attractive and mysterious than other sacred pagodas in the north
not only for its spectacular scenery but for the painstaking road you need to pass
over to reach to the top.
What to Do ? A trip to Perfume Pagoda is a combination of different activities including boating,
sightseeing and mountain climbing.
Visitors firstly spend one –hour on a rowing
boat on Yen River through poetic and scenic route to the base of
Perfume Pagoda.
Then everything on the way to main pagodas is remarkably photogenic, except the
4 km walk straight upward to Thien Tru, good exercise as well as good chances for
beautiful photos.
How to get there? Getting to Perfume Pagoda requires a journey combined by road,
by river and then by foot.
First, two –hour drive will bring you to My Duc Town,
from where you take one –hour boat trip to the foot of Huong Son Mountain. The main
area is about a 4km steep hike up, approximately two hours for a return trip, even
longer if it rains.
Travel Tips: Dress modestly and respectfully once visiting pagodas. Also bring hat, sunglasses
and good walking shoes as the path is steep and even slippery if it is raining.
