Tam Chuc Pagoda is one of the most famous Buddhist complexes in Vietnam. It is also one of the most significant pagodas in the world. Grand opening on May 2019 when the pagoda hosts the United Nations Day of Vesak (Buddha’s Birthday, Enlightenment, and Passing Away).
Located in Ba Sao town, Kim Bang district, Ha Nam province, about 60km from the center of Hanoi, 12km from Phu Ly city, 4,5 km from Perfume Pagoda (Hanoi), and 30km from Bai Dinh Pagoda (Ninh Binh). The complex covers 545 hectares. In the future, it will become a spiritual tourist route or “Golden Triangle” to Perfume Pagoda - Tam Chuc - Bai Dinh.
Overview of Pagoda
There are many ways to get to Tam Chuc from Hanoi, and it takes 1 to 1.5 hours to get there.
Bus: Tourists in Hanoi can choose the bus route Hanoi - Phu Ly, departing from Giap Bat bus station with a frequency of 15 minutes/trip, fare 40,000 VND/person/way. But you need to take 2 times taxi (from Hanoi to Giap Bat bus station and Phu Ly to Tam Chuc).
Private vehicle: You can choose to move to here by motorbike or private car. If you start from Hanoi, you drive along National Highway 1A across Gie Bridge and go straight.
Besides that, you can book a day tour and combine to visit other places and do not worry about transportation.
It takes more than an hour to get there
The new pagoda was built on the old temple's foundation. The ancient pagoda was built during the Dinh Dynasty about 1000 years ago. Nowadays, combined with incredible architecture and breathtaking natural scenery attracts many domestic and international visitors every day.
The best time to visit Tam Chuc Pagoda is in the spring, specifically in the early months of the year, this is also time for the festival, visitors can participate in many exciting activities (from January 10th to the end of March following the lunar calendar) that time the weather also very convenient not hot and humid for visitors can participate in worshiping Buddha, wishing for luck and health for all year.
Similar to other temples in Vietnam, Tam Chuc pagoda includes Cong Tam Quan, Quan Am Palace, Tam The Palace (the main temple of the Buddha of the Three Worlds), Phap Chuong Palace, Ngoc Pagoda (Pearl of the Jade), the ancestral house. Inside these places are giant Buddha statues skillfully carved from Vietnamese artisans.
With this map, visitors can easily visit and do not worry about getting lost.
By Electric car: Ticket price: 90,000 VND/round-trip ticket/pax,
Boat ride: Ticket price: 200,000 VND/pax (regular boat); 240,000 VND/pax (VIP boat)
Visitors can also do kayak at Tam Chuc Wharf and enjoy afternoon tea on the boat between 16:30 and 18:30 every day.
Opening hours: 6:00 – 18:00, from Monday to Sunday
This is the first place you will see when you arrive at Tam Chuc Pagoda in Ha Nam. Inside Thuy Dinh is a large and dignified space, built in the ancient architectural style. There are paintings depicting the entire temple.
Near Thuy Dinh guesthouse, a boat dock with charming scenery is suitable for visitors can taking pictures. After spending time visiting Thuy Dinh, you can buy a boat or tram ticket to move to the temple site.
After getting off the boat dock, you will see the huge Tam Quan gate. Along the two sides of the entrance are two extensive paths for you to walk up to the main hall. This is also the place many young people choose to save themselves millions of likes.
Tam Quan gate
Through the three gates to Quan Am Palace, you will come to the area of 32 Kinh columns, also known as the garden of pillars.
The pillars have massive volume and size, weighing about 200 tons, made from Thanh Hoa green stone with a height of about 14m. The base of the column is designed a lotus shape, the body of the column is hexagonal, the top of the column is a lotus bud, in addition to the hand-crafted sculptures of the Buddha's teachings, creating a majestic space in front of the Quan Am Temple.
Kinh palace garden
Observing the map of Tam Chuc pagoda, you will see that there are 3 main halls: Tam The Palace, Phap Chu Temple, and Quan Am Palace. Each shrine will worship a Buddha with its own sacred meaning in the area. In common, the 3 shrines have 4 reliefs hand-carved with stone collected from the crater in Indonesia.
Tam The Palace was built with impressive architecture, a height of 39m, on a floor space of up to 5000m2. You will be surprised to see three giant Buddha statues made of black bronze right in the middle of Tam The main hall, showing the past, present and future, and 12,000 reliefs made of volcanic rock in Indonesia.
Dien Tam The
Phap Chu Temple is the place to worship Buddha Shakyamuni, and the most impressive is the 150-ton monolithic bronze Buddha statue, the largest in Southeast Asia.
Quan Am Temple worships 01 monolithic bronze statue of Quan Am Bodhisattva, a 100-ton statue made by Vietnamese artisans.
Dien Quan Am
The Jade Pagoda was built on That Tinh Mountain. This place is considered the most beautiful area. However, visitors have to climb 299 steps made of granite to get there, but it is worth admiring the panoramic view.
Although the floor area is only about 13m2, the temple is estimated to weigh about 2000 tons.
Jade pagoda
The communal house is located in the middle of a large lake, worshiping Queen Dinh Duong Thi Nguyet, preserving ancient relics from the reign of King Dinh. This isolated island is located in the lake's middle, and visitors need to take a boat to get there.
Beautiful place to visit
From Hanoi, you can combine to visit many places nearby such as Trang An complex, Van Long Natural reserved, Dia Tang Phi Lai Tu, Ba Danh pagoda, Truc temple – Ngu Dong Phi Son.
Here is a sample itinerary combined to visit Trang An. If you can combine visit one of the other places. Please feel free to inform us if you want to see any places.
08:00 Pick you up at meeting points or hotel in Hanoi old quarter for departure.
09:30 Arrive at Tam Chuc, then take a boat from Thuy Dinh Guest House to visit Tam Quan Gate, Pillar Garden, Jade pagoda. All has a breathtaking landscape and unique Buddhism architecture.
12:00 Have lunch in a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, after lunch, we keep going to visit Trang and take a boat trip to visit Trang An cave complex. They have a lot of beautiful stalagmites and stalactites with different colors.
Then visit Hoa Lu ancient capital – the ancient capital of Vietnam in the 10th century.
16:30 Get on the bus and return to Hanoi.
19:00 Arrive in Hanoi
Trang An boat tour
Tam Chuc tourist area has a large area. Therefore, you should check the map before going to save time.
On festival days (Tet), or tourist season, you should choose a motorbike taxi to move. The boat or electric bus is bustling.
You should wear proper and comfortable clothes. You can bring sports shoes as we walk quite a lot.
Go Viet Trip hope these experiences will help you have a meaningful visit to Tam Chuc Pagoda. If you still have questions about planning your pilgrimage, please feel free to contact us at Goviettrip@gmail.com or hotline +84968667589 right now! We are guarantee about quality and prices. Get a full refund if you do not feel happy with our services.
Author Hoan Nguyen
He has over 10 years of experience working in the tourism sector and operator. He has traveled to many places in Vietnam and around the world.
Photos: Go Viet Trip, Internet
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