Yen Tu Mountain

From the capital city of Hanoi, tourists may get Yen Tu by shuttle bus, car, or motorbike. If you are about to board a Halong cruise, an extra day to Yen Tu would be perfect for your trip to the coastal province.

On the way to explore Yen Tu, the first attraction to be encountered is Giai Oan Spring (Justifying Spring) with a majestic green stone bridge connecting two sides. This bridge is 10 meters long, which was built firmly in an antique architecture. Legends said that when King Tran Nhan Tong decided to resign from his throne to become a monk, his wives and concubines tried to persuade him changing his mind by suiciding into the spring. Mourning for them, the monk king built a temple nearby and named the spring “Giai Oan”.

Climbing for around 30-45 minutes, you’ll be able to reach a lush green courtyard, highlighted by vivid colour from different species of flowers of the a pagoda. The pagoda is surrounded by six enormous towers, amongst which the biggest one is to worship King Tran Nhan Tong.

 Hoa Yen Pagoda is the biggest pagoda among the pagoda complex of Yen Tu Mountain, which is located on the height of 543 meters. Here, there is stood still a long row of Glyptostrobus trees, which are said to be planted during the time King Tran Nhan Tong at Yen Tu.

Climbing further to the height of 700m is Van Tieu Pagoda lying inside layers of white clouds, and Đồng Pagoda on an impressive height of 1,068m, which is made totally from copper. Both pagodas are dated back thousand years ago, and are very sacred to visit. Standing on the highest peak of Yen Tu, one might to able to watch a panorama of the extensive North-eastern Vietnam, Bach Dang River, and especially the natural wonder Halong Bay.