Perfume Pagoda

Embark on a full-day tour to visit Perfume Pagoda – a vast complex of Buddhist temples and shrines built into the limestone Huong Tich mountains. Glide along scenic waterways and walk up steep mountain paths as you encounter the area's centuries-old pagodas and temples. Around 8:30 AM, the guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter. After pickup, enjoy a scenic 2-hour drive to Perfume Pagoda. Upon arrival, hop aboard your 1-hour row boat trip on the Yen stream to Thien Tru harbor. Once you have arrived in Thien Tru, you will enjoy time for some trekking, visit the main cave where you’ll arrive at Huong Tich Cave on the top of the mountain. Then enjoy a 1-hour trekking back down or take optional cable car instead of trekking (optional). Next, enjoy lunch at the local restaurant at the bottom of the mountain. After lunchtime, you will see the Heaven Kitchen pagoda and learn about Buddhism ancient architectural at Le Dynasty. Re-board your boat and sit back and relax as you head back to the pier, enjoy 2-hour road trip back to Hanoi. Your tour ends with a drop-off at your hotel around 6:00 PM.

Your shared or private tour begins when you depart from your hotel in Hanoi at 8:00AM, at which point you will drive for 2 hours through the picturesque countryside. You’ll then enjoy a 1.5-hour boat trip along the scenic Yen Stream to Perfume Pagoda, a vast complex of Buddhist temples and shrines built into the Limestone Mountains. It’s the site of a religious festival which draws large numbers of pilgrims from across Vietnam. The many pagodas that make up the Perfume Pagoda are spread out among the limestone hills and tropical forests in the area of Huong Mountain. Following this fascinating experience, you’ll board another boat for an approximately 1 hour on a journey to Thien Tru Harbor. From there, you’ll take a cable car up to the spectacular Huong Tich Cave on the top of the mountain. At Huong Tich, you’ll admire statues of deities and learn how many pilgrims travel there to receive blessings from the stalactites and stalagmites, many of which have special purposes. The "Golden Tree" and the "Silver Tree" stalactites are considered especially lucky. Upon your return journey, you’ll visit the Giai Oan Spring and Tuyet Son Pagoda, stopping for lunch at a local restaurant before finally heading back to your hotel in Hanoi.

Enjoy a drive from Hanoi to the port on the Yen River. Head out by rowboat and travel along the Yen stream to Thien Tru harbor. Enjoy spectacular limestone mountain views along the way. Next on the itinerary is a trek to Huong Tich Cave, situated on the top of the mountain. After your trek, stop to enjoy a Vietnamese lunch at a restaurant at the bottom of the mountain. After lunch, visit the Heaven Kitchen Pagoda and learn about ancient Buddhist architecture in the Le Dynasty. Return to the port by rowboat, where you’ll begin the drive back to Hanoi.

ITINERARY : 8h – 8h45 : We pick you up at your hotel and start to visit Perfume Pagoda. 9h15 – 9h30 : Have a short break for 15-20 minutes to relax 10h15 : We arrive at Perfume Pagoda and walk to Yen wharf to get on local boat. The boat will go through Yen stream and you can enjoy beautiful landscape. 11h30 : Short trek to the main cave on the mountain summit ( 2.5km), we visit Huong Tich cave. The tour guide will help you understand about this landscape. 13h00 : Have lunch at the restaurant. 14h00 : Visit Thien Tru Pagoda for resting and if you wish, Buddhist prayer. Thien Tru Pagoda 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. 15h30 : Back to Yen wharf and return by bus to Hanoi. 18h00 : Arrive back to Hanoi and get dropped at the Hotel. The Trip end !