Thay Pagoda is located in the suburban area of Hanoi, with beautiful and peaceful mountain scenery, especially where there is a cave called Coc Co, which is known as the “Small Son Doong Thu” cave.
Thay Pagoda is located at the foot of Thay mountain (also known as Sai Son mountain), in the territory of Sai Son commune, Quoc Oai district, Hanoi, about 25km from Hanoi city center. The pagoda has long been a spiritual tourist attraction attracting tourists from all over the world because of its charming landscape and harmony with nature.
Thay Pagoda was built during the Ly Dynasty, associated with the life anecdote of Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh. At first, the pagoda was just a small temple called Huong Hai am. After that, King Ly Nhan Tong rebuilt, including 2 groups of pagodas, namely the High pagoda on the mountain (Ding Son Tu) and the Lower pagoda (Thien Phuc Tu). Thay Pagoda is the place of practice of Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh – who has made great contributions to the people and is the ancestor of water puppetry.Thay Pagoda is located on land shaped like a dragon’s jaw. In front is a large yard overlooking Long Tri lake, forming the upper jaw, the left side of the lake is the lower jaw. From the yard, there are 2 bridges Nhat Tien Kieu and Nguyet Tien Kieu connecting to the 2 sides to form 2 dragon beards, built in the “upper family lower” architectural style.The ancient temple has the “pre-Buddhist and post-Saint” architecture, consisting of three parallel buildings: the Lower Pagoda, the Middle Pagoda, and the Upper Pagoda. The outer court is the place of worship of the monks and nuns and the place of teaching and preaching of the monks called the pre-consecration house or Ha pagoda. The middle court is the place to worship the Tam Bao, the middle hall, or the Trung Pagoda. And the innermost court is where three reincarnated statues of Zen master Tu Dao Hanh are located, with a massive and magnificent palace called the Upper Palace or the Upper Temple. There are also temples and steeples interspersed on the way up the mountain.The most unique place that anyone should not miss when coming to Thay Pagoda is Cac Co cave – a natural cave likened to a miniature “Son Doong” near Hanoi.To get to Cac Co cave, you will have to spend a lot of effort because you have to go through bumpy roads with sharp rocks, you have to climb down a very deep and dark cave. However, all the difficulties and hardships will be rewarded with unique and wonderful landscapes.Coming to Cac Co cave, you will have to climb down a deep and quite dark cave, remember to turn on the flashlight to light the path and go carefully and slowly.Coc Co Cave is also a place where people pray for peace, luck, fame, love, and children. There are many anecdotes that say that Thay Pagoda is a very inspiring place to pray for love in Hanoi, because when going down to the dark and deep Cac Co cave, people often nestle together, boys and girls will become charming after the trip.Legend has it that this is the burial place of thousands of Lu Gia insurgents fighting the enemy, marking a painful mark of the nation’s history.In the cave, at the exposed places, the sunlight falling on the stalactites has created shimmering and fanciful points of light, so the people who hang out in the cave call it Than Quang cave. This place many people call the “miniature Son Doong” cave of Hanoi.Normally, the traditional festival of Thay Pagoda is held from the 5th to the 8th of March (lunar calendar), the main festival is on March 7 every year. The ticket price to visit Thay Pagoda is 10,000 VND/ticket
