La Sen Pagoda, also known as Phuoc Kien Pagoda in Dong Thap, is known as an ancient temple with giant lotus leaves that can withstand the weight of an adult.
Dong Thap is not only the land of lotus fields, stretching rice fields, the famous Sa Dec flower village, but also the land where many beautiful and long-standing pagodas are located. From the sacred Ba Sa Dec pagoda, the ancient Kien An Cung pagoda to the Thap Linh pagoda located in the Go Thap relic area and especially the ancient pagoda named La Sen, one of a kind with giant lotus leaves that people have. Being able to sit or stand up and still not fall into the water is very strange and unique, attracting many tourists as well as Buddhists to visit and worship.
One-of-a-kind temple with giant lotus leaves. Photo: FB Phuoc Kien Pagoda
The way to La Sen Pagoda
Address: Hoa Tan commune, Chau Thanh district, Dong Thap province
To get to the famous giant lotus leaf temple, you go to Dong Thap province and move along Highway 80, then turn through Nha Man market and then turn left, follow the riverside road one way. short. Finally, you go to the wooden bridge to reach the ancient Lotus Temple, also known as Phuoc Kien Pagoda. If you have difficulty on the way, remember to ask the people and they will be enthusiastic to guide you.
The gate to the temple. Photo: thamhiemmekong
Here is a detailed route with directions to Phuoc Kien Pagoda (La Sen) in the most complete and detailed way if coming from other localities:
Departing from Ho Chi Minh City: You go to the Northwest to go to Phan Van Hon Street and then to Dai Han Highway. From here, visitors by car will go to Trung Luong highway. After going for more than 40km, you will see a roundabout, follow the 1st exit to enter National Highway 1A. From here, you just go straight for another 57km to reach Sa Dec.
The journey will continue along the route from Sa Dec flower village to My Thuan Bridge. Coming here, visitors go in the direction of National Highway 80 to Nha Man Bridge and then run another 50m. Then turn right onto TL 854 and go about 11km to get to the parking lot and enter the temple named La Sen. You can rest assured that it will be easy to see the parking sign, don’t worry about going over the road because people have signed on both sides of the road.
If you want to park your car in the temple, you can go straight to the campus in the direction of the T-shaped bridge not far from the temple. But remember to turn left hand under the bridge run about 200m on the right-hand side.
Lotus pond at Phuoc Kien pagoda. Photo: thamhiemmekong
If you go from Vinh Long city to Dong Thap, follow these instructions: Move south to Dinh Tien Hoang street and then go to alley 112 to meet a roundabout. From here you take the second exit to enter QL1A to Can Tho. After that, go about 7km and then turn right onto DT908. Continue to move to intersection 4 and then turn right onto DT854. At this time, visitors only need to run about 10km to meet the parking lot to La Sen pagoda at the free Ut Huynh parking lot at bridge 6 to reach the temple.
When was Phuoc Kien Pagoda built?
According to the abbot Thich Hue Tu, Phuoc Kien Pagoda (La Sen) was established more than 150 years ago, before the reign of King Thieu Tri of the Nguyen Dynasty (1841). Since it was newly built, the temple has a large scale in an airy, cool and extremely majestic campus. During the war, Phuoc Kien Tu also played the role of a secret revolutionary operation base. Unfortunately, in 1966, the pagoda was completely destroyed by war bombs. Later, from 1975, the pagoda was rebuilt with a simpler architecture, including the entrance gate, the tower worshiping Quan Am Buddha and the main hall.
Quan Am statue in the temple. Photo: thamhiemmekong
Going through the years of ups and downs, through the ravages of war, today, the temple with rare giant lotus leaves in the lake in the middle of the campus has become a religious work, a famous Dong Thap tourist attraction , attracting visitors from all over the world. many tourists visit. These lotus trees have been planted since 1992, but 6 years later in the summer, the lake dried up and died. It wasn’t until the flood season that year that the lotus regrows and is as green as it is now. Not only that, the ancient temple is also a place to keep many thrilling spiritual stories about turtle and crane statues and other unique things waiting for you to discover.
When should you go to Phuoc Kien Pagoda?
If choosing to check in the lotus field in Dong Thap Muoi eco-tourism area, or Dong Sen Go Thap in the summer is the most reasonable, the best time to visit Phuoc Kien pagoda is around September-October every year. The largest lotus leaf, right at the time of the flood season in the West. This is the most convenient time for a river trip combined with visiting pagodas for peace and sightseeing. You should go to the temple around 10 am because this is the most beautiful time of the day when the lotus blooms. At this time, the color and light are also more beautiful, especially if you meet the sunny days, the more ideal because the image is better.
The lotus blooms seasonally. Photo: Travel to the West
What is special about La Sen Pagoda?
Dong Thap has many beautiful and famous temples with ancient architecture, poetic scenery not inferior to the temples in Chau Doc An Giang or Can Tho. Phuoc Kien Pagoda is not the most beautiful temple, but it still attracts a lot of tourists and Buddhists to visit because it owns a very special lotus pond.
King lotus can shrink seasonally. Photo: thamhiemmekong
For Vietnamese people in general and Dong Thap in particular, when it comes to lotus flowers, everyone immediately thinks of fragile, elegant and delicate beauty. However, the flowers and lotus leaves in the temple named La Sen have their own unique features, impressed by their huge size, and moreover, being able to ‘carry’ an adult without the leaves being crushed. or torn. When someone stood up, it only made the surface of the water slightly agitated.
The diameter of the king lotus leaf is from 2m to 2.5m long. Photo: tourdulichmientay
People call this special lotus type lotus king, also known as lotus nong silkworm or gun nia. This is a fairly rare plant that lives in the South American region, specifically the Amazon region. Each mature lotus leaf has a very large diameter, from 2m to 2.5m long, in summer it narrows to about 1.5m. The edge of the lotus leaf is often curved up 2 cm and especially the shape of the leaf is very similar to the hat worn by women in the North. There are even leaves that are so “healthy” that they can carry people weighing up to 140kg.
The upper surface of the leaves is glossy green. Photo: Vietfuntravel
When visiting La Sen’s ancient pagoda and want to experience the feeling of standing on leaves, people will first put a thin aluminum sheet inside the leaf so that when you stand up you don’t tear the leaves. If you like standing on a giant lotus leaf in the middle of the lake to take pictures, you can buy service tickets from people selling them. After that, you will be able to step on the wooden bridge and sit on the leaf to take pictures. It is an interesting and new activity, so a lot of people come here to live virtual, take pictures, and review extremely hot clips on social networks, after visiting the temple and praying for peace.
Lotus king is also known as lotus nong silkworm, gun nia. Photo: tourdulichmientay
If you come to the temple in the morning, you should visit and pray for peace at the ancient temple first, then go out to the lotus lake to take pictures and admire the scenery. La Sen Phuoc Kien Pagoda has a fairly simple architectural style with 3 main parts: the entrance gate, the tower worshiping Quan Am Buddha and the main hall. Most of the columns in the temple are made of concrete, the roof of the pagoda is reddish-brown.
Three statues meaning ‘Do not speak evil words – Do not listen to evil words – Do not view evil’. Photo: thamhiemmekong
The famous temple of Dong Thap province is also known as the residence of six hundred-year-old “turtles”, walking around in the yard for everyone to see. More impressive is that the “grandparents” like to sleep under the net, are vegetarians and like to listen to Buddhist teachings. Many monks also recounted that no matter where the elderly were robbed, they eventually found their way back to the temple.
The hundred-year-old turtle at the ancient temple of La Sen. Photo: nucuoimekong
Some notes when coming to La Sen Pagoda
Although the lotus leaf in the temple is quite large, it is also relatively fragile and brittle. Especially when many people step up to take pictures, it is easy to tear. So you remember to step lightly on the leaves with the tin tray and be very careful.
When coming to the temple grounds, visitors need to keep order and quiet for the place of Zen, especially when riding a motorbike, remember to turn off the engine and drive the car through the gate to the yard.
Another note is that near Phuoc Kien Pagoda, there are not many hotels, motels, restaurants, cafes, so it is not convenient to stay overnight. You should go to the temple early in the morning to easily go to other tourist attractions or return to the center of Dong Thap province during the day.
Lotus leaves are quite brittle, easily torn. Photo: VietFuntravel
Phuoc Kien Pagoda has a pure space, planted many kinds of green trees, and especially a unique giant lotus pond associated with mysterious stories surrounding legendary mascots, so it has quickly become a destination. The most interesting for those who love to travel to Dong Thap in particular and the West in general. Besides Sa Dec flower village, Huynh Thuy Le ancient house, Phuoc Kien Tu (La Sen) is a unique tourist destination for you. If you have the opportunity to go to the river, do not miss the opportunity to see the king’s lotus leaf, visit the temple to pray for peace, and admire the beautiful scenery at this unique temple. Wish you have the most fun and impressive Dong Thap trip !
Photo: Internet