Around 60 kilometers southwest of Hà Nội,Perfume Pagoda is one among the largest and unique religious sites inHuong Son Commune, My Duc District, old Ha Tay (or enlarged Hanoi),right banks of Day River, northern Việt Nam. It comprises a complex ofpagodas and Buddhist shrines built into the limestone cliffs of PerfumeMount (Hương Sơn), scattering alongside the mountain up to the peak.The complex’s center is right inside Huong Tich cavern (or in otherwords, Inside Pagoda). Huge numbers of pilgrims flock to the siteduring Perfume Pagoda festival, which begins in the middle of the firstlunar month and lasts until the middle of the third one (or fromFebruary till March) in order to pray for happiness and prosperity inthe coming year. Also, it is a very popular opportunity for youngcouples to meet and for numerous budding romances to be formed. On thisspecial occasion, a wide range of traditional cultural activities isincorporated. Perfume pagoda is not only a religious site, but a greatsight-seeing spot in Vietnam as well.

Comingto Huong Pagoda, what should not be left home is a good camera, sinceyou will regret unless you catch all the snapshots of this fascinatingnature drawings!

Bến Đục (Pier Duc)

Thevery first starting point of the pilgrimage is Ben Duc (Pier Duc).Normally, it takes more than 2 hours to go from Hanoi to Ben Duc.During the annual festival months, Ben Duc is packed with thousands ofrow boats used for shuttling visitors. For many visitors, this one-hourboat ride on the Yen Vi Stream from Pier Duc is actually the highlightof the trip, and inspiration sources of quite a few famous poets.

Suối Yến (Yen stream)

Yenstream flows between two mountains for 3 kilometers. Nevertheless,sitting on the boat, leisurely enjoying the surrounding landscape, youmay feel that the stream is endless. Despite a facilitated road fromPier Duc to Perfume mountain, most people choose to use row boats onYen Vi Stream (or Yen Stream), which is by far a much more romantic andscenic route to Huong Pagoda.

Whiletraveling along Yen Stream, tourists pass by stunning landscape ofblazing green rice paddles studded with jagged limestone mounts to thebase of Huong Mountain. If you are on a boat there, you can easily seeon your left the Phoenix Mountain, and Doi Cheo Mountain, which lookslike an Indian python (Tran). Also on the left are Bung and Voi, thetwo mountains associated with interesting legends. On your right is NguNhac mountain with the Trinh Temple where visitors stop and burnincense for the God of the Mountain. Before reaching Tro Wharf wherethe tour begins, the boat also passes by the Deo and Phong SuMountains, Son Thuy Huu Tinh Cave, Trau Cave, Hoi Bridge, and DauValley.

Chùa Thiên Trù (Thien Tru Pagoda)

Steppinginland, there comes an interesting informal protocol for tourists! Thefirst stop before climbing up to Huong Mount must always be a visit toDen Trinh, which means “registration shrine”. The next point ofinterest would be a visit to Thien Tru Pagoda (chuà Ngoài - OuterPagoda), which was built in the 18^th century under King LeThanh Tong dynasty. “Thien Tru” means a heaven kitchen, derived fromthe imagination of the locals in this region, of which the rockformations in this area look like chefs busily working in the kitchen.Thien Tru Pagoda is famous for Thuy Tien tower, a granite monolith. Onthe right is Tien Son grotto, popular for five granite statues andvarious formations on the walls of the cave. Coming here, pilgrims havechances to admire the pagoda’s beauty and wonderful local landscapes.

Động Hương Tích (Huong Tich Grotto)

Aftermore than one hour along the stream and visiting the initial ancientpagodas from the riverbank, now pilgrims would climb up hundreds ofstone steps, and then down 120 stone steps to Huong Tich Grotto,literally meaning "traces of fragrance". The path to Huong Tich windsits way through magnificently luxuriant landscapes. The moss-grownHuong Tich Grotto came to life thanks to the most venerable Van ThuyThien Tran Dao Vien Quang Chan Nhan, the Chief monk of Thien TruPagoda. In front of the cave lie  stone stairs. Steppingdown the 120-step stairs, tourists will find the inscription "Thefirst-ranking grotto under the Southern Sky" in  Han scripts, which are traces of Lord Tinh Do Vuong Trinh Sam's calligraphy in the 3^rdlunar month of the year of the Tiger (Canh Dan -1770). Getting into thegrotto, you will find a purely cool atmosphere in a dim light beforefiguring out naturally architectural works such as Dun Gao (Rice) rock,gold and silver trees, Girl and Boy Mountains (in the shapes of a girland a boy), and so forth. Yet, what is noteworthy is the statue ofAvalokitesvara carved out of emerald stone on a rocky lotus,constructed in 1793, under the Tay Son dynasty, and a 1.24m bronzebell, moulded in the 3^rd Thinh Duc Year (1655). The uniquecarving art together with the extremely magnificient works of Naturemakes the Huong Pagoda complex the top-revenued tourism destinationamong others in Ha Tay, and the foremost destination of Buddhists inparticular and tourists in general.

Sayinggoodbye to Perfume Grotto, now tourists may choose to further go up tothe top Mount by climbing up hundreds of stone steps, all worn smoothby passage of countless feet, or take a short rest and complete thepilgrimage.

Thesedays, the Vietnamese believe that Huong Son is Buddha's Heaven due toits sacredness and 100% natural works of beauty. Quite a few touristswould like to come back this mysterious and sacred mountain annuallyfor religious reasons on the one hand, and on the other hand, for theenchanting natural landscapes..