Eight Temples Every Vietnamese Visits During Tet — And Why They Matter

Vietnamese have a Tet custom called "le chua dau nam" — visiting a temple at the start of the year.
From Day 1 to Day 3, no matter how busy, most Vietnamese will find time to burn incense, pray for peace, and ask for good fortune.
After praying, there is a tradition called "hai loc" — picking fortune. You pluck a small green branch from a tree in the temple grounds, take it home, and place it on the family altar to symbolize bringing a year's worth of luck home.

Vietnam has tens of thousands of temples from north to south. The eight below are among the most famous, ranging from a 1,500-year-old pagoda to a tourist destination that draws 5 million visitors a year.

Tran Quoc Pagoda (Chua Tran Quoc): Hanoi's Oldest Temple

Tran Quoc Pagoda sits on Kim Ngu (Goldfish) Island in Hanoi's West Lake. Built in the 6th century, it is over 1,500 years old — the oldest surviving Buddhist temple in Hanoi.

Originally constructed on the banks of the Red River under the name "Khai Quoc" (Founding the Nation), the entire temple was relocated to the island in 1615 after riverbank erosion threatened the site. It was renamed Tran Quoc (Defending the Nation) afterward.

Inside the grounds stands a Bodhi tree whose cuttings are said to come from the original Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India — the one under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.
Tran Quoc Pagoda has been named one of the world's most beautiful temples by multiple international travel publications. At dusk, its red brick stupa reflected on the lake surface is a striking sight.

One Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot): The Temple on the Banknote

The One Pillar Pagoda stands next to Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, beside the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It is Vietnam's most instantly recognizable temple.
Its image has appeared on Vietnamese banknotes and coins.

The entire prayer hall sits atop a single stone pillar in the middle of a lotus pond. The pillar is 1.25 meters in diameter. The hall itself is wooden. From a distance, it looks like a lotus blossom floating on the water.

The origin story: in 1049, Emperor Ly Thai Tong, who had no heir, dreamt that the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was sitting on a lotus and handing him a baby.
A monk advised the emperor to build a temple matching the dream — one pillar in a lotus pond, with a prayer hall on top. That became the One Pillar Pagoda.

French forces destroyed the pagoda when they withdrew from Hanoi in 1954. The current structure is a 1955 reconstruction.
In 2012, it was certified by the Asia Book of Records as "the most unique architectural Buddhist temple in Asia."

Thien Mu Pagoda (Chua Thien Mu): That Car Has Been Parked for Sixty Years

Thien Mu Pagoda sits on the north bank of the Perfume River in Hue. Built in 1601 by Nguyen Lord Nguyen Hoang, it is Hue's most iconic temple.

The most prominent feature is the Phuoc Duyen Tower — an octagonal brick structure standing 21 meters tall with seven stories, each housing a Buddha statue.
The tower has become Hue's unofficial city symbol.

But what leaves the deepest impression at Thien Mu is a pale blue sedan parked inside the temple grounds.

In 1963, the monk Thich Quang Duc rode this Austin Westminster from Saigon to a busy intersection downtown, where he set himself on fire in the lotus position to protest the South Vietnamese government's persecution of Buddhists.
The photograph shocked the world.
In 1964, the car's owner donated it to Thien Mu Pagoda. It was transported from Saigon to Hue and has been parked there for over sixty years.

Bai Dinh Pagoda (Chua Bai Dinh): Vietnam's Biggest — Records Everywhere

Bai Dinh Pagoda is in Ninh Binh province, about two hours from Hanoi by car.
The entire complex spans 1,700 hectares. The new temple area alone covers 80 hectares, making it the largest Buddhist temple complex in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Everything here is supersized.
The Shakyamuni Buddha statue in the Three Worlds Hall stands 10 meters tall and weighs 100 tons — Asia's largest gilded bronze Buddha.
Southeast Asia's largest bronze Maitreya statue is also here.
The temple's two flanking corridors form Asia's longest Arhat gallery.
The great bell weighs 36 tons.

The original temple dates to the early 12th century, but today's visitors mostly see the new complex, which broke ground in 2003 and was completed in 2010.

During Tet, the visitor count runs into the millions. Bai Dinh also serves as the main venue for Vietnam's Vesak celebrations.

Perfume Pagoda (Chua Huong): A Temple Complex You Reach by Boat

The Perfume Pagoda is located about 60 kilometers southwest of Hanoi, in the Huong Son mountains. Strictly speaking, it is not a single temple but a sprawling complex scattered across a limestone karst landscape.

The core is the "Inner Temple," built inside a natural cave called Huong Tich (Fragrant Trace). Carved above the cave entrance in Chinese characters are the words "Nam Thien De Nhat Dong" — "Finest Grotto in the Southern Sky," inscribed in 1770.
Inside are Buddha and Avalokitesvara statues carved from green stone.

Getting there requires a boat ride of about an hour along a stream, then a roughly four-kilometer hike uphill to the cave.
The journey itself is part of the experience — rice paddies and limestone peaks the entire way.

The Perfume Pagoda festival is Vietnam's longest religious event, running from the 6th day of the 1st lunar month through the end of the 3rd month — a full three months.
In peak years, more than 1.5 million visitors make the trip.

Linh Ung Pagoda (Chua Linh Ung): A 30-Story-Tall Avalokitesvara

Linh Ung Pagoda on Da Nang's Son Tra Peninsula opened in 2010, making it the youngest on this list.
But it has a 67-meter-tall white Avalokitesvara statue — equivalent to a 30-story building — the tallest Buddhist statue in Vietnam.

The statue's interior has 17 levels, each housing 21 Buddha statues in different poses.
The lotus pedestal measures 35 meters in diameter.
The Avalokitesvara faces the city. Local fishermen regard her as a guardian of the sea.

Da Nang has three Linh Ung pagodas: on the Marble Mountains (south), Ba Na Hills (west), and Son Tra Peninsula (east). Locals believe the three temples form a Buddhist triangle that protects Da Nang from typhoons.

Long Son Pagoda (Chua Long Son): Nha Trang's White Buddha

Long Son Pagoda in Nha Trang was founded in 1886. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Khanh Hoa province.
Originally built on a hilltop, it was destroyed by a typhoon in 1900 and relocated to its current position at the base of the hill.

Climb 193 steps from the temple, and at the top sits a 24-meter-tall white Shakyamuni Buddha, completed in 1965.
Around the lotus pedestal are carved portraits of seven monks who self-immolated in 1963 to protest the South Vietnamese government's persecution of Buddhists.

Nha Trang is a major beach resort city, and many visitors stop by Long Son to see the Buddha.
From the statue's vantage point, you can see the entire Nha Trang cityscape and bay.

Ba Den Mountain (Nui Ba Den): Five Million Visitors a Year, by Cable Car

Ba Den Mountain is in Tay Ninh province, standing 986 meters above sea level — the highest peak in southern Vietnam.
It is about 100 kilometers from HCMC, roughly a two-hour drive.

On the mountain sits the over-300-year-old Ba Den Temple, dedicated to a woman named Ly Thi Thien Huong. According to folk legend, she threw herself from a cliff to preserve her honor and was later deified as a guardian spirit. Because of her dark complexion, the mountain was named "Ba Den" — Black Lady Mountain.

In 2020, Sun World built a cable car system here. The ride from base to summit takes eight minutes; walking takes two hours.
The cable car station holds a Guinness World Record as the "world's largest cable car station."

At the summit stands a 72-meter-tall copper Avalokitesvara statue, cast from over 170 tons of red copper, certified by the Asia Book of Records as "the tallest copper Buddhist statue on a mountain peak in Asia."
In early 2026, a 7.2-meter 24-karat gold-plated Buddha statue was also installed at the summit.

Since the cable car opened, visitor numbers have surged.
In 2024, Ba Den crossed 5 million visitors in under ten months, making it southern Vietnam's most popular religious tourism destination.