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Tay Thien Tam Dao Vinh Phuc is renowned as one of the spiritual sanctuaries in the northern region, attracting thousands of pilgrims annually seeking blessings, peace, and prosperity for themselves and their families. If you're planning to visit Truc Lam Meditation Monastery in Tay Thien, here are some insightful travel tips shared by vntrip.vn for your journey!
1. Which Season Offers the Best Experience in Tay Thien Tam Dao?
Explore the Serene Harmony of Nature and Culture in Tay Thien Vinh Phuc (Image: st)
Nestled on the slopes of Thach Ban Mountain in the Tam Dao range, approximately an hour's drive from Hanoi, Tay Thien is a picturesque area with diverse flora and fauna and a mild climate year-round. Hence, you can visit Tay Thien Tam Dao at any time of the year, each season offering a unique experience.
If you visit in spring, you'll join in festivities to pray for luck and prosperity for the whole year and participate in various unique cultural activities. Visiting Tay Thien Tam Dao in summer, you'll enjoy a peaceful atmosphere, inner tranquility, and have the opportunity to attend repentance ceremonies at the meditation center. Go in autumn or winter to breathe the fresh air of the mountain forest. Each season has its own distinctive charm, so you can come here at any time of the year.
2. What to Expect at Tay Thien Tam Dao?
With an area of about 148 hectares, the complex of historical relics at Tay Thien lies within a biologically diverse area with nearly 500 plant species and 300 animal species, including many rare species. At Tay Thien, there are pine trees that have lived for thousands of years, proudly stretching their branches and casting shadows over the winding forest paths. A day here allows one to savor the essence of all four seasons in a year: the gentle spring breeze at dawn, the warm summer sun at noon, the mild autumn breeze in the evening, and the chilly winter air as darkness falls.
Tay Thien Tam Dao captivates not only with its picturesque natural landscapes, poetic mountains and forests, but also as a sacred spiritual destination in the North. If you're planning to visit the most beautiful scenic spot of Vinh Phuc province, then this is a place you can't miss.
Thac Bac, with its majestic beauty and crystal-clear water, is a place that attracts many tourists (Image: st)
The enchanting natural scenery of mountains and rivers, majestic, peaceful, and breathtaking every second, every moment. It's the scenery of pristine forests, ancient temples perched precariously on high peaks, or the Bát Nhã stream murmuring like a melody from the abyss. In the distance, the Thac Bac waterfall, gleaming white like a Milky Way, cascades down from the deep blue sky, creating a serene atmosphere.
3. Truc Lam Tay Thien Monastery / Tay Thien Pagoda
Not only showcasing the beauty of the majestic mountainous nature, Tay Thien also offers travelers incredibly fascinating and novel experiences with its ancient temple architectures. Amidst the infinite tranquility, the distant echoing of bells evokes serenity and peace for the soul of any traveler who has set foot here.
Truc Lam Tay Thien Monastery is one of the three largest monasteries in Vietnam (Image: st)
Truc Lam Tay Thien Monastery (or commonly known as Tay Thien Pagoda) is located approximately 65 km northwest of Hanoi, in Dai Dinh commune, Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province, forming a comprehensive cultural and tourist complex. Along with Truc Lam Monastery at Yen Tu Pagoda and in Dalat, Truc Lam Tay Thien Monastery is one of the largest monasteries in Vietnam.
Interested in Buddhist religious practices, perhaps no one is unfamiliar with Truc Lam Tay Thien Monastery belonging to the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect, one of the largest monasteries in Vietnam. Truc Lam Tay Thien Monastery is built right next to the historical site of Ancient Tay Thien Pagoda. This is a place for systematic Buddhist education, creating conditions for the development of Vietnamese Buddhism both in breadth and depth, and promoting exchanges with Buddhist sects of other countries. If visiting Tay Thien, travelers should also experience Buddhism at this place.
In his Geographic Records, Le Quy Don also describes Tay Thien: “Beneath the clear water like cham, deep and bottomless; the mountain slopes feature Tay Thien ancient pagoda, with its elegant scenery. At the mountain peak lies Dong Co Pagoda; from the left of the Giải Oan crevice, climb up to the lotus pond, with its azure water, containing unusual stones and red lotus flowers blooming all year round. On both sides of the pond, streams flow from the mountain slopes, with Bac Stream on the left and Vang Stream on the right….”
The Truc Lam Zen Monastery system in the Tay Thien area includes both monastic and nunneries. Tranquil Truc Lam Monastery was built in 2009 by nun Thich Nu Thuan Giac and was largely completed in 2012. Tranquil Monastery features the main hall venerating Shakyamuni Buddha, an ancestral hall for venerating patriarchs of Zen sects, a guesthouse, and a dining hall serving up to 200 people at a time. There are also meditation halls and meditation rooms for practitioners; numerous meditation halls for monks and nuns.
Great Mandala Stupa Tay Thien – the first diamond lineage stupa in Vietnam (Image: st)
Moreover, visitors can explore the Great Mandala Stupa, the first stupa of the diamond lineage in Vietnam. At the end of the journey lies the Tay Thien National Mother Temple, dedicated to National Mother Lang Thi Tieu, the seventh consort of the Hung King, who contributed to expanding the territory and teaching people to cultivate rice in the early days of nation building.
4. What to Eat When Traveling to Tay Thien
When in Tay Thien, you shouldn't miss out on the local specialties such as bamboo shoots, hill chicken, or wild boar... Bamboo shoots can be prepared in various dishes such as stir-fried with garlic, stir-fried with beef, or boiled with sesame salt. Wild boar can also be cooked into many delicious dishes such as steamed, grilled, or stewed with sour fruits. The hill chicken here has firm, fragrant meat and can be prepared into many tasty dishes like grilled chicken, salt-fried chicken, fat onion fried chicken, steamed chicken...
Grilled chicken is one of the best dishes when tourists come to Tay Thien (Image: st)
Above are the travel experiences in Tay Thien that vntrip.vn has compiled and edited, wishing you a joyful and safe trip. Besides, Vinh Phuc still has many other attractive tourist destinations, which you can explore further: A-Z guide to prepare for a trip to Dai Lai Lake Vinh Phuc
