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Overview
Time: 6th day of 1st lunar month to the last day of 3rd lunar month

Place: Huong Son (Hương Sơn) commune, My Duc (Mỹ Đức) district, Hanoi.

Characteristics: Going to Perfume pagoda (Chùa Hương) not only to visit the Buddha but also to enjoy the scenic view of the stream, the mountains, the cave.

History

It is thought that the first temple was a small structure on the current site of Thien Tru which existed during the reign of King Le Thanh Tong in the 1400s. Legend claims that the site was discovered over 2000 years ago by a monk meditating in the area, who named the site after a Tibetan mountain where Lord Buddha practiced asceticism.  A stele at the current temple dates the building of a terrace, stone steps and Kim Dung shrine to 1686, during the reign of Le Hy Tong, at around the same time that Chua Trong was being constructed. Over the years some of the structures were damaged and replaced. The original statues of Buddha and Guan Yin (Quan Âm) were cast from bronze in 1767 and replaced with the current statues in 1793. More recently, damage was done during both the French and the American wars. Both the gate and the bell tower at Thien Tru (Thiên Trù) Pagoda were destroyed, the bell tower rebuilt in 1986 and the gate completed in 1994

Visitors have to sit on boats to get Perfume pagoda. It is considered that this is the most special characteristics of the visit to the pagoda. The boat softly slides on the stream Yen (Yến) with the vast paddy fields on both sides. The water is so fresh that you can see through the bottom. Visitors can take a deep breath of the open air.

The beautiful landscape and the religious significance have combined over the centuries to imbed the Perfume Pagoda in the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people. Since the eighteenth century, many famous poets have com posed masterpieces of verse and prose to depict the essence of the Perfume Pagoda highlighted by the atmosphere of the festival.

Physical Layout

Huong Tich (Hương Tích) Cave

The many Pagodas that make up Chua Huong are spread out among the limestone hills and tropical forests in the area of Huong Mountain.

Trinh (Trình) shrine

Approaching from the Day River, one will first come across Trinh shrine( meaning registration shrine), also known as Quan Lon (High-ranking Mandarin), built to worship the general of a Hung King. This large shrine has a gate with two kneeling elephant statues on each side. Inside the structure is a large ceremonial room.

Thien Tru Pagoda

Beyond Trinh shrine is Thien Tru (Heaven Kitchen) Pagoda, also known as Chua Ngoai (Outer Pagoda). Here one will find Vien Cong Bao (Viên Công Báo) Stupa, a brick structure where Master Vien Quang (Viên Quang), who led the reconstruction of the pagoda, is buried. Thien Thuy (Thiên Thúy) stupa, a naturally occurring structure that is the result of the erosion of a rocky hill, is also nearby. Thien Tru is also home to a bell tower and Hall of the Triple Gem, both built in the 1980s. Inside the Pagoda there is a large statue of Quan Am Nam Hai (Quan Âm Nam Hải).

Giai Oan (Giải Oan) Pagoda

On the route from Thien Tru to Huong Tich cave is Giai Oan Temple, also called ‘Clearing Unjust Charges’ Pagoda. Here there is a pond called Thien Nhien Thanh Tri (Natural Blue Pond), also called Long Tuyen (Long Tuyền) Well, and Giai Oan stream, with its 9 sources.

Huong Tich (Hương Tích) Cave

The center of the Perfume pagoda complex, Huong Tich Cave houses Chua Trong (Inner Temple). The mouth of the cave has the appearance of an open dragon’s mouth with Chinese characters carved in a wall at the mouth of the cave. The characters (Nam thien de nhat dong) are translated as “first grade cave of the South World” and the carving is dated to 1770. The words are attributed by some to the ruler of that time, Thinh Do Vuong Trinh Sam. Inside the cave there are many statues. There is a large statue of Lord Buddha, as well as one of Guan Yin, both made of a green stone. Quan Yin’s left leg  is stretched out and the foot lies on a lotus flower, her right leg is bent and is supported by a lotus flower with supple leaves; a hand holds a pearl."There are also statues of Arhats and various other figures. Among the naturally occurring features of the cave are numerous stalactites and stalagmites, some of which are worn smooth from years of rubbing by visitors to the cave.

Other sites included in the Perfume pagoda complex are Thien Son (Thiên Sơn) Pagoda, Tuyet Kinh (Tuyết Kinh) Grotto, Phat Tich (Phật Tích) Temple, and Cua Vong  (Cửa Võng) Temple.