Tam Chuc Pagoda

A boat slides across Tam Chúc Lake, and limestone cliffs stand reflected in the water on both sides. The lake has a second name, Lục Nhạc. A visit usually begins with this slow crossing. The boat glides on and carries the visitor little by little into the spiritual space of Tam Chúc.

Local legend explains the names. In front of the lake stand six small mountains, which match the name Lục Nhạc. Behind it runs the Thất Tinh range. The name of the land itself, Ba Sao, is tied to three stars in those mountains. This is a local tale, not a checked event of history.

A place this large stands here because, according to the national tourism authority, an old pagoda stood on this Ba Sao land long ago. The limestone mountains, the lake and the forests of the Kim Bảng area made it a good place for worship many centuries back. In 2019, the first phase of the Tam Chúc tourist area opened, built on the foundations of that old pagoda. Its scale was larger than anything the local people had seen before.

The core of the planned area covers about 4,000 hectares. A decision of the Prime Minister in 2018 set this out. That is roughly 40 square kilometers. It is planned as a landscape of limestone mountains, forest and lakes with sacred sites among them, spread over a very wide area. It is far more than the grounds of an ordinary pagoda.

When the boat lands, the gatehouse called Tam Quan Nội rises ahead. It is 28.8 meters tall, and its first floor covers almost 2,000 square meters. From here the visit turns from water and landscape to Buddhist architecture.

Next comes the garden of sutra pillars. There are 32 large pillars. Each stands about 13.5 meters tall and weighs about 200 tons. Every one is cut from a single block of blue stone from Thanh Hóa. The idea came from the sutra pillar of Nhất Trụ Pagoda in Hoa Lư, a national treasure from the 10th century. So Tam Chúc is built on a grand scale, and it also tries to tie itself to the culture of the region.

Beyond the pillars stand three main halls, all of them large buildings. Along the visiting route come the Quan Âm Hall, the Pháp Chủ Hall and the Tam Thế Hall. The tourism authority points to one detail here. Relief carvings of volcanic stone from Indonesia, made by Indonesian craftsmen, were fitted into these halls. It is an unusual meeting of Buddhist craft from two countries, inside a place of worship in Vietnam.

At the top of the route stands the Ngọc Pagoda on the mountain. From there the lake, the mountains and the line of buildings below spread out like a landscape painting. The area also holds the Ba Sao Old Pagoda, the Tam Chúc communal house and Đền Mẫu, the Mother Temple. These places of worship carry the old spirit of the Ba Sao land from before the tourist area existed.

Now a new chapter is opening. On May 10, 2026, a scientific conference met on the biodiversity of Kim Bảng, Tam Chúc and Vân Long. Its subject was the protection of the white-rumped langur and the limestone mountains. Scientists are working on a World Heritage nomination for this region. So Tam Chúc is not only a place of Buddhist pilgrimage. It is also moving toward wider recognition for its natural value.

Tam Chúc is a very new point in the thousands of years of history of Hoa Lư, in Ninh Binh. It is trying to become a meaningful part of that long chain, from sutra pillars of blue stone that recall Nhất Trụ Pagoda to a conference on protecting langurs in the limestone forest. From the Ngọc Pagoda, the lake and the temple roofs lie below, and the far mountains fade into the mist.