Tien Pagoda Complex in Lac Thuy

Behind the name Tiên Pagoda lies a whole complex, not a single building. It stands in the Lạc Thủy area, now part of Phú Thọ Province. An official provincial portal says it has more than 20 sites of several kinds: historic and cultural sites, scenic spots and archaeological sites.

The list is long. It includes Trình Temple and Mẫu Temple. It includes two communal houses, Thượng and Trung. Châu Sơn Pagoda is on the list too. Many of the sites are caves. Thủy Long Cung Cave and Giải Oan Cave are two. Cô Chín Cave and Ông Hoàng Bảy Cave are two more. Tiên Cave and Tam Tòa Cave are two others. The list also names a place called the Valley of Love, and two streams, Suối Vàng and Suối Bạc.

What matters more than the length is the mix. Archaeology, religious architecture, caves, streams and village festivals all lie layered in one place.

The oldest layer on record is Tiên Cave. It was recognized as a historic and cultural site on September 30, 1989. Later, the whole group of caves around Tiên Pagoda was listed as a national scenic site in 2011.

The main pagoda sits at the foot of Tung Xê Mountain. Its main hall honors the Mother Âu Cơ, a mountain princess of Vietnamese legend. She is a symbol in the legend of the origin of the Vietnamese people. The new pagoda building covers more than 1,200 square meters and opened in 2011.

Close to the main pagoda are Suối Vàng and Suối Bạc. Their clear, cool streams wind around the caves. This natural scenery belongs to the spiritual space of the complex.

In spring, Tiên Pagoda is one of the region's great festival sites. The festival of 2025 opened on the morning of the fourth day of the first lunar month, which was February 1. It was held at the provincial level, with lion and dragon dances, folk songs and Mường gongs. Mẫu Tam phủ worship and chầu văn singing were part of it too.

Tam phủ refers to the Mother Goddesses of three realms: heaven, water, and mountains and forests. The Mường are an ethnic group of northern Vietnam whose language is closely related to Vietnamese.

The complex is also linked with other figures of worship. They include the three honored figures of Tản Viên Sơn Thánh and the Four Holy Ladies of Nam Hải. Tản Viên Sơn Thánh is another name for Sơn Tinh, the mountain god of an old legend. When guides speak of these figures, they say plainly that this is folk belief and legend, not history proven in full.

The festival season runs from the fourth day of Tết to the end of the third lunar month. Tết is the Lunar New Year festival in Vietnam.

More recently, a cable car was built to link Tiên Pagoda with the Perfume Pagoda and Tam Chúc Pagoda. The cable car, called Hương Bình, opens a route high above three great festival regions of the north.

Tiên Pagoda is like a book with many chapters. The first is archaeology, at Tiên Cave, recorded in 1989. The second is nature, in the caves ranked in 2011. The third belongs to the community, in the spring festival, where Mường gongs and chầu văn voices ring out inside the mountain. The last chapter is modern. A cable car lifts riders high and lets them look down on a deep green valley that joins three great pagodas along the mountain range.