Yen Tu Mountain became the center of Buddhism when King Tran Nhan Tong renounced his throne, donned the cassock, and established a unique sect of Vietnamese Buddhism, known as Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen, and became the first patriarch with the Dharma name Dieu Ngu Giac Hoang Tran Nhan Tong. He had hundreds of large and small constructions built on Yen Tu Mountain for meditation and teaching. After his death, the person who continued his work was Phap Loa Dong Kien Cuong, the second patriarch of Truc Lam.
During his 19 years of practice, King Tran Nhan Tong compiled the book Thach That Mi Ngu, and built 800 temples, hermitages, and large and small towers in the country with thousands of valuable statues, including famous temples such as Quynh Lam Temple, Ho Thien Temple in Dong Trieu, Vinh Nghiem Temple in Bac Giang… At the center of Phap Loa’s missionary work was Huyen Quang Ly Dao Tai, the third patriarch of the Truc Lam sect.
When visiting Yen Tu Mountain, tourists can participate in many interesting activities, such as worshiping, sightseeing, enjoying the scenery, climbing mountains… The journey to visit Yen Tu starts from Giai Oan stream, where there is a green stone bridge connecting the two banks of the stream, and a temple to vindicate the concubines of King Tran Nhan Tong who committed suicide when he went to the mountain to practice. Next is Hoa Yen Temple, located at an altitude of 543 m, with ancient pine trees planted since King Tran Nhan Tong practiced on Yen Tu.
Above the altitude of 700 m of Yen Tu Mountain is Van Tieu Temple, hidden in the clouds on the mountainside. After this point is Dong Temple, located on the peak of Yen Tu, 1,068 m high. The temple was built during the Later Le Dynasty with the name Thien Truc Tu. In early 2007, Dong Temple, completely cast in pure copper (3 m high, 12 m² wide, weighing 60 tons), was brought to the top of Yen Tu.
Standing at an altitude of 1,068 m on the peak of Yen Tu Mountain, tourists can overlook the vast Northeast region, with small islands looming in Ha Long Bay like a painting, further away is the Bach Dang River. Along the way, there are some sightseeing points such as To Tower, Mot Mai Temple, Bao Sai Temple, Yen Ky Sinh stone statue, Ngoa Van hermitage, fairy chessboard, ecological tourist areas Thac Vang, Thac Bac… In addition to walking, tourists can also choose to take a cable car with a distance of only 1.2 km to reach the top of Yen Tu.
Yen Tu Mountain is a must-visit destination when traveling to Ha Long – Quang Ninh. This place will bring you unforgettable experiences, emotional moments, beautiful memories in a spiritual place. Coming to Yen Tu Mountain, you will feel the majesty and uniqueness of the cradle of Vietnamese Buddhism, a stopover that you will not regret in your journey to explore Ha Long Bay.
