Top 10 most famous pagodas in Vietnam

With the age of more than 2000 years, Buddhism has become the biggest religion in Vietnam, owning the largest number of followers, owing to plenty of famous temples and pagodas rich in cultural values. 

Let’s visit famous temples that you cannot miss in Vietnam below!

  1. One Pillar Pagoda in Hanoi
  2. Tran Quoc Pagoda in Hanoi
  3. Perfume Pagoda in Hanoi
  4. Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh
  5. Ba Vang Pagoda in Quang Ninh
  6. Thien Mu Pagoda in Thu Thien Hue
  7. Linh Ung Pagoda in Da Nang
  8. Ba Thien Hau Temple in Binh Duong
  9. Ba Chua Xu Pagoda in An Giang
  10. Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City

One Pillar Pagoda in Hanoi

  • Address: Chua Mot Cot Street, Doi Can Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Opening hours: 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
one pillar pagoda hanoi
One-pillar Pagoda in Hanoi. @keyseok_choe

One Pillar Pagoda is located in the heart of the Hanoi capital, near Ho Chi Minh Museum.

One Pillar Pagoda, also known as Dien Huu Tu or Lien Hoa Dai, possesses a unique architectural structure with a square shape on a stone pillar.

The pagoda looks like floating on the lake surface thanks to a system of wooden slats forming a solid supporting structure.

Inside the lotus is an ancient temple with a gilded statue of Avalokitesvara Buddha inside.

The present One Pillar Pagoda is just a part of the architectural complex of Dien Huu pagoda in the past.

Although the size of the one-pillar temple is not large, it has a unique beauty that has stood through time. The pagoda becomes a symbol of longevity and cognitive wisdom.

Unlike any Buddhist stupa, One Pillar Pagoda carries a deeply Asian yin-yang culture, covering the outer squares representing yin, and the circular columns representing yang.

The beauty of the One Pillar Temple is not only ancient majesty, but also contains the elegant and gentle mode of the Buddha realm.

Tran Quoc Pagoda in Hanoi

  • Address: Thanh Nien Street, Yen Phu Ward, Tay Ho District, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Opening time: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
tran quoc pagoda hanoi
tran quoc pagoda hanoi. Photo: dungtran_justin/pixabay

Tran Quoc is the oldest temple in Hanoi, built up to 1,500 years. The temple stays on a small island to the east of West Lake in Tay Ho district, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Located in a lovely location, the temple harmoniously combines the ancient majesty and the poetic of the lush green garden and the gentle lake.

It is perfect to understand when Tran Quoc was voted as one of the most beautiful temples in the world by the famous travel blogs.

Tran Quoc Pagoda has an architecture like a blooming lotus, reminiscent of the lotus of the Buddha.

In front of the main façade is a large yard paved with red bricks, with a large incense burner in the middle for tourists and Buddhists to come and offer incense.

Inside the temple, there are many statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of great artistic value, in which the biggest highlight is the wooden statue of Buddha entering Nirvana and painted with gold.

Perfume Pagoda in Hanoi

  • Address: Huong Son, My Duc District, Hanoi, Vietnam (about 65 km from the center of Hanoi).
  • Opening time: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
Visit Perfume Pagoda
Visit Perfume Pagoda. @gogoandaway

The main festival of the Perfume Pagoda is from the full moon of the first lunar month to the 18th second lunar month every year. This festival welcomes millions of people to visit the pagoda and pray for a new year with lots of luck and happiness.

The Perfume Pagoda Festival is the biggest New Year festival of the capital Hanoi and also the biggest festival in Vietnam.

There are many beautiful tourist sites in the landscape complex of the Perfume Pagoda, such as Huong Tich cave, Trinh temple, and Thien Tru pagoda. You can visit all these famous tourist attractions in one day from Hanoi.

Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh

  • Address: Gia Sinh Commune, Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam
  • Opening hours: 6:00 am – 10:00 pm
bai dinh pagoda in ninh binh
Beautiful pagoda Bai Dinh. @_veo.ss

Bai Dinh pagoda is located on Bai Dinh mountain in Gia Sinh commune, Gia Vien district, 5km northwest of Hoa Lu ancient capital, 12km from Ninh Binh city, Vietnam.

The pagoda is on the mountainside, between the vast valleys, lakes and rocky mountains, at the western gateway to Hoa Lu ancient capital.

The pagoda consists of two large areas, the ancient Bai Dinh pagoda area and the new area. Each area is an architectural complex consisting of many different temples.

Typically, in the ancient pagoda area, there are many historical sites, such as Sang Cave, Dark Cave, Saint Nguyen Temple, Cao Son God Temple, and Ngoc Well.

The new pagoda area was built with many massive works, such as Tam The Palace, Phap Chu Palace, Quan Am Palace, Bao Thap, Bell Tower, Maitreya Buddha Statue, made of from local materials such as bluestone, ironwood, etc. The new Bai Dinh pagoda area is the largest temple complex in Southeast Asia.

Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival is usually held from the afternoon of the 1st day of the Tet holidays, officially opening on the 6th of the Lunar New Year and lasting until the end of March. The festival consists of many solemn spiritual activities. This is also the right time for the spiritual journey.

Ba Vang Pagoda in Quang Ninh

  • Address: Ba Vang mountain, Quang Trung Ward, Uong Bi city, Quang Ninh province, Vietnam.
  • Opening time: 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
ba vang pagoda
The gate at Ba Vang Pagoda. @pobubam.d

Ba Vang Pagoda owns captivating beauty. It is at an altitude of 340m, with charming terrain on both sides of mountains as Thanh Long (Blue Dragon) and Bach Ho (White Tiger), a river in front, and pine forests at the back.

>>> Please see more the images of Vietnamese dragons!

With the typical beauty of the Northern pagodas, Ba Vang Pagoda is divided into 3 pavilions, and one temple with altars for worshiping Buddha, Mother, and Duc Ong. Not only that, this Pagoda is famous for being the largest main hall in Vietnam.

The most ideal time to visit Ba Vang Pagoda is on the 8th day of the first lunar month every year, which is the opening day of the festival, which is extremely crowded and has many interesting activities.

Another time to explore this pagoda is on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. This is the time of the Chrysanthemum Festival, also known as the Trung Cuu Festival of the ancient Vietnamese, as the 9-9 festival.

Thien Mu Pagoda in Thu Thien Hue

  • Address: Ha Khe Hill, Huong Long Commune, Huong Hoa District, Thua Thien Hue (4 km from Hue City center).
  • Opening time: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
thien mu pagoda hue
Thien Mu Pagoda in Hue. ©Hue Flavor

Thien Mu Pagoda or Linh Mu Pagoda, Heavenly Lady or Holy Lady pagoda, locates on Ha Khe hill, on the north bank of the Perfume River. 

Most travelers visiting Hue for the first time come to Thien Mu Pagoda to explore its beautiful architecture and landscape of mountains and the river

The pagoda was established in 1601 and was restored in 1714. This temple is known as the most sacred temple in Hue.

The pagoda has many large-scale architectural works, including a 7-storey tower, the main temple, Hell God Temple…

Besides, the bell weighing nearly two tons named Dai Hong Chung (Great Bell) is also a very highlight of Thien Mu Pagoda.

Coming to Thien Mu Pagoda, you can enjoy both the landscape and the typical traditional architecture of the Hue royal court.

Standing on the temple grounds, you will be able to admire the charming curve of the Perfume River winding tirelessly, hugging green villages.

With pine trees around, bonsai, and a small lake, Thien Mu Pagoda offers a sense of tranquility that is hard to find anywhere else.

Linh Ung Pagoda in Da Nang

  • Address: Bai But, Son Tra Peninsula, Son Tra District, Da Nang City, 10km northeast of the city center.
  • Opening time: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
linh ung pagoda in danang
Linh Ung Pagoda in Son Tra, Da Nang. ©Hue Flavor

Linh Ung Pagoda locates halfway up Son Tra mountain, bearing the shape of a turtle. At an altitude of 693m above sea level, standing here you will easily see the beauty of the blue sky and sea and enjoy the fresh air of the sea breeze.

Linh Ung temple owns a complex with many items, including ancestral house, monastery and library, main hall, and lecture hall.

You will not be surprised when seeing the statue of Quan The Am with 67m high, 35m lotus diameter. This statue is currently the tallest one in Vietnam.

Enjoy the beautiful landscape of the sea and Da Nang City and pray for peace in Linh Ung Pagoda are one of the main reasons to visit Da Nang City and Son Tra Peninsula.

Ba Thien Hau Temple in Binh Duong

  • Address: 4 Nguyen Du Street, Phu Cuong Ward, Thu Dau Mot District, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam
  • Opening time: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
ba thien hau binh duong
Ba Thien Hau Pagoda in Binh Duong. @ng.t.h.hanh

Ba Thien Hau Temple or Ba Binh Duong Pagoda is an ancient temple located in Thu Dau Mot city, Binh Duong province.

This temple dedicated to Thien Hau Thanh Mau is recreated and widely known in 1923 by a group of Vietnamese-Chinese people.

If you are looking for a temple with typical Chinese architecture with pure Asian style, this site will be the first choice. The structure and decoration of roof tiles and walls are bold Chinese architecture.

The pagoda has a stylized three-way entrance at the main entrance and two more corridors on either side.

In the middle of the main hall is a statue of Thien Hau. Around the yellow-red light is the main along with the black wooden picture, the shimmering candlelight is more illusory to the prayers.

This place often attracts plenty of people to the ceremony, especially on the occasion of the Lunar New Year or the Ba Pagoda festival on the full moon day of the first lunar month.

Ba Chua Xu Pagoda in An Giang

  • Address: The foot of Sam mountain, Chau Doc city, An Giang province, Vietnam.
  • Opening time: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
ba chua xu pagoda in an giang
Ba Chua Xu Pagoda in An Giang. @hoaavuong

Ba Chua Xua pagoda, located on the Sam mountain which are one of the beautiful mountains in Vietnam, was built more than 200 years ago after the statue of Ba was discovered and transported.

Unlike the original temple, which was simply roofed with bamboo, the current pagoda has become more spacious after many times of renovations.

The Temple of Ba Chua Xu has a harmonious layout. Most buildings in the pagoda area have three-story roofs, blue-tiled, and the corner of the roof like a surfing boat.

From the first to the fourth lunar month every year, Ba Temple is often full of people to visit and pray for good luck.

The festival of Ba Chua Xu is held from the 24th to the 27th of the fourth lunar month, attracting thousands of people to join it.

This is also one of the top famous destinations in the Mekong Delta with nearly 2 million visitors each year.

Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City

  • Address: 339 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, Ward 7, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  • Opening time: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in HCMC
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in HCMC. @yi.taeyi

Vinh Nghiem Pagoda was built in 1964 with an area of ​​about 6,000 m2. With a harmonious blend between the classical architecture of the ancient temples of North Vietnam and modern materials, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda becomes one of the typical works of Vietnamese Buddhist architecture.

The main gate of Vinh Nghiem Temple is a rather massive work, owning traditional architecture with red tile roofs, and curved shapes.

The stupas make up the architectural highlight of the temple, notably the Quan The Am Tower, whose entrance is to the right of the Buddha hall. This tower consists of 7 floors, nearly 40m high, built at the same time as the pagoda.

In addition, the Vinh Nghiem temple also has many exquisitely carved wooden Buddha statues.


The above temples are not only architectural works of great value, but also a spiritual destination for anyone who wants to find a pure and peaceful space.

Which pagodas in Vietnam do you want to visit best?

About the author

HueFlavor

Editor at HueFlavor is a15-year local guide, Mr. Ho Thom, who loves local food in Hue as well as in Vietnam. Trusted by hundreds of guests around the world.