Bai Dinh Pagoda, a magnificent spiritual complex in Ninh Binh, has been officially honored in the Travellers' Choice Awards 2025 list presented by the world's leading prestigious travel platform TripAdvisor.
This is not only the only destination in Vietnam to make it onto this prestigious list, but also a vivid testament to the appeal of spiritual and cultural tourism in the S-shaped strip of land.
Sacred and unique space
With millions of nominations from all over the world, Bai Dinh Pagoda receiving the title of "outstanding destination" and "blue tick" is truly international recognition of the quality of experience and value of this place.
Up to now, Bai Dinh pagoda complex includes an ancient pagoda and a new pagoda built since 2003.
This award not only affirms the position of Bai Dinh Pagoda but also serves as a solid stepping stone, opening the door to enter the top 1% of the world's leading destinations with the prestigious Best of the Best award. More than 1000 years ago, the three feudal dynasties of Dinh, Tien Le and Ly were very interested in and considered Buddhism as the national religion, so they built many ancient pagodas, including Bai Dinh Pagoda located on the Trang An mountain range.
The pagoda has a history of formation since the Dinh Dynasty but still has many architectural details and antiques bearing the strong mark of the Ly Dynasty. The pagoda is located on a land that converges all the elements of a sacred land and talented people according to Vietnamese folk beliefs. This is the land that gave birth to Kings, Saints, and Gods. The ancient pagoda mountain of Bai Dinh was once the place where Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang set up an altar to pray for favorable weather and wind. King Quang Trung chose it to hold a flag-raising ceremony to encourage his soldiers before going to Thang Long to defeat the Qing army.
The pagoda stands majestically on the mountainside, with the blue lake and rocky mountains looming in the distance. In particular, the pagoda is located right at the western gateway to the ancient capital Hoa Lu.
In 1997, Bai Dinh Pagoda was recognized as a national historical - cultural - revolutionary relic. With such special and sacred things, every year the pagoda welcomes a large number of tourists and Buddhists to visit. If you have the opportunity, come and experience this land of talented people.
With an age of more than 1000 years, the temple architecture bears the typical ancient beauty from ancient times.
Buddhism has been introduced and developed strongly in Vietnam for a long time, leaving its mark through many unique and sacred architectural works. Among them, Bai Dinh Pagoda complex stands out with its own beauty and proudly sets many records in the region and continent. Whether you are a Buddhist or simply want to find a peaceful space, Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh will definitely be an ideal destination to experience and feel peace in your soul.
Bai Dinh Pagoda has a huge scale and unique architecture, it is the largest Buddhist center in Southeast Asia. The pagoda complex consists of two parts: the ancient pagoda area and the new modern pagoda area, spread over an area of hundreds of hectares.
Despite the appearance of the new pagoda area, designed and built grandly and massively, it is still in harmony with the traditional identity.
This is the place where many impressive records converge, such as the largest bronze Maitreya Buddha statue in Southeast Asia, the longest Arhat corridor in Asia with 500 exquisitely carved stone statues, and the tallest bell tower in Vietnam. In particular, the 100-ton, 10-meter-high gold-plated bronze statue of Sakyamuni Buddha at Phap Chu Palace has been recognized by the Asia Records Center as the largest gold-plated bronze Buddha statue in the continent.
Visitors coming here can not only admire precious Buddhist treasures but also cruise on Sao Khe River, admire the majestic landscape of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex - a World Cultural and Natural Heritage recognized by UNESCO.
Not only a tourist destination, Bai Dinh Pagoda is also an important cultural and spiritual center. Every year, especially during the Spring festival season, millions of Buddhists and tourists from all over the world come here to make pilgrimages and pray for good things.
Not only a place for religious activities, Bai Dinh Pagoda has gradually become a famous spiritual and ecological tourist destination.
Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival lasts from January 6 to the end of March of the lunar calendar, with many unique traditional activities, creating a special cultural atmosphere. With its location adjacent to Trang An - Tam Coc - Bich Dong Complex, Bai Dinh Pagoda has created a unique journey to discover "double" heritage, combining natural beauty and profound spiritual and cultural values.
The breakthrough of Bai Dinh Pagoda in particular and Ninh Binh in general is clearly shown through impressive figures, with more than 14.7 million tourists and revenue of VND 13,340 billion in the first 7 months of 2025. The Travellers' Choice 2025 Award is not only the pride of the province but also a symbol of Vietnamese tourism, opening up a promising future for the country's tourism industry.
