According to information from the National Tourism Administration, the country currently has 45,000 religious sites and relics. Culturally, Vietnam has about 13,000 festivals, so it is fully qualified to become an ideal destination for spiritual tourism.
What is spiritual tourism?
Spiritual tourism is a form of tourism based on cultural, religious and spiritual exploration with the aim of meeting people's spiritual needs.
Spiritual tourism not only brings tourists new experiences about a new land, but also contains extremely sacred spiritual values and experiences for travelers.
THE ROLE OF SPIRITUAL TOURISM
Spiritual tourism is a form of contributing to preserving, maintaining and promoting traditional cultural values of the Vietnamese people, avoiding them being lost over time.
In addition, by maintaining spiritual tours, opening exhibition areas, combining resort systems... is also a way for localities to increase employment, create more income for local people and promote socio-economic development.
Developing spiritual tourism is a new direction of many localities.
There are many reasons why people engage in spiritual tourism. Some do it to seek enlightenment or a deeper connection with their religion. Others do it to find peace and tranquility or to learn about different cultures. Regardless of the reason, spiritual tourism can be a rewarding and life-changing experience.
FAMOUS SPIRITUAL TOURIST AREA IN VIETNAM
Con Dao
Con Dao is always one of the attractive tourist destinations for domestic and international tourists. Coming here, you will see the people of Con Dao respect and worship two special women whose fate is tied to this land, that is the heroic martyr Vo Thi Sau and the concubine Hoang Phi Yen. Both of them are resilient women with a strong, steadfast patriotism.
Tomb of martyr Vo Thi Sau in Hang Duong cemetery.
Tourists can visit Vo Thi Sau temple in the center of Con Dao tourist area and Phi Yen temple (also known as An Son Temple) near Van Son pagoda.
Yen Tu
Nestled in the majestic beauty of the mountains, the Yen Tu relic and landscape complex has a quiet ancient beauty, associated with the formation and development of the Truc Lam Zen sect in Vietnam. If you are looking for a place for a spiritual journey, Yen Tu tourism will be the perfect first choice.
Tay Yen Tu spiritual-ecological tourist area.
Tay Yen Tu spiritual and ecological tourist area was built to recreate the path of taking refuge in the Three Jewels of King Tran Nhan Tong with 3 main subdivisions: Ha Pagoda, Trung Pagoda, Thuong Pagoda. Coming here, visitors have the opportunity to learn more about the famous Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect associated with the life of the King.
Yen Tu Pagoda Festival lasts until the end of the third lunar month and visitors can fully explore the landscape, historical relics as well as visit the pagoda here on a 1-day itinerary.
Tam Chuc
Tam Chuc tourist area has a large area estimated at over 500 hectares and is the largest spiritual tourist area in Vietnam today. The pagoda is located in Ha Nam province and belongs to Kim Bang district, Ba Sao town. The pagoda is about 70 km from Hanoi capital, about 4 km from Huong pagoda and about 30 km from Bai Dinh pagoda. Up to now, this pagoda is considered the largest in the Tam Chuc tourist complex.
Tam Chuc Tourist Area - The most famous spiritual tourist destination in Ha Nam.
In addition, the pagoda also has other structures such as a suspension bridge hundreds of meters long across Yen Tu Lake or is located near the eco-tourism site of Cuc Phuong National Park. Not only attracting many domestic and foreign tourists to visit, this is also the place to hold important Buddhist festivals and events, attracting thousands of Buddhists to participate each year.
This is an ideal tourist destination with many caves, lakes, and mountains that have created an extremely majestic landscape. If you visit inside the cave, you will discover unique stalactites. It will definitely bring you unforgettable experiences.
Bai Dinh
Bai Dinh Pagoda is a famous spiritual tourist destination that attracts many tourists when coming to Ninh Binh. This pagoda is not only a sacred place but also stands out with its architecture imbued with Vietnamese Buddhism and owns many national records.
Bai Dinh Pagoda is a pagoda complex 5 km from the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, located in Gia Sinh commune, Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province. Bai Dinh Pagoda is considered the largest pagoda in Vietnam with many established titles such as the pagoda with the largest bronze bell, the longest La Han corridor, the largest bronze Maitreya Buddha statue... In 2010, Bai Dinh Pagoda was honored to be the first place to organize the Great Ceremony to welcome Buddha's relics from India to Vietnam.
Bai Dinh Pagoda - Spiritual beauty in the heart of Hoa Lu Ancient Capital.
Climbing over 300 stone steps of Bai Dinh mountain, through the three-door gate halfway up the mountain, at the intersection you will see the bright cave worshiping Buddha and God on the right side, the dark cave worshiping Mother Goddess and Fairy on the left. The bright cave is about 15 m wide and 2 m high, going about 25 m deep into the cave you will see the Cao Son temple. In the dark cave, a lighting system is installed to serve the traffic, the image of winding dragons is decorated on the steps and there is a well in the middle of the cave creating a very magical scene.
Thanh Hoa
Coming to Thanh Hoa, tourists have a series of sacred places to visit and offer incense such as: Thanh Ha Pagoda, Mat Da Pagoda, Giang Pagoda, Sung Nghiem Dien Thanh Pagoda, Truc Lam Ham Rong Zen Monastery, Co Tien Temple, Ba Trieu Temple, Song Temple...
Among them is Co Chin Thanh Hoa Temple (also known as Co Chin Gieng Temple) which attracts tourists from all over the world because of its legendary stories and sacred level, "wish-fulfilling".
Co Chin Thanh Hoa Temple - the most sacred temple in Thanh Hoa.
Co Chin Temple or also known as Chin Gieng Thanh Hoa Temple. This temple is a place to worship the 9th daughter of the Jade Emperor - that is Cuu Thien Huyen Nu. The temple was built in the late 18th century and renovated in 1939.
In 1993, the temple was recognized as a National Historical Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information. Until 2004, the temple continued to be restored and embellished.
With the orientation of exploiting outstanding values of natural landscapes and traditional culture associated with regional linkage planning, it can be seen that spiritual tourism has become a driving force to attract visitors, promote other tourism services, create diversity for Vietnam tourism, and contribute positively to sustainable socio-economic development.
