Why this ride
252 km from Hanoi to Hanoi, about 5 h 04 of riding. The stops in between: Bo Da Pagoda, Kiep Bac Temple, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda and Con Son Pagoda.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hanoi day out · Con Son Pagoda
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 252 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 04
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hanoi
Hanoi starts the day with a roar, and the best advice is to join it calmly. This is a city of millions on the Red River, with more motorbikes than anyone has bothered to count, and the Old Quarter, with its thirty-six old guild streets named after the goods once sold there, is the loud, charming core. Hoàn Kiếm lake in the middle is where people jog, practise tai chi and sit eating ice cream at dusk, and the little Ngoc Son temple on its island is joined to the shore by a red wooden bridge.
Read the complete Hanoi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hanoi is where the day begins. Next is Bo Da Pagoda.
2. Bo Da Pagoda
Bổ Đà is a pagoda that was built from the earth up, quite literally. Its long perimeter walls are made of rammed earth, mixed with broken pottery and tiles, a traditional technique that has kept them standing for centuries, and inside lies one of the most remarkable features of any Vietnamese temple: a garden of more than a thousand stupas, the tombs of monks who lived and died here, standing in rows among the trees. The pagoda, on a hill in Việt Yên in Bắc Giang province, is also famous for its collection of wooden printing blocks carved with Buddhist texts, a treasure of Vietnamese woodblock printing.
Read the complete Bo Da Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bo Da Pagoda comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kiep Bac Temple.
3. Kiep Bac Temple
Kiếp Bạc is the place where Vietnam remembers Trần Hưng Đạo, the thirteenth-century general who defeated the Mongols three times. In the 1280s, the armies of Kublai Khan's empire invaded Vietnam, and Trần Hưng Đạo, commanding the forces of the Trần dynasty, used guerrilla tactics, retreat and ambush to wear them down. The most famous victory came in 1288 on the Bạch Đằng river, when he planted iron-tipped stakes in the riverbed and lured the Mongol fleet onto them at low tide. He died in 1300, and the temple at Kiếp Bạc was built where he is said to have had his base.
Read the complete Kiep Bac Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 76 km into the recorded legs you reach Kiep Bac Temple. Next is Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.
4. Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
In the countryside of Bắc Giang province, in northern Vietnam, about fifty kilometres north-east of Hanoi, the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda stands by the Thương river, surrounded by rice fields and villages. It is one of the oldest and most important Buddhist centres in Vietnam, associated with the Trúc Lâm school of Zen Buddhism, founded in the thirteenth century by King Trần Nhân Tông, who abdicated to become a monk.
Read the complete Vinh Nghiem Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, about halfway. Next is Con Son Pagoda.
5. Con Son Pagoda
Côn Sơn lies in the pine-covered hills of Chí Linh, north-east of Hanoi, on the border of Hải Dương province, and it carries two of the great names of Vietnamese history. In the thirteenth century the Trần dynasty beat back three Mongol invasions, and its monks and commanders left a trail of temples, of which Côn Sơn, Kiếp Bạc and the sacred mountain of Yên Tử are the best known. Trúc Lâm, the Vietnamese Zen school founded by King Trần Nhân Tông, who gave up his throne to become a monk, has one of its centres here.
Read the complete Con Son Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Con Son Pagoda sits at 106 km, about halfway. Next is back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.
6. back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vinh Nghiem Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda comes up about 152 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Kiep Bac Temple.
7. back through Kiep Bac Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kiep Bac Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 177 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Kiep Bac Temple. Next is back through Bo Da Pagoda.
8. back through Bo Da Pagoda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bo Da Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bo Da Pagoda, late in the day. Next is Hanoi.
9. Hanoi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hanoi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 252 km.
Leg by leg
Hanoi to Bo Da Pagoda
Hanoi → Bo Da Pagoda is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bo Da Pagoda to Kiep Bac Temple
Bo Da Pagoda → Kiep Bac Temple is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kiep Bac Temple to Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
Kiep Bac Temple → Vinh Nghiem Pagoda is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda to Con Son Pagoda
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda → Con Son Pagoda is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Con Son Pagoda to back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
Con Son Pagoda → back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda to back through Kiep Bac Temple
back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda → back through Kiep Bac Temple is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kiep Bac Temple to back through Bo Da Pagoda
back through Kiep Bac Temple → back through Bo Da Pagoda is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bo Da Pagoda to Hanoi
back through Bo Da Pagoda → Hanoi is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.