Bo Da Pagoda and Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son.

2. 2. Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son

   In the late thirteenth century, a Vietnamese king who had twice helped drive back the Mongol armies gave up his throne, climbed the mountain of Yen Tu and became a monk. Tran Nhan Tong founded the Truc Lam school of Zen Buddhism there, a uniquely Vietnamese form that combined meditation with engagement in the world, and Yen Tu became the holiest mountain in northern Vietnam. Together with the pagoda of Vinh Nghiem, which preserves thousands of woodblocks used for printing Buddhist texts, and the Con Son and Kiep Bac relics, associated with the scholar Nguyen Trai and the general Tran Hung Dao, the complex was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2025.

   Read the complete Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son comes up 84 km in. Next is Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago.

3. 3. Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago

   Ha Long means descending dragon, and the legend says a dragon family came down from heaven to spit out jewels that became the islands, which is as good an explanation as any for nearly two thousand limestone towers rising from green water. UNESCO listed the bay in the 1990s for its scenery and its geology, and the Cát Bà archipelago to the south joins the same landscape of steep karst islands, hidden lagoons and floating fishing villages. The scale is hard to describe: islands shaped like teeth, like ships, like sleeping animals, all standing in a calm, jade-coloured sea.

   Read the complete Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   168 km in you reach Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago. Next is back through Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son.

4. 4. back through Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, late in the day. Next is Bo Da Pagoda.

5. 5. 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 at Bo Da Pagoda. That is the ride.