Why this ride
143 km from Bắc Ninh to Bắc Ninh, about 2 h of riding. On the way it passes Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Thanh Mai Pagoda and back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bo Da Pagoda and Thanh Mai Pagoda
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 143 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 50
- 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. 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 Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.
2. 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 comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Thanh Mai Pagoda.
3. Thanh Mai Pagoda
In the late thirteenth century, a Vietnamese king who had twice helped drive back Mongol invasions gave up his throne, put on a monk's robe and founded a Zen school of his own. Trần Nhân Tông's Trúc Lâm school, the Bamboo Grove sect, became the most distinctly Vietnamese form of Buddhism, and the temples connected with it are scattered across the hills of the north-east, from Yên Tử mountain to Côn Sơn and Kiếp Bạc. Thanh Mai pagoda, on a forested slope in the Chí Linh area, is one of these places, associated with the early patriarchs of the school, and it belongs to the Yên Tử, Vĩnh Nghiêm, Côn Sơn and Kiếp Bạc complex that UNESCO listed in 2025.
Read the complete Thanh Mai Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 71 km into the recorded legs you reach Thanh Mai Pagoda. Next is back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.
4. 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, late in the day. Next is Bo Da Pagoda.
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.
Leg by leg
Bo Da Pagoda to Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
Bo Da Pagoda → Vinh Nghiem Pagoda is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda to Thanh Mai Pagoda
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda → Thanh Mai Pagoda is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Thanh Mai Pagoda to back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
Thanh Mai Pagoda → back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda to Bo Da Pagoda
back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda → Bo Da Pagoda is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.