Why this ride
From Hanoi it runs 299 km to Hanoi; allow about 6 h 14 of riding. The stops in between: Bo Da Pagoda, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Thanh Mai Pagoda and Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of and Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 299 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 14
- 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. Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of
In 1010 the Vietnamese king Lý Thái Tổ moved his capital to the banks of the Red River and named it Thăng Long, Ascending Dragon, after he is said to have seen a dragon rising from the water. The city grew up around the royal citadel, and for most of the next eight centuries it was the political heart of Vietnam. The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long, in the middle of modern Hanoi, preserves layers of this history, from the foundations of palaces excavated beneath the ground to buildings of the Nguyễn dynasty and the French colonial era. It was listed by UNESCO in 2010, the year Hanoi celebrated its thousandth anniversary.
Read the complete Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of 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 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.
3. 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
about 79 km into the recorded legs you reach Vinh Nghiem Pagoda. Next is Thanh Mai Pagoda.
4. 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
Thanh Mai Pagoda, about halfway. Next is Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster.
5. Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster
In 1293 the Vietnamese king Trần Nhân Tông, who had led his country to victory against two Mongol invasions, gave up his throne and became a monk. He retreated to the mountains of Yên Tử, east of Hanoi, and founded the Trúc Lâm, or Bamboo Forest, school of Zen Buddhism, a distinctly Vietnamese tradition that still flourishes today. In his final years he lived at a hermitage on the mountain of Ngọa Vân, and it was there that he died in 1308. The pagodas, stupas and relics scattered across the ridge form part of the complex of sites connected with Yên Tử and the Trúc Lâm school, which has recently been recognised by UNESCO.
Read the complete Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster sits at 118 km, about halfway. Next is back through Thanh Mai Pagoda.
6. back through Thanh Mai Pagoda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Thanh Mai Pagoda comes up about 186 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.
7. 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
about 219 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda. 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 Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of.
9. Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of 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 299 km.
Leg by leg
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of to Bo Da Pagoda
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of → Bo Da Pagoda is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster
Thanh Mai Pagoda → Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster to back through Thanh Mai Pagoda
Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster → back through Thanh Mai Pagoda is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Thanh Mai Pagoda to back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
back through 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 back through Bo Da Pagoda
back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda → back through Bo Da Pagoda is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bo Da Pagoda to Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of
back through Bo Da Pagoda → Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.