Con Son Pagoda and Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 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 about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster.

3. 3. Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster

   Yên Tử is the sacred mountain of Vietnamese Buddhism, rising to a little over a thousand metres above the coastal plain of Quảng Ninh province, and Hoa Yên Pagoda sits partway up its slopes, among old trees and stone steps, on the pilgrim route to the summit. The mountain's fame goes back to King Trần Nhân Tông, who defeated the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century and then, at the height of his power, gave up the throne, became a monk and retired to Yên Tử, where he founded the Trúc Lâm school of Zen. It became the only uniquely Vietnamese school of Buddhism, and the mountain has been a pilgrimage site ever since.

   Read the complete Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster. 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 Con Son Pagoda.

5. 5. Con Son Pagoda

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   Back at Con Son Pagoda. That is the ride.