Why this ride
341 km from Hạ Long to Hạ Long, about 5 h 53 of riding. It goes by way of Chua Lan Pagoda, Bo Da Pagoda and back through Chua Lan Pagoda. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago and Bo Da Pagoda
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 341 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 53
- 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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago → Chua Lan Pagoda
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 74 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 74 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago is where the day begins. Next is Chua Lan Pagoda.
2. Chua Lan Pagoda
The lowlands where the Bach Dang river meets the sea in northern Vietnam are a place of legends and battles, and the pagodas scattered across this landscape carry centuries of history. Chua Lan Pagoda stands in Quang Ninh province on the low ground south of Uong Bi, between the Yen Tu hills and the port of Haiphong, surrounded by rice fields, fishponds and villages. Like many rural pagodas in northern Vietnam, it is a place of worship, community and memory, with incense-filled halls, statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and old trees in the courtyard. The region is associated with the Truc Lam school of Zen Buddhism, founded by the Tran dynasty king Tran Nhan Tong in the thirteenth century at nearby Yen Tu mountain.
Read the complete Chua Lan Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chua Lan Pagoda comes up about 74 km into the recorded legs. Next is Bo Da Pagoda.
3. 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
about 171 km into the recorded legs you reach Bo Da Pagoda. Next is back through Chua Lan Pagoda.
4. back through Chua Lan Pagoda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chua Lan Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Chua Lan Pagoda, late in the day. Next is Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago.
5. Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago to Chua Lan Pagoda
Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago → Chua Lan Pagoda is 74 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Chua Lan Pagoda to Bo Da Pagoda
Chua Lan Pagoda → Bo Da Pagoda is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Bo Da Pagoda to back through Chua Lan Pagoda
Bo Da Pagoda → back through Chua Lan Pagoda is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Chua Lan Pagoda to Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago
back through Chua Lan Pagoda → Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago is 74 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.