Why this ride
A 243 km round trip from Thành Phố Uông Bí - roughly 5 h 32 in the saddle. The stops in between: Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster, Thanh Mai Pagoda, Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son and Con Son Pagoda.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster and Con Son Pagoda
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 243 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 32
- 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. 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
Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster is where the day begins. Next is Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster.
2. 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 comes up about 32 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 69 km into the recorded legs you reach Thanh Mai Pagoda. Next is Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Con Son Pagoda.
5. 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 sits at 78 km, about halfway. Next is back through Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son.
6. 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 comes up about 147 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Thanh Mai Pagoda.
7. 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
about 174 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Thanh Mai Pagoda. Next is back through Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster.
8. back through Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster, late in the day. Next is Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster.
9. Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
The route ends here after 243 km.
Leg by leg
Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster to Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster
Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster → Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster to Thanh Mai Pagoda
Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster → Thanh Mai Pagoda is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Thanh Mai Pagoda to Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son
Thanh Mai Pagoda → Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son to Con Son Pagoda
Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son → Con Son Pagoda is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Con Son Pagoda to back through Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son
Con Son Pagoda → back through Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son to back through Thanh Mai Pagoda
back through Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son → back through Thanh Mai Pagoda is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Thanh Mai Pagoda to back through Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster
back through Thanh Mai Pagoda → back through Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster to Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster
back through Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster → Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.