Pilgrimage to Thi Vai Mountain and explore hundreds of pagodas

About 80 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City off National Highway No.51, Thi Vai Mountain is nestled in Phu My Town, Tan Thanh District, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province. This place is a focus for Buddhist monks, nuns and tourists with its ancient pagodas to see along the way while they coming to the mountain and trekking to the top.
On the way from HCMC to Thi Vai Mountain, visitors will pass Van Hanh Road, about 3.5km long, where they can discover hundreds of pagodas, Zen monasteries, and Buddhist temples with various and unique architectural styles along it. Long time ago, Van Hanh was a small hamlet with dozens of inhabitants. Gradually, one pagoda then two and three and dozens of pagodas with southern architecture styles were built up over the years. It was said that these pagodas were built in around 1976. A few pagodas were moved there from Da Lat. Most pagodas on Van Hanh have spacious gardens where vegetables and fruits are grown all year.
Van Hanh links to Thi Vai Mountain, where many pagodas have been built up on the mountain. Of which, there are three main pagodas, namely Lien Tri Pagoda (Foot Pagoda), Hong Phuc Pagoda (Central Pagoda) and Linh Son Buu Thien Pagoda (Upper Pagoda).
From Lien Tri Pagoda, worshippers and tourists have to climb 1,340 stone steps to Linh Son Buu Thien Pagoda. The pagoda’s name, Linh Son Buu Thien originates from a historical story in Gia Dinh Thanh Thong Chi , a geographic and historical book about the south of Viet Nam written by Trinh Hoai Duc in the early of the 19th century, saying that nun Dieu Hanh was the first person who led her life for Buddha on this mountain and who rescued Nguyen Phuc Anh from the
hunt of Tay Son troops in Thi Vai Mountain. After taking the throne, Nguyen Phuc Anh name of King Gia Long (1802-1819) has conferred a title on nuns Dieu Hanh as the Linh Son Holy Mother and rebuilt her secluded hut to a pagoda to honor the nun as well as to express his gratefulness to her and named Linh Son Buu Thien.
The king The tomb of that old woman is on the grounds of a small pagoda on Thi Vai Mountain.
Pilgrimage to Thi Vai Mountain, visitors should prepare food and drinks since it is quite long way there is no restaurant along the way up to the mountain. Along the way to the upper pagoda, tourists can see flocks of monkeys playing together in ancient trees or on the mountain side.
From the top of the pagoda, tourists will have a chance to take in the whole scenery of the coastal province. Visitors will find the tranquility of nature in the sanctuary of pagodas, with the murmur of rivers, charm of lotus pond and especially the sunset, when the birds noisily make their way back to the mountain.
Thi Vai Mountain is attracting more and more not only pilgrims but also many visitors come to visit the sanctuary of pagodas to explore the solemn architecture and relieve the distress of bustling city life.
Phuong Anh (Collected)