Động Hương Tích

Huong Tich Cave - Huong Tich Grotto

Useful Information

photography — Pilgim boats, Động Hương Tích, Vietnam. Public Domain.

Location:	Hương Sơn, Mỹ Đức, Hà Nội 10000. My Duc, 69 km south of Hanoi. Boats start at Ben Duc Harbour upstream on a tributary of the Yen River. (20.614170, 105.732881)
Open:	All year daily 8-20. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave Cave Church
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	A=390 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1575	first shrine by locals.
1770	start of Huong Pagoda Festival under the reign of Le-Trinh dynasty.

Description

This place is the most famous Buddhist pilgrimage site in northern Vietnam. It includes Chùa Hương (Perfume Pagoda) and Động Hương Tích (Perfume Pagoda Cave), which is also called Chua Trong (inner temple). This cave is a huge, arched shelter with an altar inside. A long staircase leads down to the bottom of the cave.

The cave is very crowded during the Pagoda Festival when it is visited by up to 30,000 pilgrims a day. The festival starts in late January to mid-February each year, and ends about ten weeks later. The date depends on the lunar calendar. During the rest of the year, much fewer visitors make this a pleasant spot.

The cave is the center of the whole temple complex, it contains the Chùa Trong (Inner Temple). There are numerous references which are difficult for us to understand, but seem to be quite important for the pilgims. For example, the mouth of the cave is considered to have the appearance of an open dragon's mouth. We have no idea, but in our opinion, any cave portal is an open dragon's mouth. The cave wall at the portal has huge Chữ Nho characters (Chinese letters) carved into the rock. Their meaning is translated in Vietnames as Nam thiên Đệ nhất Động which means "the foremost cave under the Southern Heavens”. The carving is dated to the year 1770, and they are attributed to the Le-Trinh dynasty ruler Trịnh Sâm (*1739-✝1782), who ruled with the title Tĩnh Đô Vương from 1767 to 1782. It seems he was quite fond of the place and is also responsible that the Huong Pagoda Festival started in the same year.

The centre of the cave is a large statue of Buddha made from green stone. Another statue depicting Quan Âm is also made of green stone. She is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. Her actual Indian name was अवलोकितेश्वर (Avalokiteśvara), in China she is known as 觀音 (Guanyin). Quan Âm is obviously the Vietnames name. Her left leg is stretched out, the foot lies on a lotus flower. Her right leg is bent and is supported by a lotus flower with supple leaves. A hand holds a pearl.

Other statues depict Arhats and various other figures. But many stalactites and stalagmites are also worshipped. They are worn smooth from years of rubbing by visitors. There are two stalagmites who are said to bring fertility to childless pilgrims. It is even possible to take influence on the gender of the child: one is for a boy, the other for a girl. Water dripping from a stalactite brings health, and other stalagmites bring silver, gold or happiness when rubbed.

The most popular route for the pilgrimage to the temple is on a boat trip upstream on a tributary of the Yen River. The shallow metal longboats start at Ben Duc Harbour and reach their destination after one hour of calm boat trip. The boats stop at the "registration shrine" at Trình Shrine, then they visit Thanh Sơn temple, which is also inside a cave. From Trò wharf they walk to Thiên Trù Pagoda. Now the ascent on the hill starts, with various temple visits and one more cave: Thuyết Kinh Cave is a small cave with a temple inside along the way. The last temple is the Phật Tích Shrine then they continue to the cave. The ascent from the river to the last temple takes at least an hour, excluding the temple visits.

Because of the heat, it is advisable for tourists to use the cable car instead. The site is a temple, and while donations are welcome, there is no fee at all. The boat trip and the cable car are not free though. Most visitors book a day trip which includes boat and cable car, as well as pick up and drop off at the hotel.