Loi Am Pagoda is an ancient pagoda located on the mountainside, in Dai Yen ward (Ha Long city). The pagoda is quite familiar to local people and some neighboring localities, attracting many people and tourists to come and worship, especially in spring.
Joining the stream of people going sightseeing and visiting pagodas on Sunday afternoon last weekend, we came to Loi Am Pagoda. Although the weather was sunny, the cold air was still quite bitter. Passing the densely populated area outside, we quickly arrived at the ferry terminal to take passengers across Yen Lap Lake to the foot of the mountain. There were about a dozen boats taking turns picking up and dropping off passengers at both ends of the terminal. Although there were quite a lot of passengers, we did not have to wait long. The boats cut through the water at high speed, so the waterway on Yen Lap Lake only took about ten minutes to reach the terminal.
On the other side, visitors start walking along a small concrete path located between two hills of pine, acacia and different types of fruit trees. The path is not too long, the whole climb while relaxing, taking pictures, and enjoying the scenery only takes about 1 hour to reach the temple. However, visitors should choose neat clothes and use soft, comfortable shoes to make the climb more convenient.
The further you go, the more beautiful the scenery becomes when there are winding slopes next to pine hills, large, barren pine trees growing sparsely, creating a unique landscape. The scenery also changes when there are sections with sparse forests with many types of trees, and sections with dense pine trees, large and small trees close together. Traces of Typhoon Yagi with terrible winds that swept through here in September 2024 are still present in many large and small tree trunks that have fallen along the road, which also reduces the beautiful view for visitors. At the foot of the big trees are endless pineapple hills, making visitors easily think of the effort and admirable time that the tree growers have spent many years to cover these pineapple hills with green.
In particular, the last section leading to the pagoda no longer has a concrete road, but visitors must overcome a rather steep path between large natural rocks and a system of interwoven forest trees of many different species. However, if the first section is a long, gentle slope that makes visitors relatively tired, on the contrary, this steep slope makes the climb feel more comfortable.
Loi Am Pagoda appears right in front of visitors' eyes when passing this slope, on a large, flat area. Through research, we learned that this is one of the ancient pagodas, built during the Le Dynasty, containing many valuable historical and cultural values. In 1997, the pagoda was ranked as a National Historical Relic.
Having weathered the elements for hundreds of years, the pagoda has undergone many restorations and renovations. The wooden pillars and stone foundations scattered around the pagoda grounds show some traces of restorations over those periods.
In the past, visitors used to tell each other about the temple’s initiative of using rope to tie two bricks together, each visitor to the temple would carry a rope like that, year after year “little by little makes a lot” contributing to the temple’s restoration. The pile of bricks with the ropes still remains, but later on, roads were built, making it easier to transport materials, so in recent years, visitors to the temple no longer need to bring bricks.
The temple is small, the incense offering and worshiping are also quite quick. If there is time, visitors will visit and admire the landscape around the temple. On both sides of the temple are many large trees, estimated to be hundreds of years old, some with trunks so large that 2-3 people can hug around them, their canopies spreading out over a large area.
The path leading to the Mother Palace next to the pagoda also has a unique landscape with many natural forest trees interwoven with rocky outcrops along the path. And right in front of the pagoda, on the steep path leading up to the pagoda, is a large bamboo bush with bamboo trunks as big as a calf. There is a bamboo tree jutting out next to the path just within reach, the bamboo in the middle has been held on by countless tourists as a support when going down the mountain, making it smooth and shiny, unlike the other bamboo joints.
The road down the mountain is much easier than climbing so the time is shortened. Going down, the view passes through the low treetops, looming over the scenery of Yen Lap Lake with floating islands and poetic emerald water. After Tet is the time when many tourists make pilgrimages to Loi Am Pagoda, which is also the "business" season for the locals, with the main service being selling grilled chicken. With reasonable prices, the fragrant grilled chicken attracts many diners to experience after a long climb.
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