Stone temple on Co Thach hill

Co Thach Tu (Binh Thanh, Tuy Phong) was built by giant natural rocks combined with creativity and human hands, located on an area of more than 4 hectares. The rocks have many strange shapes, creating mysterious caves. That is why the locals call Co Thach Tu (ancient stone pagoda) by the very popular name "Cave Pagoda".

image44(1).jpg — Co Thach Pagoda seen from above

Having visited Co Thach Pagoda many times, I still have not felt and discovered all the sacred and mysterious things of the pagoda. In the quiet space, I only hear the sound of the waves murmuring in the distance; occasionally, the temple bell rings long. People come to the pagoda not only because of their beliefs, burning incense to pray for peace, or praying to Buddha for blessings, but also to admire a wonderful natural landscape. Mr. Nguyen Long - a tourist from Buon Ma Thuot city - Dak Lak came to the pagoda to burn incense and worship Buddha on a weekend in September and shared: "The pagoda is not only beautiful in terms of architecture and delicate carvings, but what makes tourists interested in learning about it is the precious antiques with deep historical and cultural values such as: Parallel sentences, parallel sentences from many years carved with mother-of-pearl, large bell... It is the natural, ancient beauty of the pagoda that attracts many tourists to visit, admire, and worship Buddha...".

Through the ups and downs of history and time, Co Thach Pagoda has been restored, repaired, upgraded and expanded, but still retains its solemnity, antiquity and sacredness. The heritages of historical, cultural and artistic value from ancient times are preserved and passed down. The main campus of Co Thach Pagoda is designed in the ancient architectural style from Tam Quan Gate to Ngo Mon Gate, with the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, the main temple hall worshiping Buddha... all are carved and sculpted delicately. The shrines, temples, toads... are designed to be nestled in each cave to worship Bodhisattvas and deceased monks. In recent years, many more structures have been built in the temple grounds such as: Statues of "Quan Am Buddha" scattered along the coast. Behind the temple there are many caves, deep into the foot of the mountain; there are deep caves that local people believe are the way down to "the underworld".

image52(1).jpg — Standing at the highest point of Co Thach hill - where there is a majestic pagoda, looking down is the Ca Duoc rock beach stretching out.

Standing at the highest point of Co Thach hill - where the majestic pagoda is located, looking down is the Ca Duoc stone beach stretching out (also known as the seven-color stone beach). Not far away is the large Binh Thanh stone beach with diverse shapes, covered with green moss like a "fairyland". Halfway up the hill, many rocks are stacked on top of each other as if someone had arranged them. There are rocks with strange shapes like elephants, ostriches, dolphins, seals intertwined... forming many primitive and mysterious caves. All of these have created a "beautiful landscape" for Co Thach. Since the Stone Pagoda was recognized as a National Historical - Cultural Relic, the number of tours guiding tourists to Tuy Phong has increased and they cannot miss the sacred Stone Pagoda on Co Thach hill.

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