Adults carry children for 2 hours into Huong Tich cave

Because the Huong Pagoda opening ceremony (forest opening ceremony) on January 6 coincides with the first working day of the new year, on the last day of the holiday, crowds of people flocked to this scenic spot to visit and worship from the morning of February 14.

Places like the boat dock, cable car waiting room and the entrance to Huong Tich cave are always crowded with people. In the photo, a man carrying a child on his back has to jostle continuously for more than 2 hours.

In the early afternoon, the number of people entering Huong Tich cave to worship and pray for peace increased. At the road leading up to the cave about 150m from the entrance, the number had reached thousands.

According to statistics from the relic site management board, in the past 3 days, this place welcomed about 80,000 visitors, with nearly 40,000 people on the 5th day of Tet alone. It is expected that the opening day (the 6th day of Tet) will welcome about 30,000 visitors. The number of visitors is estimated to be 20% higher than the same period last year.

The weather at Huong Pagoda on the afternoon of the 5th day of Tet was slightly sunny, however due to the large number of people, the surrounding air was quite stuffy.

A little child stands among the crowd heading towards the cave.

The path leading to the cave was crowded with visitors and worshippers. Everyone could only inch their way down.

According to many people, to get to the cave they have to leave early, spend about 1 hour by boat, 3 hours waiting for the cable car and 2 hours queuing to reach the destination (inside Huong Tich cave).