Discover Thac Bo Temple: Sacred space blends with wild beauty

Lady Thac Bo Temple (in Vay Nua Commune, Da Bac District) is famous as a sacred temple in Hoa Binh. The sacred space of the temple blends with the wild beauty of nature to create a beautiful, idyllic picture.

In 2009, Thac Bo Cave was certified as a National Scenic Monument.

What is the best time to visit Thac Bo Temple?

According to the experience of many pilgrims, the best time to visit Thac Bo Temple is in spring and summer, especially when the Thac Bo Temple festival takes place from January 7th to the end of the third lunar month. However, from the last days of the last lunar month, this place has been crowded with visitors coming to give thanks.

You can also visit the temple in the summer. At this time, people can explore the river space, caves with many limestone mountains in the fresh air.

To get to the temple, visitors have to go through 2 stages. After the road route is the river route with 3 main routes: from Thung Nai tourist port, Thung Nai commune (Cao Phong) is the closest port to the temple with a travel time of about 15 minutes by motorboat; from Bich Ha port, Hoa Binh commune (Hoa Binh city) to the temple with a travel time of about 1 hour and a half; from the water wharf of Binh Thanh commune (Cao Phong) to the temple about 45 minutes.

Besides, you can also combine the journey to Thac Bo Temple with many other famous attractions in Hoa Binh such as Thung Nai, Hoa Binh Hydroelectric Plant...

History of the temple

Thac Bo Temple is located on a mountain facing the river, surrounded by a large, beautiful blue lake and sparkling stalactite caves.

According to legend, Thac Bo Temple worships two female generals Dinh Thi Van (Muong ethnic group) and an unknown woman (Dao ethnic group). During the reign of King Le Loi, the two women helped the people and army transport food and boats through Thac Bo to Muong Le (Son La) to quell the rebellion.

In order to honor the two female generals, the royal court handed over the Muong land in Hoa Binh to the two women to manage. Since then, the people here have been helped by the two women to stabilize their lives, and the people have been taught how to go to the fields to farm and to cast nets to catch fish and shrimp.

After their death, the two ladies often appeared to help people safely cross the famous dangerous and harsh waterfall when the Da River had not yet been blocked. The people were grateful and built a temple to worship the two ladies to show their respect and hope that the two ladies would bless and protect them from danger when crossing the water.

Explore the sacred temple

Built in a river-facing, mountain-leaning position with a charming landscape, Thac Bo Temple is divided into two areas: Thac Bo Lady Temple on the left bank is located on the top of Hang Than Hill, in Vay Nua Commune, and Thac Bo Temple on the right bank is located at the foot of Thac Bo, right next to Da River.

After several restorations and reconstructions, the temple still retains its unique and characteristic features.

The temple on the left bank has a T-shaped ground plan, including the main worship house and the back palace. In front of the temple are five doors covered with fish-scale tiles. The main door has a large plaque written in Chinese characters. On the roof is a relief of a dragon.

The temple on the right bank consists of three main worship rooms and the sanctuary, built on two floors leaning against the mountain. The first floor is a place for pilgrims to stay, the second floor is a place to worship the gods.

The temple has 38 statues, including 2 bronze statues of two female generals. The large statue of the temple is located in a cave that is cool and dry all year round. Around the cave are stalactites of all sizes and shapes, shimmering in the dim light, making the scene more sacred and magical.

The temple not only worships Lady Thac Bo but also other deities such as the great community of mandarins, the five gods, Lady Son Trang, the four palaces of the Holy Lady, the four palaces of the Holy Boy, the Great King Tran Quoc Tuan, the four palaces of the Chau Ba...

In addition to visiting the Thac Bo Lady Temple and Thac Bo Temple, visitors can visit the large and beautiful Thac Bo Cave and enjoy specialties of the Da River region.