Bai Dinh Pagoda en Ninh Binh

Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh

Ninh Binh, Vietnam

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Bai Dinh Pagoda – Ninh Binh
Parking (10.000 VND)
200.000 VND/person
3h
7/10. (Busy)
–
8.75/10

Bai Dinh Pagoda is a religious complex that has been considered one of the largest in Southeast Asia and the largest one in Vietnam. It covers more than 500 hectares, where you will find several pagodas, more than 500 statues of Buddha, some of them quite big, or beautiful karst mountains that surround the complex among others.

It’s not as easy to reach as Mua Cave or Bich Dong Pagoda. Bai Dinh is located 23 km from the center of Tam Coc, so we recommend to get there on a scooter (~100.000 VND/day). Riding around Ninh Binh is much safer than in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh as there is not so much traffic and the roads are in general wide and in a good state. Once you are there, you can leave the scooter in this parking lot next to the ticket office in exchange for 10.000 VND. In case you don’t want to drive, you will easily find a grab / van that takes you there, just ask at your hotel.

The opening hours are from 06:00 to 22:00 (it might vary). Visiting the whole area will take you at least 3 hours. Here you have the different ticket options that you can purchase:

200.000 VND: Access to the enclosure + access to the Báo Thiên tower + shuttle electric car.
140.000 VND: Access to the enclosure + shuttle electric car.
2.500.000 VND: It’s called “vip electric car and tour guide”. You will have a guide and an electric car driver for you that will show you the place (the electric car can’t reach all the locations).
500.000 VND: If you want a tour guide, you will have to pay 500.000 VND extra. Bear in mind that there is almost no information about the place, but it doesn’t have an interesting history as most of the temples were built less than 20 years ago. The only exception is the “Ancient Pagoda” located on the mountain.

We strongly recommend visiting the big tower (Báo Thiên) as the panoramic view from the top is great. You should also take the ticket with the drop in and drop off shuttle drop in and drop off shuttle included as the entrance is far from the ticket office. The "vip electric car" is up to you. Although the distances between the temples are big, you can do it walking. So it depends on how lazy/tired you are and the time you want to spend there.

These are some of the worth-mentioning places you will find there after walking up and down many many stairs (really, many):

Báo Thiên Stupa: It’s the biggest Pagoda, it’s 100 m tall and it has 13 floors (don’t worry, there is an elevator). The panoramic view from the top is incredible. It holds sacred Buddha relics.
One of the largest Arhats Corridors in Asia: It has more than 500 Arhat statues.
Belltower: A tower that has a great bronze bell of 70-tons.
Bodhisattva worshiping temple: It contains the largest bronze statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in Vietnam.
Temple of three Buddhas: It’s Dien Tam The temple. It’s the biggest building in the enclosure. It worships three identical statues of Buddha which represent the past, the present and the future.
Maitreya Statue: Located on a small hill, It’s a 10 m high statue of Buddha that is made of bronze.
Ancient Bai Dinh Pagoda: It’s located almost 1 km from the three-Buddhas temple. You will have to walk up 300 steps. This is the most remote area of the complex. The Ancient Pagoda is the only one that was not built recently. It encompasses the Light Cave, the Cao Son temple, the temple of Saint Nguyen and the Dark Cave.

It’s built to impress tourists, and it does. The big dimensions of some buddhas, as well as the architecture of the temples and the corridors make it very impressive. Although it’s very popular, you will not have the feeling of crowdedness. If you have the opportunity, stay after the sunset as the temples will be illuminated.