Thay Pagoda (The Master Pagoda) in the former Ha Tay province was first built from the 12 century by Master Tu Dao Hanh. The pagoda has a nice setting with surrounding mountains and lakes. There are 03 main buildings: the back one is for worshiping the monks who had practiced here; the middle one is for honoring Buddhism and the front one is for ceremonies.

The complex of Thay Pagoda is built at the foot of a rock mountain, there's a spacious yard at the front which is surrounded by water of a tranquil lake

In the middle of the front lake there's a stage for performing water puppet from the 17th century. This is the oldest water puppet stage left in Vietnam.

There are 2 covered bridges on the 2 sides of the front yard: one leads to the Cac Co Cave and the mountain, the other to Tam Phu Temple. The 2 bridges look like the 2 eyes of the whole complex of the Thay Pagoda which resembles a dragon.

Following the covered bridge to the right, we'll arrive at Tam Phu Temple which is a Vietnamese cult dedicated to the Goddess of Heaven, the Goddess of Earth and the Goddess of Water.

On a normal day, the front entrance is closed, visiting the Thay Pagoda, we'll access from the side entrance

The side entrance leads to the inner yard of the Thay Pagoda (back yard) which is always filled with fragrance of fresh flowers. The back building is dedicated to the monks and to the Mother of the Land. There are also 02 buildings flanking the inner yard of the complex which are used for the local Buddhists to have tea.

The front building of the Thay Pagoda is for ceremonies where there are statues of different sacred Guardians & Kim Cuong

 
Ho Phap - Ong Ac - Thay Pagoda

Ho Phap - Ong Thien - Thay Pagoda

A trip to the Thay Pagoda also offers spectacular countryside of northern Vietnam. And the villages around the Thay Pagoda are among the most traditional ones in Vietnam.

Besides the pagoda and the amazing architecture and atmosphere, you can choose to climb the mountain in the back of the pagoda and visit the surprising Cac Co Cave.

A trip to the Thay Pagoda can be combined with other pagodas in the region or the traditional villages of Ha Tay. The trips takes a day or half a day.