Bich Dong Pagoda was originally called “Bach Ngoc Thach Son Dong”, meaning a beautiful and pure stone pagoda in the deep mountains. In 1774, Lord Trinh Sam once visited this place and changed its name to what it is today.

Bich Dong Pagoda is a very popular cave pagoda in Ninh Binh. Some other cave pagodas in Ninh Binh such as Bai Dinh pagoda, Dich Long pagoda, Ky Lan pagoda, Hoa Son pagoda, Canh Dieu pagoda, Hang pagoda…

The pagoda was originally founded in 1428 and is just a small temple on the top of the mountain. In 1705, two monks Tri Kien and Tri The met and became brothers. The two monks both wanted to travel to many places to spread Buddhism and build temples.

Coming here, seeing the beautiful terrain of Bich Dong cave and already having a pagoda, the two monks decided to stop and repair the old pagoda, collect donations to rebuild it into 3 pagodas: Ha, Trung and Thuong to practice. . In 1707, two monks Tri Kien and Tri The cast a large bell, which is still hanging in Dark Cave.

In the year Giap Ngo 1774, Lord Trinh Sam visited the pagoda and saw the green landscape around the pagoda, so he named the pagoda Bich Dong. Bich Dong Pagoda is built of ironwood, the roof is made of tiles with no knots, the tip is rounded, the corners of the roof all have curved knife tips or the shape of a phoenix’s tail, making the roof curving and flexible like tidal waves.

Bich Dong Pagoda was built in the style of the letter “Three”, three disjointed buildings, three levels along the mountainside, based on the mountain position from low to high into 3 separate pagodas: Lower, Middle and Upper. The unique thing about the pagoda is that the mountains, caves and pagodas complement each other, hidden among the giant trees, making the pagoda blend into the natural landscape.

Ha Pagoda
To get to Ha Pagoda, you will have to go through a paved road at the foot of the mountain about 55m long leading to Tam Quan gate. This is the only road that takes you to the first pagoda in the three pagoda complex at Bich Dong Pagoda.

Ha Pagoda was built in the basic Dinh style in Vietnamese pagoda architecture, on a high stone foundation at the foot of the mountain. The pagoda’s roof is divided into two curved floors with a system of 8 roofs. The facade of Ha Pagoda is divided into 5 compartments, of which the upper hall occupies two entire compartments, supported by wooden columns, large beams carved from solid stone, not connected and more than 4 meters high. More specifically, the pagoda’s trusses, horizontal and vertical beams are also completely made from ironwood, to create stability.

Entering the main hall area, you will easily see high up in the middle of the Tien Duong hall, there is hanging a great letter written in Chinese characters: ‘Mao Co Than Thanh’. This is the main sentence to say that this ancient temple is truly extremely sacred. Inside the main hall is the Buddha worship area, followed by pedestals in order from top to bottom, placing different Buddha statues and worship objects such as lamps, incense burners, etc.

Trung Pagoda
After visiting the Ha Pagoda, when you return to the yard and turn your head to the North, you will see a path with 80 glazed stone steps around the mountainside. This is the only road leading halfway up the mountain and is also where Trung Pagoda is located. The pagoda is located on a cliff shaped like a dragon with its mouth wide open, making people even more excited.

Trung Pagoda was built in a relatively unique architectural style, with the temple’s door and roof exposed, while other buildings are located in a cave deep inside the mountain. Trung Pagoda has three compartments, on the roof are carved two Chinese characters ‘Bich Dong’ according to the wishes of Lord Trinh Sam in the past. On the left side of the pagoda is the place to worship the Holy Mother Goddess.

Thuong Pagoda
The pagoda is located at the highest position in the complex of three pagodas in Bich Dong, Thuong pagoda is located near the top of the mountain. The road leading to the temple is along the mountainside and has more than 40 stone steps. The pagoda is about 60 meters higher than the brick yard, built in the Southeast direction and is a place to worship Guanyin Buddha.

Thuong Pagoda is divided into two vertical-style compartments with columns, grilles, and rafters made entirely from ironwood, while the curved roof resembles the shape of a phoenix proudly rising. On both sides of the pagoda are two shrines facing North and South, which are places to worship the Mountain God and Earth God.

Standing from the area of the two shrines, you will easily see in the distance five mountains standing independently like lotus petals flanking Bich Dong mountain. Therefore, these 5 rocky mountains are named Ngu Nhac Son, including Tam Sang, Gia Dinh, Con Lon, Dau Cau and Hang Based mountains.

More specifically, when standing from the highest position at Thuong Pagoda, you will be able to see Chong Sach Mountain and Elephant Mountain lying peacefully in the middle of the Ngu Mon fields. Thuong Pagoda is also the home of the precious pyrethrum flower – a small, yellow flower that is good for the eyes.

Dark Cave
From the Trung Pagoda area, you go about 21 more stairs to reach Dark Cave. Today, in the cave there is still a large bronze bell cast by two monks Tri Kien and Tri The in 1707. Going a little further, you will see large paintings with embossed images appearing below. The flickering light of electric lights here is filled with images of fairies, fairies, little bronzes, flying dragons, turtles, elephants, tigers, treasure troves, etc.

At the entrance of Dark Cave, you will be able to admire the statues of Amitabha Buddha and Manjushri Bodhisattva with the upper left statue of Avalokiteśvara Thi Kinh. In addition, in the area near the cave entrance to the left, there is also a small cave worshiping Avalokiteśvara. In the middle of the stalactites on the cave floor, there are two blocks that knock like a gong, 1 sound and 1 extremely special bass.

Bich Dong Pagoda is a unique cave temple in Vietnam, nowhere else has the same earth and mountain position. Standing at Thuong Pagoda, you can have a panoramic view of the entire beautiful scenery of Bich Dong, as well as the mountains and water of Ninh Binh.