Tu Van Pagoda
Tu Van Pagoda
4.5
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4.5
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JSTrip_77
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina1,233 contributions
Dec 2020
I've visited countless pagodas now...but this one was unique. From the front, it looks like an eclectic collection of fairly modern, concrete dragons and a relatively unimpressive concrete pagoda but DON'T BE DETERRED. You're in the right place. Just keep walking toward the back of the property and you'll finally come across the coral and shell pagoda and caves. The exterior is all coral and although it's all gray in color now, it's texture makes it really interesting. The inside is decorated with shells which are really cool. Shine your flashlight (from your phone...) to give them more color as the interior is quite dark. Totally worth a visit!! (The monks will likely as for a donation on the way you...Like most places, this pagoda is suffering from lack of tourists due to COVID.)
Written 28 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
loek_de_beer
Hanoi, Ha Noi, Vietnam99 contributions
Aug 2016 • Couples
This temple stands out from the many other temples you can visit in Vietnam. The large pagoda is made entirely from coral and decorated with sea shells.
The 'Pathway to hell' is a one minute walk through a narrow tunnel, which is the body of a dragon (the snake type). It takes about 40-60min. In the beginning it can be quite narrow(!), but after a bit of maneuvering through this you will be rewarded with a bigger pathway. Be mindful that although there are openings for air and light, it can be quite warm and especially dark. Be sure to bring water and have enough battery on your phone for flash-lighting your way through the dark parts. Near the end you will be rewarded with about twelve depictions of hell, before exiting through the dragons mouth.
The 'Pathway to hell' is a one minute walk through a narrow tunnel, which is the body of a dragon (the snake type). It takes about 40-60min. In the beginning it can be quite narrow(!), but after a bit of maneuvering through this you will be rewarded with a bigger pathway. Be mindful that although there are openings for air and light, it can be quite warm and especially dark. Be sure to bring water and have enough battery on your phone for flash-lighting your way through the dark parts. Near the end you will be rewarded with about twelve depictions of hell, before exiting through the dragons mouth.
Written 24 September 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Footprints29392
6 contributions
Apr 2017 • Solo
Loved the naturalness of the area, the hillside is beautiful and the locals are very pleasant. Seeing the simple lifestyle that they live is refreshing. Great place to visit, very picturesque. I beautiful place to behold
Written 20 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Laylan G
Singapore, Singapore368 contributions
Apr 2018 • Solo
I happened to visit this pagoda with the Easyrider tour. Or else I won't know there is such unique pagoda in Vietnam. It built with the corals and shells, simple yet unique. You won't notice the shells and corals till you take a closer look at the pagoda. The guide told me, the pagoda is built by the monks. I must admit that the monks must be very creative. Another interesting part is the 'passage to18th level of hell' which you enter from the dragon's mouth and get out from its tail. This place is rather quiet compared to other more touristy pagodas, a good spot to get a peace of mind and chill.
Written 2 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The_Pale_Ridah
Gladesville, Australia1,956 contributions
Sept 2014 • Friends
In the sleepy coastal town of Cam Ranh there is a tower made out of coral & shell constructed by Buddhist monks going full old-school using their bare-hands. Located under this tower pagoda is an underground labyrinth of narrow coral walls & maze-like passages that lead to the so-called Twelve Gates of Hell as mentioned in old Buddhist scriptures.
The Gates of Hell under Tu Van Pagoda’s tower (known as Bao Tich Tower) are relatively touristy rather than being some underground Austrian dungeon that the mother didn’t know about for 24 years. Each ‘Gate of Hell’ is simply a small chamber with a picture of a certain punishment - represented by people getting tortured by muscly Asian guys. The pictures themselves are mostly weak images but some get points for creativity such as the bed of nails or a demon decapitating a thief. Don’t get me wrong, those ISIS creeps in Syria & their videos are idiots but the monks who drew this stuff are no savages like them. The real experience here is walking the 500 metre underground maze. Some passages you may have to get low but its nothing an able-bodied person can’t do. A temple volunteer was loitering around & offered to be our guide down into the maze, let’s be real, you don’t need to be able to read Vietnamese to understand what some of the Gates of Hell punishments represent but we slipped him a few bucks for his trouble…besides, he was the only one holding a torch. Phone camera lights are ok too.
Tu Van Pagoda’s coral tower itself is strange & even beautiful in a simple way with eight entries representing the Noble Eightfold Path. There are 49 shrines each with its own Buddha statue of various sizes. It is almost an undersea mermaid palace of sorts. Standing inside the shrine & looking up really warps your sense of reality as the spiral top has a strange calming effect. After walking the underground maze, the Tu Van Pagoda’s coral tower made for a great place to escape the midday heat & enjoy the tower’s cool interior. The grounds of Tu Van Pagoda have many statues & icons which may overload your average fanatical Muslim jihadist & cause their eyes to melt, in particular a delicate statue of Guyin with several hundred arms but to most young kids it would seem pretty cool. There is a particularly beautiful twin dragon towards the front that is decorated entirely of delicate sea shells which would look great in any museum if it were ancient. As always, since it is a Buddhist place of peace, be a good human & say a prayer for somebody & light an incense stick in the main temple before leaving.
We hired a $10 USD scooter from our hotel & used our phone GPS to navigate the coastal road from Nha Trang to Cam Ranh with a cheap local SIM card, a straight ride to the Tu Van Pagoda from Nha Trang would take about 60 mins. On the way to the pagoda in Cam Ranh we also stopped by the 18km long white sand beach known as Bai Dai beach & checked out the huge Vietnamese-Soviet Memorial statue both near the airport. From the main highway from Nha Trang the Tu Van Pagoda is simply 1 turn off onto the main street in Cam Ranh town. Being on the grounds of a Buddhist temple there were no entry fees either into the grounds, into the underground Gates of Hell or pagoda. We did pay 2 cents for parking our scooter.
The Gates of Hell under Tu Van Pagoda’s tower (known as Bao Tich Tower) are relatively touristy rather than being some underground Austrian dungeon that the mother didn’t know about for 24 years. Each ‘Gate of Hell’ is simply a small chamber with a picture of a certain punishment - represented by people getting tortured by muscly Asian guys. The pictures themselves are mostly weak images but some get points for creativity such as the bed of nails or a demon decapitating a thief. Don’t get me wrong, those ISIS creeps in Syria & their videos are idiots but the monks who drew this stuff are no savages like them. The real experience here is walking the 500 metre underground maze. Some passages you may have to get low but its nothing an able-bodied person can’t do. A temple volunteer was loitering around & offered to be our guide down into the maze, let’s be real, you don’t need to be able to read Vietnamese to understand what some of the Gates of Hell punishments represent but we slipped him a few bucks for his trouble…besides, he was the only one holding a torch. Phone camera lights are ok too.
Tu Van Pagoda’s coral tower itself is strange & even beautiful in a simple way with eight entries representing the Noble Eightfold Path. There are 49 shrines each with its own Buddha statue of various sizes. It is almost an undersea mermaid palace of sorts. Standing inside the shrine & looking up really warps your sense of reality as the spiral top has a strange calming effect. After walking the underground maze, the Tu Van Pagoda’s coral tower made for a great place to escape the midday heat & enjoy the tower’s cool interior. The grounds of Tu Van Pagoda have many statues & icons which may overload your average fanatical Muslim jihadist & cause their eyes to melt, in particular a delicate statue of Guyin with several hundred arms but to most young kids it would seem pretty cool. There is a particularly beautiful twin dragon towards the front that is decorated entirely of delicate sea shells which would look great in any museum if it were ancient. As always, since it is a Buddhist place of peace, be a good human & say a prayer for somebody & light an incense stick in the main temple before leaving.
We hired a $10 USD scooter from our hotel & used our phone GPS to navigate the coastal road from Nha Trang to Cam Ranh with a cheap local SIM card, a straight ride to the Tu Van Pagoda from Nha Trang would take about 60 mins. On the way to the pagoda in Cam Ranh we also stopped by the 18km long white sand beach known as Bai Dai beach & checked out the huge Vietnamese-Soviet Memorial statue both near the airport. From the main highway from Nha Trang the Tu Van Pagoda is simply 1 turn off onto the main street in Cam Ranh town. Being on the grounds of a Buddhist temple there were no entry fees either into the grounds, into the underground Gates of Hell or pagoda. We did pay 2 cents for parking our scooter.
Written 29 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
danmaio
Perth, Australia91 contributions
Mar 2016 • Friends
Being to Cam Ranh quite a few times, but never visited although I knew about it. This time I decided to visit with a friend and was blown away. The tunnel is amazing and begs the question, why? The work and detail with the shells is unbelievable, and looks like it would of taken an eternity. The length and depth is also amazing. Cam Ranh should really promote this place for tourism, as you can catch a local bus from Nha Trang. Just a small donation for entry , it's s real worthwhile visit.
Written 1 April 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kseyru
Yekaterinburg, Russia107 contributions
Apr 2015 • Friends
Tu Van Pagoda is absolutely fascinating place which should visit to everybody
Temple is located in small city Cam Ranh. This city is quieter then Nha Trang. There aren't so much busy traffic and cleaner street but smaller restaurants and shops. Although big supermarket is close to bus station.
Territory of temple is large beautiful garden. The entrance to the temple is free. Besides temple there are a lot of sculptural groups of Buddha, image of the goddesses and miraculous animals. Very interesting sculptures of dragons are made of sea shells.
The temple located in the end this garden. It was built of dead coral and its walls and ceiling is decorated by sea shells. It is a very unusual structure.
Very interesting the tunnel which is on the territory of temple. If you decide go through it you have to have time. Because it very long. Sometimes tunnel became very narrow and low. Sometimes we had to get on all fours, pass sideways and cross the bridges. Sometimes there was becomes very dark and we turned on the flashlight. There isn't artificial light, only light which penetrates through the small windows and cracks. Besides there are pictures are depicting scenes from hell in. This paintings is very simple and look like child's pictures. You will not be able to get lost, as there's only one road. Our way through the tunnel took about 1 hour. Entrance to tunnel is in small temple from dead coral. Way ends close to a big temple.
You can get to this place from Nha Trang by several ways:
1. as part of the tour (I have known that this place you can visit with tour to the beaches)
2. take a taxi or book a private transfer
3. by a rented transport
4. by public transport using long-distance transport
I tell about how we used last way. It is simply. We found the bus stop (it located on the route of bus № 2, behind the Cathedral of Nha Trang city, on Nhai Nguyen street). On the pointer bus stop must be written - Cam Ranh (on the orange field). There are intercity buses and little buses. We got to Cam Ranh by small bus. Our way took 1,5 hour. Price of travel 30 000 VND / person. We were the only tourists on the bus, but it was interesting. It is necessary to get to the bus station of Cam Ranh city. This is last stop. The terminus of the bus in Cam Ranh is next to a large market center.
How to get from Cam Ranh to Nha Trang by public transport: you should take a bus is routed back side. But pay attention that you have to cross the road. Because the bus stop is in other side the road (opposite the bus station). You should take any bus going to Nha Trang. We took bus which went from Dalat to Nha Trang. Our way took 1,5 hour. Price of travel 25 000 VND / person. The bus got us to the bus station of Nha Trang. This station is located behind the big Buddha statue (Long Son Pagoda).
It was a great trip, which has helped us get to know with Vietnam, its culture, people and their way of life.
Temple is located in small city Cam Ranh. This city is quieter then Nha Trang. There aren't so much busy traffic and cleaner street but smaller restaurants and shops. Although big supermarket is close to bus station.
Territory of temple is large beautiful garden. The entrance to the temple is free. Besides temple there are a lot of sculptural groups of Buddha, image of the goddesses and miraculous animals. Very interesting sculptures of dragons are made of sea shells.
The temple located in the end this garden. It was built of dead coral and its walls and ceiling is decorated by sea shells. It is a very unusual structure.
Very interesting the tunnel which is on the territory of temple. If you decide go through it you have to have time. Because it very long. Sometimes tunnel became very narrow and low. Sometimes we had to get on all fours, pass sideways and cross the bridges. Sometimes there was becomes very dark and we turned on the flashlight. There isn't artificial light, only light which penetrates through the small windows and cracks. Besides there are pictures are depicting scenes from hell in. This paintings is very simple and look like child's pictures. You will not be able to get lost, as there's only one road. Our way through the tunnel took about 1 hour. Entrance to tunnel is in small temple from dead coral. Way ends close to a big temple.
You can get to this place from Nha Trang by several ways:
1. as part of the tour (I have known that this place you can visit with tour to the beaches)
2. take a taxi or book a private transfer
3. by a rented transport
4. by public transport using long-distance transport
I tell about how we used last way. It is simply. We found the bus stop (it located on the route of bus № 2, behind the Cathedral of Nha Trang city, on Nhai Nguyen street). On the pointer bus stop must be written - Cam Ranh (on the orange field). There are intercity buses and little buses. We got to Cam Ranh by small bus. Our way took 1,5 hour. Price of travel 30 000 VND / person. We were the only tourists on the bus, but it was interesting. It is necessary to get to the bus station of Cam Ranh city. This is last stop. The terminus of the bus in Cam Ranh is next to a large market center.
How to get from Cam Ranh to Nha Trang by public transport: you should take a bus is routed back side. But pay attention that you have to cross the road. Because the bus stop is in other side the road (opposite the bus station). You should take any bus going to Nha Trang. We took bus which went from Dalat to Nha Trang. Our way took 1,5 hour. Price of travel 25 000 VND / person. The bus got us to the bus station of Nha Trang. This station is located behind the big Buddha statue (Long Son Pagoda).
It was a great trip, which has helped us get to know with Vietnam, its culture, people and their way of life.
Written 10 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Подскажите пожалуйста как работает 14 и 15 февраля 2017?
Written 13 February 2018
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