Vietnam Pagodas

Cổ Thạch Pagoda

Lâm Đồng(formerly Bình Thuận)(Chùa Cổ Thạch)

Cổ Thạch Pagoda

Overview & history

Cổ Thạch Pagoda (also known as the Ancient Stone Pagoda or Cave Pagoda) is a pagoda located in Liên Hương commune, Lâm Đồng province, Vietnam.

Geography

The pagoda is situated in the Cổ Thạch beach area. It is both a pilgrimage site and a tourist attraction of Lâm Đồng province. The pagoda is over 100 years old and was recognised as a national-level historical and scenic site in 1993. It is located 95 km from Phan Thiết via National Highway 1.

History

The pagoda was originally a small hermitage founded by Zen master Bảo Tạng, the 40th generation of the Lâm Tế Zen school, in 1835. Over many generations, the pagoda was repaired and renovated. Today, it has become larger and more spacious, and was renamed Cổ Thạch Pagoda.

Description

The pagoda is located next to the seven-coloured Cà Dược stone field. It is also popularly known as "Cave Pagoda". Cổ Thạch Pagoda nestles among caves on a rocky hill 64 metres above sea level.

The Cổ Thạch Pagoda area is an architectural complex of hermitages, shrines, and meditation huts interconnected on a rocky hill over 4 hectares in size. The main hall of the pagoda is set within the natural rocky mountain, sometimes nestled among large boulders. Next to it are meditation halls, ancestral halls, patriarch halls, bell towers, drum towers, and hermitages for worship, featuring impressive and well-preserved parallel sentences and horizontal lacquered boards. Many Han-Nom cultural relics, couplets, horizontal boards, and documents dating from the pagoda's founding are preserved here. Other valuable historical and cultural artefacts such as the Great Bell (Đại Hồng chung) and thunder drum (trống sấm) date from the first half of the 19th century. Each cave worships a Buddha, a Bodhisattva, or a deceased monk. The cave dedicated to the founding patriarch of Cổ Thạch Pagoda, Zen master Bảo Tạng, contains his statue and many ancestral tablets of those who contributed to building the pagoda. The cave dedicated to the Mother Buddha Chuẩn Đề is a cave with an eight-armed Buddha statue and many ancient statues. The Tam Bảo Cave houses 23 ancient Buddha statues of various sizes and ages...

The pagoda buildings, hermitages, and small miếu (folk shrines) built on the hill depict the life of the Buddha and various Bodhisattvas. On a small rocky promontory by the sea stands a statue of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva (Quán Thế Âm Bồ tát). Here, there is a peak called Linh Thứu Peak, illustrating Buddhist stories.

Next to the pagoda is the colourful Cà Dược stone field stretching along the coast. There is a beach here for visitors to swim, which remains quite pristine.

For decades, Cổ Thạch Pagoda has been under the abbotship of Venerable Thích Minh Đức and is the main tourist attraction of Bình Thuận, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the country each year to pay homage, worship the Buddha, and visit the unique and rare scenic site.

Additional Information

A visit to the pagoda takes about 2 hours – it is possible to combine pilgrimage with swimming at Cà Dược beach.

The Cà Dược bathing beach is not deep but has many submerged rocks and many clam shells that can cut the skin of your feet.

Near the beach is an informal local market, which is quite dirty; wastewater from local residents is discharged directly onto the beach, causing pollution, and the shoreline is full of rubbish, requiring urgent attention from authorities for tourism planning and environmental protection.

There are no hotels here, only guesthouses, which are unplanned and small-scale, mainly serving pilgrims with many dormitory rooms.

Seafood here is very cheap.

Photos

📷 Contribute photos

Visiting tips

  • Dress modestly; remove hats and keep quiet inside the main hall.
  • Incense, flowers and offerings are usually sold right outside the gate; light an odd number of sticks (1 or 3).
  • Most pagodas open from early morning to evening and are free to enter (some major sites charge a small scenic fee).
  • Full-moon days, the 1st of the lunar month and Tet are very crowded; visit on weekday mornings for a quiet experience.
  • Ask permission before photographing inside shrines; do not touch statues or altar objects.

Read more & references

Useful links to learn more before your visit:

Location

Coordinates: 11.18056, 108.71556

🧭 Directions on Google Maps

References

Other pagodas in Lâm Đồng

🏯
Chùa Linh Quang (Bình Thuận)
Linh Quang Pagoda (Linh Quang Tự) is a pagoda located in Phú Quý Special Zone, Lâm Đồng Province, Vietnam. This pagoda is a nationally recognised historical site. The pagoda is situated on a gentle hill in Hội An hamlet, Phú Quý Special Zone, Lâm Đồng Province. The pagoda was built in 1748 (the 8th year of the Cảnh Hưng era), which means it has existed for over 200 years. Many imperial edicts and valuable Buddha statues are still preserved here.
Chùa núi Tà Cú
Chùa núi Tà Cú
Mount Tà Cú Pagoda (Chùa núi Tà Cú) is a temple on Tà Cú mountain, Hàm Thuận Nam District, Bình Thuận Province, Vietnam.
🏯
Chùa Phật Quang (Bình Thuận)
Phật Quang Pagoda is the oldest pagoda in Bình Thuận province, built during the Chính Hòa era (1680–1705), more than 320 years ago. The pagoda's original name was Bồ Đề, and it is popularly known as Chùa Cát (Sand Pagoda) because in the past, this area was sparsely populated and surrounded entirely by sand stretching to the sea. The pagoda is located in An Hòa hamlet, Vạn Phước canton, An Phước district, Bình Thuận prefecture, which is now Trần Quang Khải street, Hưng Long ward, Phan Thiết City, Bình Thuận province. The pagoda possesses a copy of the Lotus Sutra carved on thị huyết wood—also known as red persimmon wood—from the Lê Trung Hưng dynasty, which is a national treasure of Vietnamese Buddhism. The pagoda has been restored and renovated many times, passing through 18 generations of succession. In 2002, the pagoda was rebuilt, becoming larger and more beautiful with 15 gardens of Buddha statues, but the old pagoda remains intact with many ancient statues and ritual implements. This is also the pagoda with the most dragon decorations—166 dragons—as well as countless bas-reliefs and decorative motifs depicting Buddhist teachings and Vietnamese and Bình Thuận landmarks, all made from 48 tonnes of ceramic shards purchased from northern pottery villages and selected and assembled by artisans from Huế.
Thiền viện Trúc Lâm Đạo Nguyên
Thiền viện Trúc Lâm Đạo Nguyên
Trúc Lâm Đạo Nguyên Zen Monastery is a Buddhist institution belonging to the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử Zen school, located within the Nâm Nung Nature Reserve, in Trường Xuân commune, Lâm Đồng province (40 km north of Gia Nghĩa city). Trúc Lâm Đạo Nguyên Zen Monastery is nestled amidst vast pine forests, far from residential areas, making it very quiet and imbued with a meditative atmosphere. Backed by the Nâm Nung mountain range, which rises to 1,500 metres, the climate here is cool all year round. Trúc Lâm Đạo Nguyên Zen Monastery (Đắk Song), together with the Tà Đùng Nature Reserve (Đắk Glong), are two key tourist destinations in Đăk Nông province that have been prioritised for investment and development. The monastery was granted permission by local authorities and, under the guidance of Most Venerable Thích Nhật Quang (Head of the Trúc Lâm Zen School Management Board), construction began in 2010. The first phase was inaugurated in 2018, witnessed by Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ (Patriarch of the Trúc Lâm Zen School and Vice Dharma Chairman of the Certification Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha), along with other venerable monks and nuns from within and outside the province. The monastery is situated in a pine forest, in the core area of the Nâm Nung Nature Reserve, which covers more than 5,000 hectares. About 2 km to the south is Lưu Ly Waterfall. Behind the monastery, to the northeast, lies the Revolutionary Historical Site of the B4 – Interprovincial IV Resistance Base, which was used by the Quảng Đức provincial resistance forces (formerly) and the Interprovincial IV resistance forces during the resistance war against America (1959–1975). The monastery is currently abboted by Venerable Thích Đạt Ma Đắc Thịnh. According to the approved project, Trúc Lâm Đạo Nguyên Zen Monastery is being constructed with main components such as: the Main Hall (Chánh điện), the monks’ quarters (tăng đường), the Abbot’s Chamber (thất Phương Trượng), the Quan Âm đình (a small shrine dedicated to Avalokiteśvara), an exhibition house, guest house, and other auxiliary works. By 2023, the monastery had also completed the Điều Ngự Giác Hoàng Pavilion (dedicated to Trần Nhân Tông), and the Ancestors’ Hall (Tổ đường) is in its final stages of completion. The monastery serves as a place of practice for Zen students following the Trúc Lâm Zen tradition, and attracts Buddhist devotees from near and far who come to study and practise. Thanks to its beautiful scenery and cool climate, the site draws many visitors for sightseeing and worship. The architectural design of the buildings follows the cultural style of other Zen monasteries, harmonising with the sacred space and practically serving the religious and educational needs of monks, nuns, and lay Buddhists.
Chùa Linh Phong (Đà Lạt)
Chùa Linh Phong (Đà Lạt)
Linh Phong Pagoda, or by its full name, Linh Phong Nuns' Pagoda, is situated on a high hill at 72C Hoàng Hoa Thám Street, Xuân Hương Ward – Đà Lạt, Lâm Đồng Province. Linh Phong Pagoda was originally a Buddhist place of worship established in 1940, at that time roofed with thatch and with plank walls. From 1946, this place of worship was handed over to Abbess Thích Nữ Từ Hương. Step by step, Abbess Thích Nữ Từ Hương built up the pagoda as it stands today.
Chùa Linh Phước
Chùa Linh Phước
Linh Phước Temple (Vietnamese: Chùa Linh Phước, Chữ Hán: 靈福寺, IPA: [t͡ɕûə̯ līŋ fwə̂kˀ]), also known as Ve Chai Temple, is located at No. 120 Tu Phuoc, Trai Mat District, Vietnam, 8 km from Da Lat city center, on Highway 20. The 49-meter-long dragon temple is made of 12,000 bottles; the dragon's head is 7 metres high. Linh Phuoc Pagoda is considered a special architectural mosaic of Da Lat city.