Giac Lam Pagoda

Giac Lam Pagoda, one of the oldest pagodas in Ho Chi Minh City, reflects an important part of the city's history. It was built in the spring of 1744 by Ly Thuy Long, as a gathering place during the Lunar New Year. This unique temple has undergone 3 restorations as well as reconstruction in 1798-1804, 1906-1909 and 1999 since its establishment. The name "Giac Lam" was given to this temple after the monk Thich Lam Quang immigrated in 1772. Today, locals also call it by many other names such as Cam Son Pagoda, Son Can Pagoda or Cam Pagoda. Cushion.

Thanks to the charming natural scenery and unique architecture, Giac Lam Pagoda is considered one of the most attractive attractions in the city. Visitors can easily recognize this temple thanks to its impressive height (32 meters with 7 floors) and spacious grounds. In front of the temple is a large bodhi tree - a gift from the monk Narada from Sri Lanka in 1953. Next to the tree, there are several mythical dragon statues and a sparkling white statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara on one. beautiful lotus.

When you have set foot in Giac Lam Pagoda, visitors should not ignore the 7-storey hexagonal stupa. It was built in 1970 according to the drawings of architect Vinh Hoang. Each floor in the stupa represents a large number of relics of the Buddha. Today, this east-facing stupa is considered the tallest Buddhist stupa in the city. Visitors are allowed to go to the top floor for a panoramic view of the city.

A special highlight of Giac Lam Pagoda is the typical architecture of Southern temples with a rectangular shape resembling the word "Tam" in Chinese. The temple is splendidly decorated, including three main rooms, which are the place of worship, the place of teaching and the dining hall. The first compartment is large, with many tall wooden columns that are intricately carved with red and yellow Chinese couplets, some columns are decorated with traditional themes such as 9 dragons and sacred animals. The large pagoda campus was built in the traditional folk style with the perfect combination of 1 compartment, 2 wings and 4 main pillars. In addition, 118 historic wooden, bronze and cement statues give visitors a strong impression of the development of Vietnamese art throughout the centuries.

Giac Lam Pagoda is not only famous for countless rare and precious antiques kept for over 200 years, but also a tower complex built in the early 19th century. The pagoda now includes 38 large and small towers. Visitors here can enjoy the uniqueness of the pagoda, as a living witness to the development of Southern Buddhism through historical periods. The beauty of the pagoda shows the typical architectural style of the ethnic groups living in the South (Khmer, Vietnamese, Cham, etc.) mixed with Western (French) and Eastern (Chinese) elements. India).

Address: 565 Lac Long Quan, Ward 10, Tan Binh District

Opening hours: daily 05:00 – 12:00 & 14:00 – 20:00