3 Best Sights in Hue, The Central Coast

Nestled at the foot of Hon Vuon Hill, Huyen Khong Son Thuong is a monastery and the serene home of about 60 Theravada monks. Founded by Ven. Gioi Duc (Silaguna) in 1989, the monastery sits in a beautiful garden with five water lily and lotus ponds and is surrounded by pine trees. Unlike the majority of Buddhist temples in Hue in which designs are influenced by the Nguyen Dynasty’s royal style, its architecture is simpler and is decorated with calligraphy poems that are composed by the monks and written in Vietnamese rather than traditional Chinese characters. Apart from beautiful bonsai trees, hundreds of orchid plants bloom here year round. If you’d like to venture further, take a one-hour hike to the top of Hon Vuon Hill, where you'll get a stunning view of hills, lakes, the iconic Huong River, and Hue’s cityscape expanding into the horizon.

Overlooking the Perfume River, this pagoda constructed in 1601 under Lord Nguyen Hoang has impressive Buddha statues, a seven-tiered monument, a two-ton bronze bell, and a marble turtle dating back to 1715. Take note of the engraved graffiti covering the turtle's shell, most of which dates back to the 1950s, when refugees from northern Vietnam inscribed notes of their whereabouts. As Hue's oldest pagoda, this structure still functions as a monastery. Housed inside the grounds is the Austin car once used by Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc, who lit himself on fire in protest of the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963. The best way to reach this official symbol of Hue is by boat up the Perfume River.

One of Hue's most beautiful and peaceful pagodas is accessed via a junglelike path off the road, past a half-moon-shape pool. Built in 1843, the temple houses a large Buddha and it is the root pagoda of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. It's a good place for quiet meditation. The monks live in simple rooms off to the side and hold services several times a day. At the far corner of the pagoda is a cemetery for the Nguyen Dynasty's eunuchs who made contribution to building and renovating the pagoda.