Perfume Pagoda Spring Pilgrimage Festival (Le Hoi Chua Huong)

Schedule: 22 Tháng 2 – 15 Tháng 4, 2026 (Mùng 6 tháng 1 đến hết tháng 3 Âm lịch) | Location: Vietnam

The Perfume Pagoda Festival (Le Hoi Chua Huong) is Vietnam's longest-running and largest Buddhist pilgrimage festival, lasting three full spring months from the 6th day of the first lunar month through the third lunar month in Huong Son, My Duc District, Hanoi. The sacred mountain sanctuary is dedicated to Avalokiteshvara (Bodhisattva of Compassion), who folklore recounts attained supreme enlightenment here as Princess Dieu Thien. The pilgrimage commences with a deeply poetic boat journey along the 4-kilometer Yen Stream. Drifting through the cool morning spring mist, thousands of traditional metal boats glide past towering limestone karsts bordered by blooming scarlet silk-cotton trees and violet water lilies, creating an ethereal passage where pilgrims feel transported into a mythical celestial realm. The ultimate spiritual summit is Huong Tich Cave, praised by 18th-century Lord Trinh Sam in five carved Chinese characters as "The Foremost Cave Under Southern Skies". Descending ancient stone steps into the vast dragon-mouth cavern, pilgrims venerate natural stalactites shaped like Rice Heaps and Mother’s Milk dripping sacred healing droplets, offering prayers for peace, health, and spiritual renewal.