Perfume Pagoda full-day tour from Hanoi: boat and cave

The Huong Tich Cave holds 18 surrounding pagodas inside a single mountain.

A full-day guided tour from Hanoi to Perfume Pagoda, a Buddhist temple complex built into the Huong Tich mountains 60 km southwest of the city. You travel by air-conditioned vehicle through countryside, ride a sampan boat to the main pagoda and surrounding shrines, have lunch at a local restaurant, then take a cable car into Huong Tich Cave—the most visited cave in Vietnam—where you can pray at rock formations shaped like silver, gold, and figures, or simply walk among stalagmites and stalactites. The tour runs 10 hours with hotel pickup and return.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Perfume Pagoda and surroundings

• Pick up from Hanoi hotel
• Drive through countryside to Perfume Pagoda
• Start sampan ride to main pagoda
• Visit Registration Hall and Heavenly Kitchen
• Have lunch at local restaurant
• Take round trip cable car to Huong Tich Cave
• Pray at rock formations inside cave
• Row back to mainland
• Return to Hanoi hotel

The Experience

Your hotel pickup starts at 8 a.m., and the drive southwest takes you through the countryside before you reach the pagoda complex. The sampan boat ride begins at 10 a.m., carrying you past the Registration Hall and the Heavenly Kitchen shrine to see how the 18 pagodas sit within the Huong Tich mountain range. Lunch happens at a local restaurant after the boat section, giving you time to rest before the cable car ascent.

The cable car takes you up to Huong Tich Cave, where Vietnamese pilgrims come to pray at stalagmite and stalactite formations that locals have named—the Silver Rock, the Gold Rock, the Boys and Girls rocks, and a rice pile made entirely of stone. You can walk through the cave at your own pace; there's no fixed route inside. By 3 p.m. you row back to the mainland, and the driver returns you to your hotel by 6 p.m.

The guide speaks English or Vietnamese and travels with the group throughout. Bottled water comes with you in the vehicle, and the air-conditioned car handles the heat during the countryside drive and the return journey.

What’s included

• Air-conditioned vehicle with hotel pickup and return.
• sampan boat ride to the Registration Hall and Heavenly Kitchen pagoda.
• lunch at a local restaurant.
• cable car round-trip to Huong Tich Cave.
• bottled water.
• English or Vietnamese-speaking guide for the full 10-hour day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for heart conditions

Operated by Old Quarter Travel

Is this one for you?Choose this tour if you want to visit Perfume Pagoda's cave temple in one day—you'll travel by air-conditioned vehicle and sampan boat, then decide whether to climb the temple steps or take the cable car up.

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Top questions

How far is Perfume Pagoda from Hanoi, and how long does the drive take?

Perfume Pagoda sits about 60 kilometers southwest of Hanoi. The drive through countryside takes roughly two hours each way, with the full tour lasting 10 hours from hotel pickup to return.

What is Huong Tich Cave, and what do travelers do inside it?

Huong Tich Cave is the most visited cave in Vietnam and holds the main pagoda inside the mountain. Travelers walk through the cave to see stalagmites and stalactites shaped like silver, gold, and figures, and many stop to pray at these rock formations or at a rice pile made of stone.

Can I climb to the cave, or is there another way up?

You have the choice to climb the steps or ride the cable car to reach Huong Tich Cave. The cable car is included in the tour price.

What does the sampan boat ride include?

The sampan boat takes you to the Registration Hall and the Heavenly Kitchen shrine, two of the 18 pagodas surrounding the main complex. The boat ride lasts roughly an hour and gives you access to the sacred sites on the water.

Is lunch included, and where do you eat?

Lunch is included at a local restaurant after the boat section of the tour. The meal happens midday, before the cable car ascent to the cave.

What language does the guide speak?

The guide speaks English or Vietnamese, depending on the group composition and your preference at booking.