1. Heaven’s Gate

To reach the sacred peak of Yên Tử Mountain – Đồng Pagoda, you will have to navigate through the gaps between large rocks naturally arranged. This place is known as Heaven’s Gate, which serves as a gateway into the realm of Heaven and Buddha.

Explore around here and you will find large rocks with deep imprints from the ocean waves, along with fossils of shells and other marine life. Scientists believe these are remnants of an ancient coastline. After a tectonic shift around 200 million years ago, the Yên Tử area, which was once a bay, gradually rose to form the hills and mountains we see today.

2. Buddha Stele

This natural stone slab, shaped like a stele, is inscribed with many Chinese characters, including two lines consisting of eight characters. The vertical line reads “A-Di-Đà Phật” (Amitabha Buddha), and the horizontal line reads “Tứ Tự Hồng Danh” (The Fourfold Golden Name), which translates to: “The Golden Name of the Four Words: A-Di-Đà Buddha.”

The stele has been inscribed for a long time, though it is unclear who carved it. Many of the characters on the stone are now faded, but the large character for “Phật” (Buddha) on the vertical line and the four smaller characters on the horizontal line are still clearly visible. This has led to the stone being called the Buddha Stele.