Those looking for a place with tranquility and picturesque landscapes surrounded by rivers, lakes or green trees to find inner peace and get away from stresses of urban life should make a pilgrimage trip up to Cau Mountain in Binh Duong Province.
Thai Son Pagoda is the first stop along the journey to Cau Mountain
The area stretches more than 1,600 hectares with 21 peaks on the mountain, of which Cua Ong is 295 meters above sea level, the highest.
From Ho Chi Minh City, pilgrims should take National Highway 13 and travel 35 kilometers to Thu Dau Mot Town, and then drive about 45 kilometers on Road 744 to Dau Tieng Town and another seven kilometers to reach Cau Mountain, which is close to Dau Tieng Lake in Tha La Hamlet, Dinh Thanh Commune, Dau Tieng District.
The first stop at Cau Mountain is Thai Son Pagoda nestled halfway up the mountain. The pagoda, led by Master Monk Thich Dat Pham, was constructed in 1988 and underwent restoration in 2003.
The pagoda has a 12-meter Bodhisattva statue
The pagoda with unique architectural features comes with a 36-meter-high tower and a 12-meter Bodhisattva statue.
Worshippers and tourists have to negotiate around 1,000 stone steps behind the pagoda to trek up to Cau Temple at the peak of the mountain, which is dedicated to worshiping a general who served under Le Van Duyet, a mandarin from the Nguyen Dynasty which ruled the country from 1802 to 1945.
On the way up to the peak of Cau Mountain, visitors can rest under the shade of a 300-year-old fig tree.
On the top of the mountain, trekkers can take a panoramic view of Dau Tieng Lake, which encompasses parts of Binh Duong, Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc provinces and is known as the biggest man-made fresh water reservoir in the country’s south with a holding capacity of 1.5 billion cubic meters.