Travel to Phu Tho: Hung Temple, Tam Dao and the New Province (2026)

By Anh Khoa Hoi An·84 Phan Chau Trinh, Hoi An·Updated 2 Nov 2026

Our old version of this page was written in 2021, and most of it no longer matches the map: all the photos had broken, the provinces it listed as “neighbours” are now part of Phu Tho itself, and a couple of facts were simply wrong (the Au Co Temple festival is on the 7th day of the first lunar month, not “Christmas Day on January 7”). This rewrite checks every distance on Google Maps and every date against published sources. One honest note before you read: Anh Khoa rents motorbikes in Hoi An, not in Phu Tho, so the transport tips below point you to local options rather than to us.

Phu Tho after the 2025 merger

On 1 July 2025, Vietnam’s provincial reorganisation joined three northern provinces — Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc and Hoa Binh — into a single, much larger Phu Tho. District-level government was abolished at the same time, so addresses now go straight from ward or commune to province. For travellers, this matters in two practical ways:

• Old addresses are out of date. Guides that say “Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc” or “Mai Chau, Hoa Binh” now mean Phu Tho. Google Maps already shows Tam Dao Stone Church with a Phu Tho postcode.
• “A trip to Phu Tho” now covers very different landscapes. Temple country around Viet Tri, a misty French-era hill station, national-park forest on limestone, and the Da River reservoir with its valleys.

The provincial capital stays in Viet Tri, about 80 km from Hanoi and 50 km from Noi Bai International Airport. The merged province had just over 4 million people in 2025. Source for the figures: Phu Tho province on Wikipedia.

Best time to travel to Phu Tho

North Vietnam has real seasons, and they change the trip completely. Here is how we would plan it:

Hung Temple and Nghia Linh Mountain

Hung Temple is the reason most Vietnamese travel to Phu Tho at least once in their life. The complex climbs Nghia Linh Mountain, 175 m high, about 10 km from central Viet Tri, and honours the Hung Kings — the legendary founders of the first Vietnamese state. In December 2012, UNESCO inscribed the worship of the Hung Kings in Phu Tho on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

You walk it from the bottom up, on old stone steps under big trees:

1. Lower Temple (Den Ha)Where legend says Mother Au Co gave birth to a sac of one hundred eggs — the hundred children who became the Vietnamese people.
2. Middle Temple (Den Trung)Where the Hung Kings are said to have met their civil and military lords.
3. Upper Temple (Den Thuong)On the summit, with the tomb of the sixth Hung King next to it. This is where the main incense offering takes place.
4. Well Temple (Den Gieng)Down the south-west slope, around a stone well that stays clear all year.

Dress for a temple: shoulders and knees covered. Entry and parking arrangements change around festival season, so check at the gate rather than trusting a number from an old blog — including our old one.

Hung Temple is less a sight than a pilgrimage: you will see families who drove six hours just to light one stick of incense at the top.

Xoan singing and Au Co Temple

Phu Tho has a second UNESCO heritage that most foreign visitors never hear: Xoan singing (hat Xoan), the old spring songs performed at temples and communal houses. A traditional Xoan guild has ten to fifteen performers — male instrumentalists and female singers led by a guild master. UNESCO first listed it in 2011 as heritage in need of urgent safeguarding; by 2017 enough young singers had been trained that it moved to the Representative List instead. The best chance to hear it is around Lunar New Year and the Hung Temple festival, in the villages near Viet Tri.

Further north-west, in Hien Luong commune, Au Co Temple honours the mother of the Vietnamese people. It was built after a royal decree of King Le Thanh Tong in 1465. Its main festival runs from the 7th to the 9th day of the first lunar month, with a procession from the communal house to the temple and offerings of one hundred cakes.

Xuan Son National Park and the tea hills

For nature, head west. Xuan Son National Park became a national park in April 2002 and has a core zone of about 15,000 hectares. Its claim to fame: it is the only national park in Vietnam with primary forest growing on limestone mountains (around 2,400 ha of it), full of caves and streams. Dao and Muong communities live in and around the buffer zone, and some villages offer simple homestays.

From Hung Temple to the park is about 67 km, roughly 1 h 45 min via National Road 32 (measured on Google Maps, avoiding expressways). On the way you pass the tea country of Thanh Son and Tan Son — Long Coc tea hill, with its rows of rounded hills, is the one photographers go for at sunrise.

Tam Dao hill station

Tam Dao is the newest part of Phu Tho for anyone who knew it as Vinh Phuc. The French built it as a hill station in the early 20th century, at around 900 m on the Tam Dao range, to escape the Hanoi summer — and it still works for exactly that. Expect cool, often foggy air, old villas, a stone church in the middle of town and Silver Waterfall a short walk below.

From Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi it is about 75 km, a bit over 2 hours by road via QL2B, with the last stretch a steep, winding climb. We cover shops and the pass itself in our Tam Dao motorbike rental guide and the wider Vinh Phuc and Tam Dao rental list.

Hoa Binh lake and Mai Chau

The southern part of the new Phu Tho is the old Hoa Binh province. Its landmark is the Hoa Binh Dam on the Da (Black) River — built with Soviet help between 1979 and 1994, with 1,920 MW of capacity, and for nearly twenty years the largest hydropower plant in Vietnam. The reservoir behind it holds around 9 billion cubic metres of water and stretches deep into the mountains, with boat trips to islands and caves.

Further south-west, Mai Chau is a flat green valley of rice fields between limestone hills, with Thai stilt-house villages where many visitors stay overnight. It is a different trip from Hung Temple — think of it as a separate two-day loop from Hanoi rather than an add-on.

Getting around by motorbike

The single most important rule: motorbikes are not allowed on Vietnamese expressways, including the Noi Bai – Lao Cai expressway that cars use to reach Viet Tri. Your phone may happily route you onto it. Switch on “avoid highways” and you get the realistic scooter distance:

Times are Google Maps driving estimates with expressways switched off, measured in November 2026; on a 125 cc scooter add stops and you will not be far off. Coordinates if you want to save them: Hung Temple 21.3670, 105.3206 · Tam Dao Stone Church 21.4558, 105.6435 · Xuan Son National Park 21.1244, 104.9732.

Renting locally makes more sense than riding up from the south. Our Viet Tri motorbike rental guide lists shops in the provincial capital, and the Tam Dao guides above cover the hill station. If your trip starts in central Vietnam instead, Anh Khoa rents scooters from 84 Phan Chau Trinh in Hoi An — see our Hoi An motorbike rental page.

Practical tips before you travel to Phu Tho

• Bring layers. Tam Dao is noticeably cooler than Viet Tri, and evenings up there can be cold even when the lowlands are warm.
• Cover up at temples. Hung Temple, Au Co Temple and the pagodas expect covered shoulders and knees.
• Carry cash. Parking attendants, small eateries and homestays near Xuan Son rarely take cards.
• Use the new names. When booking, search “Tam Dao, Phu Tho” or “Mai Chau, Phu Tho” — hosts have mostly updated their addresses.
• Check the lunar calendar. Festival days bring heavy traffic; a week later everything is calm again.

FAQ

Distances and times measured on Google Maps in November 2026 with expressways avoided, from Hoan Kiem Lake (Hanoi). Facts on the 2025 merger, Hung Temple, Xoan singing, Xuan Son National Park and Hoa Binh Dam checked against Wikipedia (English and Vietnamese). Photos from Wikimedia Commons under the licences in each caption. Updated November 2026.