Duong Lam Ancient Village Day Tour from Hanoi: Laterite Houses & Mia Pagoda
A day trip to the home village of two Vietnamese kings, with laterite lanes, old family houses, a country lunch and Mia Pagoda.
Hanoi – Duong Lam – Mong Phu Communal House – Ancient House – Mia Pagoda – Water Wharf – Hanoi
Overview
This one-day tour follows Duong Lam from Mong Phu village gate and communal house through its lanes and historic homes. Green tea and conversation with a host, followed by a local lunch in an ancient house, bring the visit closer to village life before Mia Pagoda and the water wharf.
Duong Lam: laterite lanes, old houses and Mia Pagoda
Duong Lam is about 50 km west of Hanoi, in Son Tay. It was the first village in Vietnam recognised as a national architectural and artistic monument, and it is the birthplace of two national heroes: Phung Hung and King Ngo Quyen.
The visit starts at the Mong Phu village gate, beside an old banyan tree. The lanes are paved with tilted bricks and lined with laterite walls and tiled roofs.
You visit wooden family houses that are between about 200 and 400 years old, and drink green tea and try ginger-peanut che lam candy with the hosts. Lunch is a country meal in an ancient house. The day also includes Mia Pagoda, which holds nearly 300 old Buddha statues, and the shrines of the two kings.
Three stops
Laterite lanes and the Mong Phu gate
Walk through the village gate and along the tilted-brick lanes between laterite walls.
Old family houses
Go inside wooden courtyard houses, drink green tea and try che lam candy.
Mia Pagoda and the two shrines
See the old Buddha statues at Mia Pagoda and visit the shrines of Phung Hung and Ngo Quyen.
Highlights
Round-trip transport between Hanoi and Duong Lam is included.
An English- or Vietnamese-speaking guide is included.
Entrance fees cover Mong Phu Communal House, an ancient house and Mia Pagoda.
Lunch is served in an ancient house.
Green tea and conversation with the host are included.
The tour is priced from USD 82 per person.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1
Hanoi – Duong Lam Ancient Village – Mia Pagoda – Royal Shrines – Hanoi
- Pick-up at a central Hanoi hotel by car with your guide
- Drive to Duong Lam (about 1 hour 15 minutes)
- Photo stop at the Mong Phu village gate and the old banyan tree
- Mong Phu Communal House, a traditional timber building
- Visit old laterite houses (the houses of Mr. Huyen and Mr. The), with green tea and a taste of traditional sticky-rice soybean paste
- Country lunch at an ancient house: Mia chicken, roast pork belly, crab and jute soup
- In the afternoon, Mia Pagoda (Sung Nghiem Pagoda) and its old statues; cycling around the village is an optional add-on
- Pay respects at the temple and tomb of King Ngo Quyen and the temple of King Phung Hung
- Drive back to Hanoi and drop-off at the meeting point
Included / Not Included
Included
- Round-trip transport between Hanoi and Duong Lam
- English- or Vietnamese-speaking guide
- Entrance fees for Mong Phu Communal House, an ancient house and Mia Pagoda
- Local lunch at an ancient house
- Green tea and conversation with the host
Not included
- Drinks not included in the programme
- Personal expenses
- Tips for the guide and driver
- Korean-, Chinese- or Japanese-speaking guide
- Personal insurance