Chùa Thầy

The experience

An 11th-century temple complex from the reign of Lý Nhân Tông, dedicated to the Zen master Từ Đạo Hạnh, sitting at the foot of the limestone hill of Sài Sơn — also called Phật Tích mountain — about 30 km west of central Hanoi. A thủy đình pavilion stands out in Long Chiểu lake in front of the pagoda and is still used as a water-puppet stage. Behind it the mountain is riddled with caves: Hang Cắc Cớ, Hang Bò with its dim mouths, and Hang Gió, where a draught runs between two openings. Stone paths climb from the courtyard to Chợ Trời, the summit plateau.

A cave-riddled limestone hill an hour from Hanoi, with a 1,000-year-old pagoda parked at the bottom of it.

What a membership adds.

Everything above is free: the name, the photo, the rating, the exact spot. What members get is the part you can't Google: the sourced insider tip for this place (what to order, when to go, what to skip), every day of your trips unlocked in full with the insider tip on every researched stop, and the concierge at full strength, answering with your own insider tips, no daily meter.