Den Hung, where the country says it began
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Den Hung is the hill Vietnam points at when asked where it started. A stepped climb through old trees leads to temples for eighteen kings who may never have existed, and the country takes a public holiday in their name.
Who were the Hung Kings?
The rulers of Van Lang, the state tradition places in the Red River delta before the third century BC. The line ends when An Duong Vuong takes over and builds Co Loa. Eighteen of them, over a span no chronology can support.
The kings are legend rather than history, and the country is comfortable with that. Every Vietnamese schoolchild learns one sentence about them: the Hung Kings built the country and their descendants must defend it. Ho Chi Minh said it here in 1954, which is its own layer of the site's meaning.
What is on the mountain?
A climb of roughly 500 steps with four stops, across a protected site of about 845 hectares. Den Ha, the lower temple, is where legend places the birth of a hundred children from a single sac of eggs. Den Trung, the middle one, is where the kings are said to have discussed affairs of state. Den Thuong stands at the summit, with the mausoleum just below it.
Den Gieng sits at the bottom, over a well in which two princesses are said to have looked at their reflections. The four buildings above it were rebuilt in the 15th and 19th centuries on older foundations. The whole climb is a few hundred stone steps under old trees and takes about two hours including stops.
| What | Where on the hill | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Den Gieng | Base | Twenty minutes |
| Den Ha | Lower third | Twenty minutes |
| Den Trung | Middle | Twenty minutes |
| Den Thuong | Summit | Half an hour |
| The mausoleum | Just below the summit | Twenty minutes |
What happens at the festival?
The tenth day of the third lunar month, usually in April, is a national public holiday. The mountain takes hundreds of thousands of people over the days around it. Processions carry offerings up the steps, and the banh chung and banh giay rice cakes of the founding legend are made in competition.
The festival is the largest expression of a state-recognised folk religion in the country, and it is also completely impassable. The festivals guide covers the calendar, and the public holidays guide explains what else shuts that week.
Is it worth going outside the festival?
Yes, and that is when to go. On an ordinary weekday the steps are quiet and the trees do most of the work. The temples can be looked at rather than queued for.
What you will not get is the meaning on display. A site whose whole subject is national belonging is strange when empty, and some visitors find the quiet version thin. That is a fair reaction and it is why the festival exists.
What is the museum?
A modern building at the foot of the hill holds Dong Son bronzes, drums and the archaeology of the Red River delta from the period the legend covers. It is better than the average provincial museum and it does the thing the temples cannot: it shows what was actually here.
Forty minutes, and it is worth taking before the climb rather than after. Entry is included in the site ticket. The relationship between the finds and the story is the interesting part, and it is the same relationship that makes Co Loa worth visiting.
How long is the drive from Hanoi?
From Hanoi it is about 85 km and an hour and a half by road on the expressway towards Lao Cai. The site is 10 km outside Viet Tri in Phu Tho province. Buses run from My Dinh to Viet Tri with a taxi at the end.
No useful train runs there and there is no reason to stay the night. This is a half day from the capital, and the day trips page ranks it against the alternatives. Anyone driving on to Sapa or Ha Giang passes the turning anyway.
What does the climb cost?
A small entry ticket in the tens of thousands of dong, plus a separate charge for the electric buggy from the car park to the foot of the steps. Everything else on the hill is free.
Water and a hat matter more than money here. The climb is shaded but humid, the festival week is hot, and there is nothing to buy above the lower temple.
FAQ
What is Den Hung?
Den Hung is a complex of temples on Nghia Linh mountain in Phu Tho province, dedicated to the Hung Kings, the legendary founders of the first Vietnamese state. It is the national ancestral site rather than a regional shrine.
When is the Hung Kings festival?
On the tenth day of the third lunar month, usually in April, and it is a public holiday across Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands of people come to the mountain over the days around it, which makes that week the one to avoid unless it is the reason you came.
How do you get to Den Hung from Hanoi?
About 85 km northwest, an hour and a half by road on the expressway towards Lao Cai, with buses from My Dinh to Viet Tri and a taxi for the last stretch. There is no useful train and the site is 10 km outside Viet Tri city.
What is on the mountain?
Four main buildings on a stepped climb: the lower temple, the middle temple, the upper temple and the mausoleum, with the Gieng temple below. The climb is a few hundred steps under old trees and takes about two hours to do properly.
Who were the Hung Kings?
The eighteen rulers of Van Lang, the state Vietnamese tradition places in the Red River delta before the third century BC. They are legendary rather than documented, and what matters here is that the country treats them as its origin.
Is Den Hung worth visiting?
For anyone interested in how Vietnam understands its own beginning, yes. As a sight it is temples on a wooded hill, handsome rather than spectacular, and the reason to come is what the place means rather than what it looks like.