Temple of Hung Kings :
The temple is accessible by road. Another leg of 10 kilometers will take visitors to the site of the Temple of Hung Kings.
More than 4,000 years ago the Hung kings established the country of Van Lang, the first governing body of the ancient Vietnam, on the soil of Vinh Phu. They made Phong Chau the capital of Van Lang.
Nowadays there remain several temples and shrines dedicated to the Hung kings in Phong Chau. This cluster of shrines and temples built from time immemorial perch on gentle slopes and top of the Nghia Linh mountain range, 175 meters above sea level. The site is in Co Tich hamlet, Hi Cuong village, Phong Chau district.
The site of ancient Hung Kings temples comprises Lower Temple, Central Temple, Upper Temple, Mausoleum of Hung Kings and Water Well Temple. The Lower Temple and a pagoda dedicated to Thien Quang Tu on the mountain slope is accessible through a fight of 225 brick steps.
Legend has it that this is the place where Lady Au Co, the wife of Lac Long Quan, gave birth to a cluster of 100 eggs which later hatched to become 100 children. Later the couple divided their children into two groups. Lady Au Co took 50 children up to the mountain to settle there. For his part Lac Long Quan led 49 children down to the coast.
The remaining child was the first born. He was left alone at their native land and became the first king of Vietnam. His title was Hung Vuong and his court was located at Van Thanh (the present-day Viet Tri town). Hung Vuong named the country Van Lang. Since then the different ethnic minorities of Vietnam were formed.
The site of Hung Temple was visited by President Ho Chi Minh on September 19, 1954. It was at the end of the nine-year resistance war against the French domination. The first president of the young Republic, accompanied by the Tien Phong (Vanguard) Division, was on his way from the northern resistance zone to the newly liberated capital city of Hanoi. President Ho Chi Minh and his troops took a rest at the foot of the mountain and under the broad shade of Thien Tue (longevity) tree grown outside the Lower Temple. He gave his young soldiers an advice which has since then gone down the national history as one of his many teaching: "The Hung Kings have the merits of building the country, You and I should be the ones to defend the country".
Starting from the Lower Temple ones must negotiate another steep flight of 168 brick steps to reach Central Temple which is also known as the shrine dedicated to the ancestors of the Hung Kings. Legend has it that this is the site where Hung Kings set up tent and house for rest and for discussions with their generals and court officials about court affairs. It is the place where King VI Hung organized the first chief cooks' contest. In this competition Prince Lang Lieu was selected as the best cook for his offerings to the king of banh trung and banh day (sticky rice square- and round- cakes).
Another steep flight of 102 brick step will take visitors to Upper Temple or Kinh Thien Linh Dien (Altar for Celestial Offerings). As the legends go Upper Temple was the site exclusively used for the kings to have offerings to the Sun God, the Earth God and the Rice God. King Hung VI ordered the construction of a shrine here to commemorate The Saint of Bamboo who had great contributions to the complete sweeping of the An foreign aggressors out of the country. This is also the place where King Hung, the 18th, inherited his throne to his nephew Thuc Phan. Thuc Phan ordered the building of two stone great columns in front of the temple and swore that he would take care of the temple and safeguard the Hung Dynasty.

Mausoleum of Hung kings:
It is said that this is the mausoleum of King Hung the sixth. After the Saint of Bamboo defeated the An aggressors and vanished to the sky, King Hung, the sixth, took off his royal gown and left it on a Kim Giao tree bough nearby. Then he disappeared.

Water Well Temple:
The temple is located at the mountain foot. It is called Den gieng because there is a Jade Well (Den gieng) on the southeastern premises of the temple. Legend has it that princesses Tien Dung and Ngoc Hoa, daughters of King Hung, the 18th, used to look down to the well to mirror themselves when combing their hair and fitting their headpieces.
There remain some marks and artifacts on the slopes of Nghia Linh mountain range which are said to belong to the Hung King period, from the time of Van Lang to the time of Dai Viet. They include stone axes, bronze spears, pottery and ceramic bowls and plates, stone columns, earth-baked jars, and bricks and tiles, to cite just a few.

Tam Dao mountain range (three-peak mountain):
The mountain range is accessible only by road. Visitors can get there by going along National Highway 2 to Vinh Yen town, 62 kilometers northwest of Hanoi. Another 25 kilometers of ascending road will take you to Tam Dao mountain range, 800 kilometers above sea level.
Tam Dao mountain range is 50 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide. This mountain range serves as a natural border separating the two provinces of Vinh Phu and Thai Nguyen. The three highest peaks of the mountain look like three isolated off-shore islands, hence the name of the mountain range is Tam Dao (Three isolated Islands). The peak in the middle is called Thach Ban (Stone Table) which is 1.388 meters above sea level. It is so called because on top of the peak is a large slab of stone which looks like a table surface. Legends has it that this was the rendezvous of fairy godfathers who descended from the heaven to gather there to play chess. To the left side of the Thach Ban peak is Thien Thi peak (Celestial Market). This 1,375-metre peak house a TV tower which is 93 meters high. On the steep slope of the peak is a picturesque water fall called Thac Bac (Silver Water Fall).
On the right side of Thac Bac is Phu Nghia peak which is 1,400 meters above seas level. The name of Phu Nghia means advocate to good things. The location for Tam Dao resort site was spotted in 1902 by the French. This ideal resort town perches on a mountain slope 879 meters above sea level. Average temperature is always 10oC lower than that recorded in Hanoi. The highest temperature recorded at Tam Dao is just 27oC. One of the most enjoyable hobbies visitors to Tam Dao would have is seating near the window inside a bungalow and reach out the hand to touch floating masses of silver cloud drifting pass by the house.
Tam Dao houses a big lake called Xa Huong several pagodas such as Dong Co and Tay Thien. The site is the habitat of many valuable medicinal herbs.

Dai Lai Lake :
This is a man-made lake. Therefore there are some islands covered with eucalyptus trees lying scattered in the vast body of water. This is one of the several resort places frequented by weekend holiday seekers from Hanoi, 30 kilometers to the north. Accommodations at the lakeside resort is very suitable to back packers because there are some rest houses offering cheap fees for overnight rest.

Binh Son Tower (Vinh Yen Province) :
Binh Son Tower is located near Vinh Khanh Pagoda in Binh Son village, Lap Thach district. This unique architectural project was built in the 14th century during the Ly-Tran dynasty. The 16-m tower has 11 floors, each with a curved roof. The tower is empty on the inside and located on a square platform.
The tower was built with 18,622 solid red bricks and its foundations was built with Vo bricks. The surface of the fine Vo bricks is dark and has flower imprints. These features create an harmonious building style, suitable to different architectural trends.
The tower was restored in 1972 after a landslide caused the tower to sink to one side. Although the tower’s foundations were raised 4 m higher than they were before the landslide, all the architectural attributes of the tower were kept intact.

Tam Dao Resort:
Tam Dao Resort, located 86 km from Hanoi, between Ban Thach, Thien Nhi, and Phu Nghia Mountains, is the ideal destination for vacations in the north. The area, 1,000 m above sea level, has been known since the Ly and Tran dynasties for its wonderful scenic spots. However,  it was not transformed into a resort by the French until the 20th century (1904–1906). In Tam Dao, there are villas, hotels, restaurants, sports  fields, swimming pools, and dancing halls.

The weather is cool all year round with an average temperature of 20 to 22° C. In summer, tens of thousands of tourists visit Tam Dao to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.