• Buu Phong Pagoda

Location: Buu Phong Pagoda is situated on the peak of Buu Long Mountain, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province.
Characteristics: Buu Phong Pagoda was built in the 17th century on the mountain in the form of a thatch-roofed hut.
At first, the pagoda was only a thatch-roof hut that was reconstructed more solemnly by Master Phap Thong. The pagoda was renovated and enlarged again in 1829 with nearly 100 steps to climb up to the top. Many ancient artifacts are kept at the pagoda, including clothes dating back to the Nguyen Dynasty and lying Buddha statues. Around the pagoda are several towers, large rocks of strange shapes and very big Bodhi trees. The rocks and trees make the surroundings cool and pleasant for visitors to rest after a tough climb.

2) Scenic Landscapes

• Cat Tien National Park

Location: Cat Tien National Park is located in three provinces of Dong Nai, Lam Dong and Binh Phuoc.
Characteristics: Cat Tien National Park has a diversified topography with hills along the banks, plains and sloping flows.
In 1978, the South Cat Tien and North Cat Tien parks were put under the State's protection. In 1992, the Cat Loc Park was listed in the programmed for the protection of natural wild animals and flora. In December 1998, these three parks joined together to become the Cat Tien National Park, under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Coming along National Highway 20 from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat, turning left about 24km at Milestone No.174 being Tan Phu cross-road, visitors will reach Cat Tien National Park.
Covering an area of 74,319ha, the Cat Tien National Park has preserved its original natural soil with a diverse ecological system and many rare and valuable species of animals listed in the Red Book of Endangered Animals. The landscape surrounding the Park is magnificent, and the local people have maintained practicing customs and habits full of national cultural identities.
Let come into the forest on a trail covered with tree leaves. The sunshine was on the canopies, layer after layer. The air was humid. The cicadas resounded over the forest. Don't forget to see a 400-year-old conifer there. Going a bit further you can see another tree, called bang lang (Lagerstroemia corniculata), which is almost 300 years old. From its trunk of nearly 3m in diameter, 6 ivory sub-trunks sprouted. There are many other strange trees in the forest: a red-wood tree having a diameter of 3.7m, a Benjamin fig having a fasciculate root that runs along the stream and can shade about 20 people, a banyan tree having a hollow trunk which is large enough for 3 people, to name but a few. So far, in Cat Tien Park, 1,610 kinds of flora have been classified which belong to 75 species, 162 families and 724 branches, many of them listed in the Red Book.
The Dong Nai River is a natural boundary that embraces three sides of Cat Tien Park. On the left bank, villages and gardens are built close to the water, and on the right bank are wild forests with primitive green canopies. Numerous species of birds built their nests in the canopies. Inside the primitive forest, there are various kinds of fauna typical for the low land of the eastern Truong Son and the Central Highlands. According to surveys made by the Park's Management Board, there are 77 kinds of animals belonging to 28 families and 10 species; 326 kinds of bird in 62 families and 18 species; 37 kinds of reptiles in 18 families and 3 species; 133 kinds of fish in 28 families, and a wide range of insects. Most worthy of note are the animals listed in the Red Book of Endangered Animals such as Ban ten bull, Gaur bull, tiger, bear, wolf, black-foot monkey, peacock, white-neck crane, pheasant (which are found only in Southeast Asia), crocodile, pantheon, etc. In particular, there is a group of 7-8 one-tusk rhinoceros, which has attracted attention from both domestic and foreign scientists. At 4 am, on May 17th, 1999, an automatic set of cameras captured images of a grown-up rhinoceros, which has been classified as a member of the Java rhinoceros family. In November 1998, in Phu My Village, Nam Cat Tien Commune, an ancient village dating back 2,500-3,000 years was discovered. This is a complex of relics, including temples and towers and many artifacts, which proved the mixture of the Chan Lap civilization of the south and the Cham Pa civilization of the north. Among the artifacts, there are several statues which were for worshipping, such as the Linga-Yoni (sacred worshipping items representing the human sexual organs). There is a Linga, 2.1m high, which is the biggest of this kind in the world. Many other vestiges showed that Cat Tien was the Holy Land of the ancient Phu Nam Kingdom built about 2,000 years ago.

• Long An Lake

Location: Long An Lake is located in Buu Long Ward, 6km from center of Bien Hoa City and 25 km from Ho Chi Minh City.
Characteristics: Long An Lake is a marvelous scenery that is often called Little Halong Bay.
Long An Lake is an artificial reservoir covering an area of more than 10ha. Buu Long Mountain reflects itself on the water of the lake.
On the mountain is Buu Phong Pagoda built in 1676. Many ancient relics are kept there, such as attires dating back to the Nguyen Dynasty, a Buddha’s head, and lying Buddha statues.
Near the pagoda is Long Dau Thach Grotto, meaning "Grotto of the Stone Dragon Head," where many stalactites with various shapes can be observed.

3) Cultural Travel

• Ky Yen Festival

Time: The 26th day of the sixth lunar month.
Place: Nguyen Huu Canh Temple, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province.
Characteristics: Boat racing, vying for offerings to get fortunes.

• Ky Yen Festival at Nguyen Tri Phuong Temple

Time: From the 16th to the 17th day of the tenth lunar month.
Place: Nguyen Tri Phuong Temple, Buu Hoa Ward, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province.
Characteristics: Tien hien, Hau hien worshipping, procession of god, offering to worship god, tong on ceremony, boi singing, dancing.

4) Sport & Entertainment