Hoàn Kiếm Lake & Ngọc Sơn Temple
Ho Hoan Kiem, Hang Bac, Hanoi, Vietnam
Hoàn Kiếm Lake is the spiritual heart of Hanoi — a small, green lake in the centre of the city whose name means 'Lake of the Returned Sword,' referring to a legend in which a 15th-century Vietnamese king returned a magical sword to a golden turtle in the lake after using it to defeat the Chinese Ming dynasty.
Tây Hồ (West Lake) Lotus Pond & Temples
71 Ngõ 50 Đặng Thai Mai, P. Quảng An, Hà Nội, Việt Nam
Phủ Tây Hồ is the most important mother goddess temple in northern Vietnam — a complex of shrines on a peninsula extending into West Lake that is dedicated to the worship of the Holy Mother (Thánh Mẫu), a deity from Vietnam's indigenous folk religion that blends Buddhist, Taoist, and animist traditions in a uniquely Vietnamese spiritual practice.
Van Mieu Lake & Quoc Tu Giam Garden
Quoc Tu Giam, Van Mieu, Hanoi, Vietnam
The garden and lake surrounding the Temple of Literature provide one of Hanoi's most peaceful green spaces — a landscape of ancient banyan trees, lotus ponds, and the kind of manicured tranquillity that Vietnamese temple gardens have cultivated for centuries.
West Lake (Hồ Tây)
Trung Tam Ha Noi To, Dong Ngac, Hanoi, Vietnam
West Lake is Hanoi's largest lake — a 500-hectare body of water northwest of the Old Quarter that has been a retreat for Vietnamese royalty, French colonists, and modern Hanoians who escape the city's density by walking, cycling, or sitting at the lakeside cafés that ring the shore.
Explore nature in Hanoi
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.