1-Day Discovering Duong Lam Ancient Village In Vietnam [2022]

Duong Lam ancient village got more than 1500 years old, being the oldest village in Hanoi. Traveling to Duong Lam, you are offered insights into Vietnam country life with well-preserved houses, different temples, and pagodas. You can stroll around and see a real local’s life. It is an indispensable tourist site in the journey of exploring Hanoi travel attracting travelers who prefer to discover the unique ancient architectural characteristics.

How to get to Duong Lam village from Hanoi

Duong Lam village situated in Son Tay town, 40 kilometers from Hanoi mostly getting out of the traffic in the city. From the center, you can take a taxi, a private car or motorbike to the village in only 1.5 hours. The drive to Duong Lam ancient village is scenic, giving views of smaller towns and farming.

What to see in Duong Lam ancient village?

Duong Lam commune consists of 9 villages, and be considered the most ancient village in the North with a history of more than a thousand year of development. Coming to Duong Lam Ancient Village you can know more about Vietnam from the past. This village has still retained the basic characteristics of Vietnamese ancient villages with banyan tree, well and communal house’s court. The unique architecture has turned the village into one of attractive addresses alluring travelers.

The wooden village gate and communal house

Start setting foot on Duong Lam Village, you will be welcomed by a beautiful old village gate made of wood. This is the Mong Phu village gate, the only old gate that exists until now. On the left side of the gate is a big banyan tree and a charming village pond around coconut trees on the right.

Once tourists pass through the entrance, time seems to hold. The Mong Phu communal house represents the heart of village life. This place hosts important public events, festivities, and meetings of local people. Coming back to Duong Lam village, you can enjoy the fresh air and take some peaceful scene photos.

The ancient houses

From the communal house, you can explore other ancient houses by walking down any of the nearby paths. Here still remains traditional style of houses and lifestyle. In case you wanna understand about Vietnam before you need to go to this particular place. Every house in this neighborhood has a unique story, some are far too oriental and traditional, beautiful and serene setting.

Duong Lam houses are traditionally made of laterite, chinaberry wood, earthenware, and tiles. Most old houses here have maintained gate, fencing, courtyard, garden, main house, outbuilding, kitchen, ranch, etc.

Ancient houses are cool in summer and warm in winter. In addition, open space and the ability to make the most of natural light are advantages of Duong Lam ancient houses. When you come in, it will bring you relaxation and stress-free. Especially, you can not miss out visit Giang Van Minh worship houses since it is considered as the most beautiful ancient house. Once coming there you will hear a story about Giang Van Minh’s valiant life from the uncle in the clan.

The unique cultural features are worth bringing Duong Lam Village to become an appealing tourist site in the journey of discovering North Vietnam tours.

 

Phung Hung and Ngo Quyen Temples

Imagine yourself transported for a moment to a place where two kings were born, Phung Hung (761-802) and Ngo Quyen (896-944), giving the village its prestige. Phung Hung is known as the “Great Father King,” and Ngo Quyen is famous for his battle on the Bach Dang River against Southern Han invaders, which ended 1000 years of Chinese nomination. Both men led resistance wars against northern invasion and after winning national independence, were crowned kings. After their deaths, the native people built temples in their honor.

Duong Lam traditional dishes

Traditional cultural values are shown through not only architectural works but also traditional dishes, especially soy sauce. From many years ago, Duong Lam locals earn their living by making soy sauce. Although soy sauce is not the main dish, it enhances the tastes of all dishes.

As for travelers, dishes served with Duong Lam soy sauce are attractive. Besides keeping the tradition alive, locals also make soy bean sauce to make a living as many people enjoy this specialty. After visiting, let’s take a bottle of sauce as a rustic gift for your family, or your friends.

The soy sauce jar is one of the criteria of lifestyle of a peasant family. That’s why each family in Duong Lam ancient village also has few vases of soy sauce in their yard.

 

Things to do in Duong Lam

Enjoy the tranquil atmosphere and take a sip of nuoc Voi

If you want to explore Northern Vietnam country life, you should try to sit under the banyan tree, drink “nuoc voi – it’s like a tea” then taste a piece of “che lam – a white peanuts chewy candy”. During that time our friendly local people will share with you their daily stories, which you can clearly find new interesting things compare to yours.

By choosing Duong Lam ancient village day tour, you will have memorable experiences since it’s led by a well-knowledged and enthusiastic guide.

Wandering or taking a bike ride

When you’re wandering through the narrow alleyways, it feels like a step back in time, you hear people actually living off of the other side. It is a good combination; but when you get there, you just got to make sure that you find the right alleyways and just wander maybe get a bicycle or whatever to go around and explore yourself. The ride takes you through the village’s small alleyways and backstreets. You will see the real scenery of countryside life with many farms, including corn, vegetables, and others, as well as rice fields.

Try home-cooked meal

One of the best part of the visit to Duong Lam you should try is to eat a home cooked meal with a local family. No worries, while it doesn’t look very sanitary. The host family takes very good care and the food is delicious. Let’s try sausage candy, “chè kho”, roasted pork with the stick or Mia chicken. This kind of chicken was the tribute to offer the King in the past. You can ask for vegetarian, which was probably the best dish. It will be set up for small tour groups with tables under the eaves of 400-year-old grooves. It’s definitely great experience you will have if visiting here.

 

Get putting of the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, this Duong Lam ancient village day tour is definitely your best choice. Walking around or take a bicycle to explore the old lifestyle here will be a new experience you have especially if you are into history. Fresh air, beautiful places, friendly people, etc. help you have a gorgeous place to spend a day with your camera. Don’t hesitant anymore! We are Indochina Voyages, willing to help you have an unforgettable Vietnam tours.

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IV Travel Specialist