Tay Ninh

You stand in the courtyard of the Cao Dai Holy See at noon, under the long pale front, the bell tower, and the drum tower. The Divine Eye is a detail on that front. Ba Den is the ridge for the first cable the next morning. Stay the night in phường Tân Ninh, the old city centre, if that noon service and the first cabin are the trip. Sleep nearer the gate in phường Bình Minh if you want that first cabin. The night is the forecourt at the 18:00 service, in phường Long Hoa, or the mountain after 17:00, when the cable fare is lower. Go back to Ho Chi Minh City if the city is the trip. Cu Chi is a different night.

Walk the court and look into the prayer hall at a service. The plan is a dragon-horse. The hall is 97.5 m by 22 m. Twelve carved gates face the court. Noon is the service to see. Dress is modest. Shoes come off. Men take the right door. Women take the left door. Daily services are also 0:00, 6:00, and 18:00. The four together are cúng tứ thời. One visit length is about 60 minutes. The temple is about 4 km southeast of the old city, in phường Long Hoa. The mountain office, khu phố Ninh Phú, phường Bình Minh, is not this door.

Work started in 1931, and also in 1933. It was completed on 24 January 1947, also given as completed in 1947, and the work is also given as finished in 1955. Inauguration is 1 February 1955, and also 1955. The grounds are more than 1 km², nearly 100 ha, and about 1 km². The canopy has 3,027 stars and 3,072 globes. Chí Tôn day is the 9th of lunar January, and also the 8th, with more than 30,000 people. On 25 September 2026 the Mother Goddess flower procession was at 18:30 and the great rite at 22:00.

Ba Den is the other half of the stay, a little more than 10 km from the city centre and 11 km northeast of the old town. The height is 986 m, called nóc nhà Nam Bộ, with núi Heo at 335 m and núi Phụng at 660 m. The complex is about 24 km². The 1986 landscape reserve is nearly 2,000 ha, Decision 194/CT of 9 August 1986. A 1,200 m cable and a slide of 1,190 m up and 1,700 m down are named. The 2026 lines are Vân Sơn to the summit, Chùa Hang toward the Bà temples, and Tâm An. On the summit a 72 m copper Phật Bà weighs 170 tons, and a sandstone Di Lặc is 36 m high, 45 m wide, of 6,688 blocks. Ba Den Station is 10,959 m². Recognition is Decision 100-VH/QĐ and 100/VH-QĐ, both dated 21 January 1989. The war unit is Hậu cần 82 and also Hậu cần 32. Liên đội 7 is on both. The caves on the mountain are not the Cu Chi tunnels.

The clock in force on 22 October 2026 is the 28 September 2026 notice, until a later notice. Monday to Friday, Vân Sơn and Chùa Hang run 06:00–20:30. Tâm An does not run those days. The spiritual area is 06:30–20:00. Saturday, Vân Sơn and Chùa Hang run 05:30–21:00, Tâm An 06:30–19:00, and the spiritual area 06:00–20:30. Sunday, Vân Sơn and Chùa Hang run 05:30–20:30, Tâm An 06:30–19:00, and the spiritual area 06:00–20:00. The gate is open one hour before the cable and one hour after. The buffet is 10:00–15:00. An earlier clock is 6:00–20:00 on Monday and Friday and 5:30–21:00 on weekends and holidays, and does not name Tuesday to Thursday. On that earlier clock the last ride up is often 30 minutes before close. Weather can stop the cable. A second company, on 24–27 September 2026, listed a tube slide at 07:30–18:00 and a cable at 07:30–16:00.

Hồ Dầu Tiếng is the sunset once the temple and the mountain are planned. The water is given as “diện tích mặt nước 27 km”, a catchment of 27,000 ha, and up to 1.58 billion m³, and also 270 km² and 1.58 billion m³, and also 27,000 ha and 1.5 billion m³. The shore is about 20 km from the city. Ma Thiên Lãnh is a walk between Ba Den, Phụng, and Heo to a green stone lake on the west foot of núi Heo. It is a quarry pool, not a swim, and people have carried lunch because there was no food stall. Chùa Gò Kén, also Chùa Thiền Lâm, is more than 100 years old and the earliest built in Tây Ninh. Do not swap it with the Holy See or with Chùa Bà on the mountain. Gạo Nàng Thơm Chợ Đào, thanh long Đức Hòa, rượu đế Gò Đen, cá lóc nướng trui, lẩu mắm, and khô cá lóc belong to the old Long An half. They are a different lunch from the Holy See.

Common questions

Should I stay the night in Tay Ninh or come back to Ho Chi Minh City?

Stay if you want the noon service and the first cable the next morning. Ho Chi Minh City is about 100 km, Ba Den about 110 km northwest, and the airport road about 90 km to more than 100 km, with a mountain-first road that can exceed 110 km and a drive of about 2.5 to 3 hours. The valley is about 100 km, then about 50 km. Go back the same day only if Ho Chi Minh City is the trip. Cu Chi is not this night.

Is there a ticket for the Holy See, and how long is the visit?

No ticket is listed. One visit length is about 60 minutes. The temple is about 4 km southeast of the old city. Shoes come off. Men take the right door. Women take the left door.

Which Ba Den cable clock applies, and what does the ride cost?

On 22 October 2026 the notice in force is the 28 September 2026 clock, until a later notice: weekdays Vân Sơn and Chùa Hang 06:00–20:30, Saturday 05:30–21:00, Sunday 05:30–20:30. An earlier clock is 6:00–20:00 on Monday and Friday and 5:30–21:00 on weekends and holidays, and does not name Tuesday to Thursday. The round-trip cables on the September–December notice are Vân Sơn 450,000 and 350,000, Chùa Hang 250,000 and 150,000, Tâm An 450,000 and 350,000, plus a gate of 10,000 and 5,000. After 17:00 those cables are lower on that notice. The 18–26 June festival prices are a closed window.

Top attractions in Tay Ninh

1

Ba Den Mountain Núi Bà Đen

Ba Den, the 986 m peak: ride the summit cable and the temple line, and give it most of a day.

5.0 ★★★★★ Editor

Most of a day · 450,000 VND for an adult on Vân Sơn

2

Cao Dai Holy See Tòa Thánh Cao Đài Tây Ninh

Cao Dai central temple: stand for the noon service, about 60 minutes, in the prayer hall.

5.0 ★★★★★ Editor

About 60 minutes · Check on arrival

3

Dau Tieng Lake Hồ Dầu Tiếng

Reservoir at dusk: look across the water to the far shore, about 20 km from the city.

3.0 ★★★☆☆ Editor

A sunset · Check on arrival

Events

Side trips from Tay Ninh

Ho Chi Minh City

Former Saigon in the south, with Thảo Điền, Japanese streets, and Chợ Lớn.

Cu Chi

A network of wartime tunnels northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, preserved as two historic sites.

Tay Ninh by interest

Dining and F&BThe Holy SeeShopping

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Getting there and around

The nearest airport is Tân Sơn Nhất, in Ho Chi Minh City. No passenger airport sits inside Tây Ninh. No rail station is on the road in. Do not plan a train.

The road leaves Tân Sơn Nhất toward Cộng Hòa, then Quốc lộ 22, through Trảng Bàng and Gò Dầu, into the city, and on to the mountain if that is the first stop. Another approach uses Quốc lộ 22A to the Trảng Bàng junction, then tỉnh lộ 782. Ho Chi Minh City is about 100 km away. Ba Den is about 110 km northwest. From the airport the city centre is about 90 km to more than 100 km, a first stop at the mountain can exceed 110 km, and the drive is about 2.5 to 3 hours. The valley is about 100 km from Sài Gòn, then about 50 km on tỉnh lộ 782. That 50 km is not the 90 km to more than 100 km. Old phường 2 is inside phường Tân Ninh from 1 July 2025.

The Holy See is about 4 km southeast of the old city, in phường Long Hoa. The mountain is a little more than 10 km from the city centre, and 11 km northeast. From 1 July 2025 the old city centre is phường Tân Ninh, old Long Hoa stays inside phường Long Hoa, and old Thạnh Tân and old Ninh Sơn are inside phường Bình Minh. The mountain office is khu phố Ninh Phú, phường Bình Minh. That line is not the temple’s door. On the way in, Trảng Bàng sits on Quốc lộ 22. Địa đạo An Thới is named there. That is not the Cu Chi site.

Tay Ninh itineraries

Southeast in 4 daysTay Ninh day from SaigonTwo days in Tay Ninh

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Hotels

• Tân Ninh Town rooms

  Sleep in phường Tân Ninh, the old city centre, when the noon service and the 18:00 rite are the point. No hotel brand is a pick.

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• Bình Minh Gate rooms

  Sleep nearer the mountain gate in phường Bình Minh when you want the first cable. The gate address is khu phố Ninh Phú. No hotel brand is a pick.

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Tours & Attractions

• Ba Den Mountain Ba Den

  Ba Den, the 986 m peak: ride the summit cable and the temple line, and give it most of a day.

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Restaurants

What to order is on the food guide.

• Tay Ninh food guide Food guide

  Stop in Trảng Bàng on the road from Ho Chi Minh City and roll bánh tráng phơi sương around boiled pork or young beef, with a basket of forest herbs and a bowl of bánh canh beside it. Then carry a jar of muối tôm, look for the Khmer and Cham plates of the border, and save lẩu mắm and dried snakehead for the old Long An half.

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