Vietnam Adventure Tours to Be Spent on Top Festivals for Tourists

Vietnam Adventure Tours to Be Spent on Top Festivals for Tourists

Festivals in Vietnam offer visitors the best opportunity for getting up close and personal with the myths, customs and fun-loving spirit of this proud nation. There are also plenty of cultural events that are only celebrated during certain times of the year (or years), so you’ll never know when one decides to pop up during Vietnam adventure tours.

Tet Nguyen Dan (Lunar New Year)


January/February 


Lunar New Year, locally called Tet, is the biggest festival of the year with the whole country downing tools for family get-togethers. Principally a religious celebration, don’t expect too much of a wild party for Vietnam adventure activities, but it’s still a fascinating time to visit Vietnam and you’ll certainly find locals lighting fireworks, visiting temples with their families, and the interesting sight of many flower stalls set up as giving flowers is customary during Tet.
 
Vietnam adventure tours

Tet is celebrated throughout Vietnam, but it’s best to join it in the larger cities, as smaller towns really do shut down, making it difficult to find food and transport. Hanoi is the best place to enjoy this festivity. Quan Su Pagoda or Ngoc Son Temple is where you can see locals lighting incenses and praying to their ancestors in the morning while Hanoi Opera House often organizes vibrant parties and fireworks displays.

Hue Festival


April/May/June every two years 


Hue Festival is a biannual celebration that takes place in UNESCO-listed Hue City, where you can enjoy an array of cultural events, games, and performances held over a week during your adventure activities in Vietnam. Founded in 2000, the festival was held to preserve traditional customs that were practiced during the Nguyen Dynasty. If you’re visiting Hue in April, May or June, expect unique showcases such as the Hue Poetry Festival, Dialogue of Drums and Percussions, and Ao Dai Fashion Shows, sporting activities like kite flying, boat racing, and human chess, as well as street performances, film screenings, and art exhibitions.
 
Vietnam adventure tours

Hue Festival is only celebrated in Hue City, which is the capital of Thua Thien Hue province in Central Vietnam.

Perfume Festival


Mid-February/March 


Perfume Festival draws throngs of local pilgrims from all over Vietnam to Hanoi’s iconic Perfume Pagoda, where they to pray for a prosperous year and pay their respects to Buddha. The pilgrimage starts with a dragon dance at Den Trinh Pagoda on the 6th day of the 1st Lunar, where pilgrims (and even travelers) travel by boat along the Yen River to the base of Huong Mountain, passing by limestone caves and rice fields. The Vietnam adventure tours continue on foot by climbing hundreds of stone steps towards Huong Tich Cave, offering a colorful display of food offerings, statues of deities, lit incenses, and praying locals.

Perfume Festival takes place at the Perfume Pagoda in Hanoi, from the 6th day of the 1st lunar month until the end of the 3rd lunar month.
 
Vietnam adventure tours

Mid-Autumn Festival


Mid-September 


Mid-Autumn Festival, held on the 14th and 15th day of the lunar month, features a wide range of activities such as children carrying paper lanterns, lion dances, and food booths selling mooncakes, sticky rice, fruits, and various sweets. Also known as the harvest festival, households set up an altar during the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, on which they display offerings in honor of the full moon.
 
Vietnam adventure tours

Mid-Autumn Festival is best enjoyed in Hoi An, where you’ll get to see plenty of street performances, lantern processions and art exhibitions throughout UNESCO-listed Ancient Town during Vietnam adventure holidays. Children also get to participate in essays, drawing and coloring contests during Mid-Autumn Festival, while visitors can enjoy breathtaking sights of colorful paper lanterns lining the Thu Bon Riverside and Japanese Covered Bridge.

Hung King Temple Festival


Early April 


Hung King Temple Festival is held in commemoration of Kinh Duong Vuong, who became Vietnam’s first king in 2879BC. While the main worship event takes place at the Hung Temple, which is perched atop Nghia Linh Mountain in Phu Tho Province, 100 lanterns are released into the sky on the eve of the festival. The next morning, a flower ceremony is held at Den Thuong (Upper Temple), where the Hung Kings used to worship deities during their reign. Lastly, a huge procession starts at the foot of the mountain, consisting of pilgrims, xoan classical song performances, and ca tru classical operas at several temples of Vietnam along the way towards the main Hung Temple, which makes your adventure tours more memorable.

Hung King Temple Festival is celebrated at the Hung Temple on Nghia Linh Mountain in Phong Chau District, Phu Tho Province.
 
Vietnam adventure tours

Lim Festival


Mid-February 


Lim Festival is where you can enjoy UNESCO-listed quan ho folk singing performances and a wide range of traditional games during your adventure Vietnam. Held on the 12th and 13th day of the first lunar month, several stages are built within the village where you get to see locals performing in traditional costumes. We highly recommend heading over to the lake outside the Lim Communal House to catch quan ho singing performance on a dragon boat. Lim Festival also hosts folk games such as danh du (bamboo swings), cockfighting, tug-of-war, wrestling, human chess, and blind man’s bluff.
 
Vietnam adventure tours

Lim Festival is celebrated in Lim Village, which is located within the Tien Du District, Bac Ninh Province. Located 18km from Hanoi, You can easily make your way to this traditional village by bus or rental car.

Wandering Souls Day


The annual Wandering Souls Day takes place on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, which locals believe is the day when spirits of their ancestors are able to visit their homes. On the eve of the festival, families flock to Buddhist temples and graves of their departed loved ones to offer prayers, flowers, sticky rice cakes, sugarcane, and fruits. Paper money and clothes are also burned during this time of the year.
 
Vietnam adventure tours

While Wandering Souls Day celebrated by Buddhist population across Vietnam, the best place to enjoy Vietnam adventure tours is in Hue, where numerous Buddhist shrines and pagodas are flooded with locals and monks performing ceremonies and prayers. The festival is also known as the Cold Food Festival (Tet Han Thuc) as chilled dishes such as banh troi (floating rice cake) and banh chay (glutinous rice balls with mung bean paste) are typically eaten.

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