Kỳ Lân Pagoda on top of Unicorn Mountain @ Ninh Binh in Vietnam

Would you have classified the 'mound' behind the shimmering pagoda as a mountain? Well, it's apparently called the unicorn mountain and since it's one of the taller structures around; a climb up to check out the view was definitely a must-do for me! 

Finding the pathway to go up.

I was expecting an entrance with more grandeur. C'mon, it's the unicorn mountain and while the unicorn is different from the pure white horse like creature in Western mythology; the Eastern unicorn has an equally high status, and known as one of the four holy creatures in Vietnam.

Steps up; this would be my third climb for the day and compared to what was encountered at Mua Caves (here and there), the stairs here were way more easier with handrails.

Only thing was the narrowness of the passage! 

Thankfully, you don't get hordes of visitors.

Marvel of traditional civil engineering. 

Mid-mountain resting point - what do you think about people vandalizing property? I do think it is an art form but only when it was approved by venue owner to add color and character. Other than that, it should be a wrongdoing. 

Communication tower. Despite my love for helicopter / bird's eye view, I am scared of heights and the risk of falling from such towers brings a chill down my spine. 

Street view - relatively empty, lacking the bustle of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. In comparison, Ninh Binh has a population of just 160,000, compared to 5 million in the political capital and 9 million in the economic capital. 

A big hanging bronze bell for visitors to play with! It's irresistible right and there's no sign (at least not in the languages I know) and nobody to stop us! Visitors I was with were considerate and there's no constant hitting of the wooden rod against the bell. 

Abandoned building at the side; guess it's used as a store. As our time was limited, I didn't take the opportunity to explore further. I might do some off the track exploring in Singapore but overseas is a different story given how insulated we are in our little red dot.

Staircase to the summit! 

Just a small temple with Buddha statues within. There's actually a legend (as always) pertaining to this mountain. It was said that the area used to have a terrorizing creature known as the black unicorn and this mountain was transformed from its corpse when it died due to a sacrifice by a princess. 

Stone lions guarding the temple. 

They had a great view of the small city although the scenery was better on their backs. p.s. captivated by this building but I couldn't find out more information about it.

View on the other side; nicer with waterways and you can see the many limestone mountains on the horizon. Some of which we would have driven past earlier in the day when we checked out the key attractions in Ninh Binh.

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Address

848 Trần Hưng Đạo, 

Tân Thành, Ninh Bình,

Vietnam

Map

As above. 

Click here for my Week-Long Itinerary to Hanoi - City of Lakes @ Vietnam