4 Holy Animal islands – Ben Tre

Why 4 Holy Animal islands – Ben Tre is special ?

The 4 Holy Animal Island complex consists of 4 separate beautiful islands: the Dragon island, the Unicorn island, The Turtle island, and the Phoenix island. This religion is sharing border with Ben Tre Province, Dragon Island & Unicorn Island belong to Tien Giang province, and Turtle Island and Phoenix Island belong to Tan Thach Commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre Province.

Most tours will stop on Phoenix and Unicorn Islands, and others will round out the trip with stops on Turtle and Dragon Islands. The tourism activities mainly operate on Thoi Son Island, Phoenix Island, and Turtle Island. Especially on Phoenix Island where very bustling tourism activities & traditional handicraft villages.

Source: http://www.impresstravel.com/

What to explore at 4 Holy Animal islands – Ben Tre?

Phoenix, or Coconut, Island’s main attraction is a pagoda was constructed by Nguyen Tranh Nam ( the Coconut Monk) a French-educated engineer who subsisted on the meat and juice of coconuts for years while promoting pacifism and building his religion during the Vietnam War. The pagoda features nine dragon pillars and a tower constructed from broken dishware. One of his followers, now in her 90s, was there and more than happy to chat (in Vietnamese) and show pictures of her time there with the Coconut Monk and other followers in its heyday.

The other islands don’t have quite as much political history, but they are absolutely worth a visit. Among the remaining three you can see seriously beautiful countryside, and, happily penned in, loads of crocodiles. On Unicorn Island, after walking along the trails, you’ll get into a sampan for a lazy ride through the canals with soaring greenery on all sides. This part was extremely crowded, but the ride was smooth. This island is also ideal for relaxing. Honey tea is a specialty, as is the plentiful fruit. A group of local ladies will come around to sing Vietnamese standards, and somewhat incongruously, “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” Dragon Island is also a wonderful place to eat fruit and other local dishes like fried elephant ear fish. There are plenty of shopping opportunities, too. On Turtle Island, there’s a coconut candy factory, so stock up on all the different flavors and then peruse the bags, coconut handicrafts, silk and more.

Source: http://gogirlguides.com/

How to get to 4 Holy Animal islands – Ben Tre?

About two hours south of Ho Chi Minh City (70km), lies between Tien and Hau River is the four islands. You have to take a bus from Ho Chi Minh to Ben Tre, then book a tour to visit the four islands.