Following a series of summer-opening activities, Yen Tu is set to carry its tourism momentum into autumn through a range of sporting, cultural and spiritual events, offering visitors even more reasons to return to this renowned heritage destination.
After the early-year tourism season, Yen Tu is continuing to extend its visitor season through a series of activities running from summer into autumn. According to Vice Chairman of the Yen Tu Ward People’s Committee Pham Xuan Thanh, a notable feature of the locality’s 2026 tourism development plan is that it will not only organise individual events, but will also gradually build year-round programme that connects the seasons through the area’s mountains and forests, running routes, heritage spaces and Truc Lam culture. This approach is expected to create a vibrant atmosphere while further enhancing Yen Tu's appeal as the heritage destination.
Sports tourism will remain one of the programme's key highlights. Following the Yen Tu Mountain Climbing Tournament, “Conquering Phu Van Peak”, held in mid-April to welcome the summer, the autumn season will be enlivened by the 2026 Yen Tu Ultra Trail under the theme “Exploring Heritage - Spreading Quintessence”, scheduled to take place from August 21 to 23 at the Yen Tu heritage site. This is not only a trail-running event, but also a new way to explore Yen Tu through its mountains and forests, rocky slopes, heritage routes and unique natural landscapes.
The series of sporting events will not end in autumn, but will continue through the end of the year with the 2026 Yen Tu Heritage Marathon, “Touching Heritage”, scheduled for November 28 and 29. Together with the 2026 Ultra Trail, the event will establish Yen Tu as a destination where heritage conservation, sports and experiential tourism are closely integrated. In the long term, the races could become annual tourism products, generating a stable flow of visitors in addition to the spring festival season.
Alongside the sporting events, Yen Tu’s autumn tourism season will also gain added appeal from cultural and spiritual activities with a more contemplative character. First, the Vu Lan Festival Week, to be held from August 21 to 27, will be an important highlight, attracting monks, nuns, Buddhist followers and visitors to the heritage area in an atmosphere of compassion and gratitude.
Building on this atmosphere, the Yen Tu Autumn Festival and related activities are scheduled to take place from August to October, in association with the system of relics, scenic sites and Truc Lam cultural spaces. Together with the Medicine Buddha Festival and activities commemorating King-Buddha Tran Nhan Tong in the final months of the year, the series of events will create an extended cultural and spiritual rhythm from late summer into autumn, preserving the depth of the heritage while renewing Yen Tu’s appeal to visitors.
Yen Tu ward has determined that, alongside cultural and festival tourism, it will continue to expand sports, ecological and community-based tourism products, while accelerating digitalisation, improving service quality and developing a visitor-friendly destination rich in identity. This orientation shows that Yen Tu’s focus is not merely on increasing the number of events, but also on creating a new operating rhythm for the destination. Sports activities help broaden visitor markets, while the autumn festival and cultural and spiritual activities preserve the depth of the heritage. Meanwhile, complementary products such as retreats, meditation, yoga, experiences at Lang Nuong, Yen Trung Lake and Khe Song–Bac Waterfall, as well as cuisine, OCOP products and Yen Tu apricot wine, help extend visitors’ journeys and increase their spending.
By Ha Phong
