Travel Guide Cô Loa

In the Dông Anh district to the northeast of Hanoi, just a few kilometers from the city center, lies the village of Cô Loa, on the left bank of the Red River. This historic site is home to the ancient capital of the Au Lac kingdom, founded by the ancestors of today's Vietnamese in the 1st century BC. The village can be the occasion for a short half-day excursion. Named Di tích Thành Cổ Loa in Vietnamese, the citadel of Cô Loa originally consisted of three concentric spirals separated by ditches and following the contours of the land. Constructed of earth with a 20-30 m base, averaging 4-5 m in height with a maximum of 8-12 m in some places, they were reinforced by bamboo hedges and bordered by wide moats. On the scale of the long history of Vietnam and Southeast Asia, the remains of Cô Loa represent a priceless testimony to continuous development through the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. Unfortunately, the site has been severely degraded in recent decades by the construction of roads and residential housing. Nearby is a pretty pagoda. A visit that rarely features on conventional tourist itineraries, but is sure to appeal to history and archaeology enthusiasts.