“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous

Dak Lak Province

Location

Remind to Dak Lak Province, many people think about Buon Ma Thuot City and coffee flavor of course. Beside this, there are some special features that from this province to talk about. They are the gong culture, Don Village, Lak Lake and the interesting trekking tour that do not disappointed visitors.
Dak Lak Province is located in the Highland of the country. The province is bordered with Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa Provinces to the east, with Lam Dong and Dak Nong Provinces to the south, with Gia La Province to the north and with Cambodia to the west.

  • Center city: Buon Ma Thuot City.
  • Town and Districts: Buon Ho Town, Ea Sup District, Krong Bong District, Krong Buk District, Krong Pak District, Krong Nang District, Krong Ana District, M’Drak District, Lak District, Ea Kar District, Ea H’leo District, Cư M’gar District, Cư Kuin District, Buon Don District.
  • Tourist places: Buon Ma Thuot City and Buon Don District.
  • Climate: Dak Lak Province has its typical climate of the highland region with the different the small climate area. There are the rain season from May to October and the dry time from November to April. The average temperature is from 23 C degree to 24 C degree.  The best time for travelling in here is in the dry time.
  • Transportation: Travel conveniently by land and airline to the province and from it to other provinces.

          The distance is for reference as below:
          From Dak Lak to Ha Noi: 1.410 km
          From Dak Lak to Ho Chi Minh City: 350 km
          From Dak Lak to Phu Yen:  192 km
          From Dak Lak to Khanh Hoan – Nha Trang:  184 km
          From Dak Lak to Lam Dong – Da Lat:  171 km
          From Dak Lak to Ninh Thuan: 271 km
          From Dak Lak to Dak Nong: 119 km
          From Dak Lak to Gia Lai: 182 km
  • Population: There are the main groups who live together such as Kinh, E De, Nung, Tay and some other ethnic groups like Mong, Thai and Muong etc.

Landscapes

  • Khai Doan Pagoda: located in the center of Buon Ma Thuot city, the pagoda named Khai Doan by joining of the initial word “Khai” from the name of Khai Dinh King and the word “Doan” from the name of his queen named Doan Huy. The pagoda was built from 1951 to 1953 with the architecture mixed the local architecture and Hue architecture.
  • Yang Prong Tower: located in Ea Sup District, 100km from Buon Ma Thuot City, Yang Prong Tower is the only tower in Central Highlands. It was built in the end of the 13th century to worship Siva Genie to pray for multiplying children and prosperous happy life.
  • Buon Don (Don Village): the village is located in Krong Ana Commune, Buon Don District, far from Buon Ma Thuot 50km and near Cambodia border. Buon Don is well known throughout Southeast Asia as the native land of elephant hunters and trainers. Buon Don is a beautiful village with many wooden stilt houses decorated with red paint of M’nong, Ede, Gia Rai, Khmer and Laos ethnic minorities. Visiting Buon Don Village, visitors can boat ride on Serepok River and then, ride elephant as well as enjoy the taste of Can alcohol and Gong Chieng music.
  • Bao Dai Private Residence: located in a spacious and shady campus in the centre of Buon Ma Thuot City, the residence used to be a French ambassador, then, a place of living and working of Bao Dai King, the last king in Vietnam. In 1940, the residence was rebuilt according to Central Highland architecture combining with modern style. There are tile roof, wooden floor and concrete basement. Nowadays, Bao Dai Private Residence is a museum exhibiting historical and cultural remains of the ethnic group people in Dak Lak.
  • Lak Lake: Located 56km from Buon Ma Thuot, Lak Lake is in the southern part of the province, close to National Highway 26. On the shore of Lak Lake, there is a magnificent palace owned by the last Nguyen King, Bao Dai. Standing on the second floor balcony, there is a panoramic view of the valley and lake below.
  • D’ray Sap Waterfall: D’ray Sap is the most beautiful and impressive waterfall in Central Highlands, far from Buon Ma Thuot city 30km to the south. In the Ede language, Dray Sap means “Fall of Mist” referring to the misty veil created by the powerful flow of the pouring water, in roaring sound echoing miles away. To M’nong ethnic people, Dray Sap is a combination of the beauty of Krong No and Krong Ana Rivers. The waterfall is 12m high and 120m wide in spring but it is just 8m high and 80m wide in the dry season.
  • Gia Long Waterfall: from Dray Sap Waterfall about 3km, there is a path leading to Gia Long Waterfall through the immense lush forest. The forest road is wide but very beautiful. There are many kinds of rare and valuable woods in the forest. It is said that Gia Long King used to travel to this area and ordered to build a bridge across a stream on the foot of the waterfall; therefore, it was named Gia Long Waterfall. The waterfall is about 30m high and 100m wide.
  • Yok Don Nation Park: located 2km beyond Buon Don Village, along the Serepok River, 40km west of Buon Ma Thuot City, Yok Don, which is 58,200ha, is one of the largest natural preservation sites in Vietnam. Yok Don National Park also contains of three villages: Krongna, Eahuar and Eavel, where Ede, Gia Rai and M’nong minority groups live. The people of Yok Don are very experienced in hunting and taming elephants.
  • Krong Bong Stone Bank: On the way to Krong Bong Waterfall in Krong Bong District, there is an attractive bank of stones with different colors and various forms like colossal stone elephants.

And many impressive landscapes in the province that await tourists who come to explore.

Festivals:

  • Elephant Race Festival: (the 3rd lunar month), the Elephant Festival which is the largest festival, takes place in the Central Highlands in the spring in Buon Don or in the sparse forest surrounding the Serepok River. The racetrack is an even ground, 1 to 2km long and wide which is enough for 10 elephants to stand side by side.
  • Spring Festival: (10th, 11th lunar month to the 1st, 2nd lunar month), the Spring Festival takes place after the finishing the harvest. This is a typical festival of the highland’s people.

And there are many other unique festivals in the province.

Local specialties

There are different local specialties in the province such as Cơm Lam (bamboo-tube rice), Rượu Cần (local wine drunk out of a jar through pipes), dried venison, local salad, grilled chicken from Don Village and other typical specialties.