Places to visit:
Buon Ma Thout, the capital city of the Daklak Province, located in the Central Highlands is famous for Vietnamese coffee and a special beer called ruou can. You can get there by air or bus. Places to see and do in this area include Lak Lake in which the visitor can ride an elephant in Ban Don Village.
Da Lat is the major central city of the area that is best known for its French hill station and yearly spring climate. In fact, when it was created, it was originally built as a way to escape the heat and humidity from the coast as well as Ho Chi Minh City. This is a huge tourist city with tour buses and visitors lining the streets enjoying the fresh air. You can go on packaged day tours and visit sites such as fancy French-style houses, flower gardens, beautiful lakes, and marketplaces. It is a favorite of the Vietnamese because they can buy some of the freshest ingredients at the markets in the city such as fresh produce, tea, coffee, and local wine.
Kontum is a small town in the Central Highlands that is famous for their Rongs or hug communal homes where locals (usually indigenous tribes) gather for special occasions. It has also been a site for Catholic missionary work that has become quite successful. It is easy to get to via Highway one by either motorbike (which can be rented for as little as $4 a day) or by bus (high quality being the most recommended).
Pleiku - Off of Highway 14 this sleepy city is infamous known as the city of unrest. During the Vietnam War it was attached by the United States in an effort to stop the North Vietnamese and soon became a main combat base. Most recently it has been the site of unrest from the local indigenous population for rights and their continued scars from the war. If you do plan to travel here, even if you are unlikely to encounter any problems, you will need a permit if you intend to go off the highway in this year.
Yok Don National Park – This is Vietnam’s largest nature preserve consisting of dry deciduous forest, 67 species of mammals (in which 17 are endangered worldwide) and 250 different species of birds. This is truly the Vietnamese center for environmental conservation as well as the education and preservation of local indigenous cultures that live in the area. As a visitor, you can arrange to take an elephant ride and other guided treks through the forest where you will be able to observe it all.
Getting There:
In order to get to the Central Highlands, you can get there by bus directly from the cities of Nha Trang and Qui Nihon. You can also take the bus from Ho Chi Minh City and go through more cities and other stops, but their quality may not be that good.
