Dak Nong Travel Guide 2023 from A-Z: Moving, eating, visiting, specialties… latest

Dak Nong is located at the southwest gateway of the Central Highlands on the M’Nong plateau, connected to Cambodia through two border gates Dak Peur (Dak Mil district) and Bup’rang (Tuy Duc district). Dak Nong borders Dak Lak to the east and north, Lam Dong to the south and Binh Phuoc and Cambodia to the west.Dak Nong is most beautiful in the spring, from around January because the rainy season has passed, the sky is clear and cool, the waterfall has many waterfalls. From March to early April is the blooming season of coffee flowers, May-June is the season of cassava flowers. Summer in Dak Nong often rains, but it stops quickly.

Move

The center of Dak Nong province is Gia Nghia city, about 125 km from Buon Ma Thuot city (Dak Lak), about 250 km from Ho Chi Minh City. To move to Dak Nong, you can choose means of transport such as car, bus, motorbike or plane depending on the starting point.Bus tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Dak Nong, departing from the Eastern bus station of bus companies such as Dai Nghia, Duyen Ha, Hoang Long, range in price from 150,000 – 200,000 VND per person. The bus departs from Hanoi with a ticket price of 800,000 VND (including two meals). Driving time is about 6 hours from Ho Chi Minh City and about 30 hours from Hanoi.Dak Nong does not have an airport, so if you want to travel by air, you can choose Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air or Bamboo Airways to the nearest airport, Buon Ma Thuot (Dak Lak), ticket prices range from 2 to 3.5 million dong. Transfer by bus from Buon Ma Thuot to Gia Nghia for 200,000 VND.If you want to take the initiative in your time and have the freedom to stop and rest, you can take a personal car or motorbike from Ho Chi Minh City towards Highway 14. The road is beautiful so you don’t need to worry, but before departing, check and maintain it. Drive carefully and comply with traffic safety regulations.

Accommodation

There are many accommodation options. Robin Hotel, Ngoc Thuong, Dak Nong Lodge, Sunrise Hotel are highly rated establishments on booking websites. Prices range from 300,000 to nearly 1.5 million VND per night.Some famous homestays and farmstays in Gia Nghia include Yumin Farm house, Hoa Dat Garden, Ngo Gia Trang; In Dak R’Lap district, there is Molly Home; In Dak Mil, there is Montagnards Home Farm, priced from 150,000 to 1 million VND per night.

 

If you go in a large group, you can stay in Ta Dung tourist area or Phuong Van Farm to feel one with nature. The landscape of Ta Dung lake is considered “Ha Long Bay of the Central Highlands” while Phuong Van farm in Gia Nghia city is a destination considered “forest in the city” with green space of forests and coffee gardens mixed together. vegetable gardens and fruit trees.

Where to play?

From Gia Nghia city center, within a radius of about 50 km, Dak Nong has many places to explore. There are some beautiful natural landscapes quite far from the city, so you should divide the tour into about 3 days and 2 nights, or longer.Ta Dung National Park

Volcanic cave Discovered in 2017 with more than 50 caves, with a total length of nearly 10,000 m, this is one of the longest volcanic cave systems in Southeast Asia belonging to the UNESCO Dak Nong Global Geopark. According to researchers, the volcanic cave system was formed more than 140 million years ago. Over time, up to now, the volcanic cave system still retains traces and rare archaeological relics of the residence of prehistoric people about 6,000 – 7,000 years ago.Nam Kar volcanic range

 is located in Quang Tam commune, Tuy Duc district, about 50 km from Gia Nghia city. The waterfall is nearly 60 m high, surrounded by more than 1,000 hectares of special-use forest with a rich ecosystem, many ancient trees with wide green canopy. Right next to the waterfall there are large, flat grounds for you to camp overnight.

 

 

Dray Sap tourist areaDray Sap – Gia Long cultural eco-tourism area (Dray Sap tourist area) is located in Dak Sor commune, Krong No district, about 110 km from Gia Nghia city.The characteristic of this tourist area is that it is located in a special-use forest area with many famous rapids (Dray Sap waterfall, Gia Long waterfall, also known as upper Draysap waterfall, Trinh Nu waterfall, Dray Nu waterfall). Accommodation services are diverse, from Ede longhouses to duplex houses, especially mushroom house systems with straw roofs, creating a close and cozy feeling.You can visit the zoo with many species: deer, chamois, ostrich, bear, tiger, snake, lion. In addition, guests can experience camping services, cycling in the forest, boating or visiting special-use forests.Exhibition of traditional musical instrumentsLocated in N’Jrieng village, Dak Nia commune, more than 9 km from Gia Nghia city center along Highway 28 towards Da Lat, Lam Dong.Coming here, you will discover about 60 types of musical instruments from ethnic groups around the world. Each instrument has its own sound and most are crafted from some type of stone and animal bone. Among the nearly 60 ancient musical instruments is the Dak Kar stone instrument of the M’Nong people dating back nearly 3,000 years. This is the “soul” musical instrument of the exhibitor.According to the concept of the M’Nong people, the stone instrument is a thread connecting people and the spiritual world associated with the cultural and spiritual life of indigenous ethnic people in Dak Nong province. The Dak Kar Stone Platform was also chosen as one of the symbols of the UNESCO Dak Nong Global Geopark.Ancient trade of the Ede peopleAbout 90 km from Gia Nghia city in the direction of Dak Lak, Buor village in Tam Thang commune, Cu Jut district has been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the oldest village of the Ede people in the Central Highlands in 1999. 2008.Buon Buor is located on the Serepok river. Over the centuries, people have still maintained long-standing customs such as brewing can wine, making traditional musical instruments, weaving daily household items from bamboo and weaving brocade. You will admire the beauty of traditional stilt houses; Meticulous hand-woven brocade products represent the culture of the Ede people; join in with the gong dance. You can also participate in ancient rituals such as the new house worshiping ceremony, Kpan procession, new rice celebration, and brotherhood.

Dak Song wind power

Dak R’Mang market

 

Hill 722 – Dak Sak historical relic is 722m high above sea level, nearly 4 hectares wide, located in village 4, Tho Hoang, Dak Sak commune, Dak Mil district. This place marks historical milestones in the resistance war against America of the people of Dak Nong province with many fierce battles. Currently, a number of relics, military equipment, and military equipment such as shoes, hats, bullet casings… are still kept and preserved at Hill 722 relic site. On October 24, 2012, Hill 722 relic – Dak Sak is recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national historical site.If you have time, you should visit Yok Don National Park . Part of the garden is located in Dak Nong province, south of the Serepok River, but the main gate is in Buon Don, Dak Lak province. Visitors can experience trekking and admire the natural beauty, especially the majestic Bay Branch waterfall and rich flora and fauna ecosystem. Entrance ticket: 40,000 VND per adult and 20,000 VND per child.

Eat and drink

Traditional dishes of indigenous people are very diverse, always combining a variety of ingredients, demonstrating community solidarity. The main ingredients include bep leaves, rattan buds, bitter eggplant, bamboo shoots, stream fish, and wild animal meat.Most dishes are prepared by boiling or grilling or cooking in soup, with bitter, spicy flavors and harmonious natural colors.Lam rice, grilled meatLam rice is a favorite dish and is always present in festivals and fun events of local people. The main ingredient of lam rice dish is sticky rice. After soaking, the rice is put into bamboo tubes, and spring water is used to cook. The bamboo tubes containing sticky rice are burned on fire or buried in charcoal. When the rice is cooked, people cut off the burnt outer layer, revealing the white intestine.

Accompanying lam rice is grilled meat, also from cattle and poultry, but often prepared in a very unique way. Most of the ingredients are not marinated and are grilled on charcoal or put into bamboo tubes and grilled. This method of preparation takes little time and is convenient for going to the forest or fields… When eating, people often dip it with salt and chili.Grilled lentils from Serepok riverThe Serepok River flowing through Krong No district and Cu Jut district of Dak Nong has many types of lentil fish, the most popular being the red-tailed lentil fish.Catfish can be made into many dishes such as grilled, braised, fried, steamed, stir-fried with garlic or cooked in porridge. Among them, grilled fish with charcoal is an attractive dish. The fish is wrapped in wild leaves and then grilled, dipped in salt made from lemongrass, green chili and wild leaves. Grilled lentils eaten with bamboo-tube rice brings the rich and characteristic flavor of Dak Nong cuisine. 

This is one of the Top 100 Vietnamese specialties 2020 and 2021.Cloud bud soupThut soup is a long-standing dish of the M’Nong people and other ethnic groups in Dak Nong province. According to indigenous people, the name “canh thut” appeared from the fact that in the past, people working in the fields often cooked soup in bamboo tubes growing in the forest. When cooking, people use chopsticks to stir the ingredients until soft.The dish is a combination of wild vegetables such as bep leaves (also known as tweezer leaves), rattan buds, bitter eggplants with stream fish to create a rustic but attractive soup. In addition to the above ingredients, soup can also be combined with tripe, pork ribs, and canned fish to create more flavor diversity.

Dak Nong is famous for gifts that are specialties of the Central Highlands mountains and forests.CoffeeFertile basalt soil, suitable terrain, climate and rainfall make Dak Nong one of the key regions for growing and processing coffee, creating high quality coffee beans with a different flavor compared to other regions. Other lands, famous for Robusta, Arabica, Culi coffee…Dak N’rung pepper