Central Highland Villages

A seven-day guided tour of Vietnam’s Central Highland Plateaux and its ethnic minority communities

Highlights: Impressive waterfalls, primitive forest, crossing Lak Lake by elephant, travelling by train to the north-west mountains, E De, Gia Ria and Ba Na ethnic minority villages, ‘rong’ commune houses, river ‘rafting’, hiking and stilt house homestays

Your tour begins with two days in Buon Ma Thuot
From Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll arrive at Buon Ma Thuot in the late morning. Once you’ve checked into your hotel and eaten lunch, it’s off to two large waterfalls in strikingly different locations. After dinner, a gentle stroll takes you to an interesting E De village to hear traditional music and drink local rice wine. On the following morning, Lak Lake, a dugout canoe, M’lieng village and an elephant, complete with a rough open howdah and a mahout, await you. Definitely a photo opportunity!

Meals: one breakfast, two lunches and two dinners

Guide: from airport to dinner on the second day

Two days in Pleiku.
A 200km drive on a decent road takes to Pleiku, lunch and Pleibloum village. You can wander round this friendly Gia Rai ethnic minority village, meet the people, paddle in the river and enjoy the views before a barbeque dinner. Four Ba Na ethnic minority villages are the following day’s activity. They’re very friendly communities – feel free to wander into houses to say hello! Both nights will be in local stilt houses.

Meals: two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners

Guide: both days

Two days in Kon Tum, back to Pleiku for a day, and then back to Ho Chi Minh City
A short 50km drive, and you’re in Kon Tum. Your first visit is the town and its two churches. Then it’s a short trip to Konkotu village and a reasonably gentle 6km forest hike to a hanging bridge and the Dak Bla River. An inflatable boat will be waiting for you – the return trip is by ‘rafting’ down the river, stopping for a picnic lunch. Don’t expect white water, thrills and spills – the experience is silently gliding through splendid scenery. If you do manage to fall in, your guide will be ready to take the hero (or maybe heroine) role, but as the river’s quite shallow, it probably won’t be necessary.

After a night in the village ‘rong’ house, and a short drive back to town, you’ll drop in at the local orphanage (it’s a ‘feel good’ experience – the children are friendly and delighted to have visitors) before heading to PleiPhun, another Gia Rai ethnic minority village with a good cemetery. Visiting the dead sounds a bit grim, but most people find it a fascinating experience. Then it’s back to Pleiku for the night and your return flight in the morning

Meals: three breakfasts, two lunches and one dinner

Guide: two days

This tour is seven days/six nights
It includes:
All transfers
All accommodation
Six breakfasts, six lunches and five dinners