As the largest city in Dak Lak, Buon Ma Thuot has the typical beauty of the Central Highlands, convenient transportation and many unique tourist attractions, the land of coffee attracts tourists to explore.
What season is beautiful in Buon Ma Thuot?
The best time to come to Buon Ma Thuot is from late December to April, when the air is still a bit chilly, and the plateau is gentle and quiet. Visitors will admire the coffee flower gardens blooming white, as long as the soft arms of a young girl, or when the peony flowers bloom red in the sky.
The mountainous climate is quite cold in the morning, so you need to bring warm clothes. It is advisable to enjoy the fresh air in the early morning by walking. If traveling to Buon Ma Thuot from May to October, you need to prepare rain gear, warm clothes, anti-mosquito cream and especially sturdy walking shoes because some destinations have red dirt roads that are easy to slip.
Go
You can travel by means of transport such as plane, car, passenger car or motorbike to Buon Ma Thuot city depending on the starting point. The path between the attractions is not too difficult. Motorcycles are the most flexible means of transportation, with the cost of renting a digital car from 100,000 VND, and a scooter from 120,000 VND a day. Many roads have people’s pets grazing freely, you should observe from a distance and limit your speed.
Stay
The central area of Buon Ma Thuot includes the routes Nguyen Tat Thanh, Le Duan, Hung Vuong, Phan Chu Trinh…, visitors should find hotels nearby for convenient transportation. Hotels and motels in the center cost from 300,000 VND a night, about 25m2 room for two people. In addition, if you want to experience ethnic-style living here, you can stay in tourist villages, stay in dormitories in longhouses for 70,000 VND per person, and house on stilts 200,000 VND per night, or in coastal resorts. The lake is about 1,500,000 VND a night.
Where to play?
The most typical place in the Central Highlands is probably Buon Ma Thuot, the main city of Dak Lak . Buon Ma Thuot is considered the cradle of the gong cultural space in the Central Highlands, which has been recognized by UNESCO as an oral masterpiece and an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Buon Ma Thuot Victory Monument
Ban Me Junction is home to the Victory Monument. The monument is considered a symbol of the city, like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The highlight here is the steel tank number 980 – the vehicle that opened the historic battle of the Vietnamese army into the city.
Almost to go to every street of the city, you have to go through this junction. The crossroads is also home to many important works of the city such as the Cathedral, the museum of Dak Lak, the cultural house of the province… Nguyen Tat Thanh or Le Duan streets running straight to the monument are very wide and airy. , large sidewalks, suitable for walking and strolling. In the afternoon, the monument area is not too crowded, so you don’t have to wait as long to take souvenir photos as in the evening.
Dak Lak Museum
Dak Lak Museum , is located on Y Ngong Street in the center of the city. Buon Ma Thuot is a place where visitors can learn about the land of elephants and coffee in the Central Highlands. The work is designed based on the typical longhouse architecture of the Ede community, the most populous ethnic group in Dak Lak. Inside the museum, about 1,000 artifacts are stored and displayed introducing the history, natural geography and culture of indigenous ethnic communities such as Ede, Mnong, Giarai, Xodan, and Gie. Trang, Ma…
Besides, the museum is also a large green space like a park with many old trees and long grass – a place where many people choose to rest, relax and exercise daily. Connected to the Museum is Bao Dai Palace, the residence of the last king of the Nguyen Dynasty in Buon Ma Thuot.
Bao Dai Palace
The villa is now a part of the Dak Lak Museum, located on a 7-hectare campus surrounded by many 100-year-old trees. With more than 80 years of existence, the villa has the bold appearance of the architecture of the mountains and forests of the Central Highlands. Currently, this place keeps many artifacts and images of historical value about the time of fighting against France and America. This is an interesting attraction for tourists who love to learn about history.
Don’t forget to take a “check-in” photo with the most famous camphor tree in the mountain town. Camphor tree in the special power is recognized as a heritage tree of Vietnam with a height of 30 m, many large branches, nearly 100 years old.
Coffee World Museum
Nearly 3 km from Dak Lak Museum, Coffee World Museum is a must-see attraction when coming to Buon Ma Thuot because of its fancy architecture, which many tourists liken to the “Western sky” in the middle of the mountain town. Impressive exhibition space, telling the story of coffee around the world. With a ticket of 70,000 VND, the coffee museum not only gives you a lot of useful information but is also a place for young people to create countless photos in the style of contemporary art.
Trung Nguyen Coffee Village
This is not only a famous coffee shop but also designed as a miniature park. You may not need to buy any products, do not need to drink water in the shop, and can still visit this complex for free. The miniatures are beautifully designed, monumental such as large waterfalls, bridges, streams, ponds, houses on stilts… with tourists coming in and out. This area does not sell tickets, so you are free to take pictures and have fun.
If you have time, you can also visit Cafe Mehyco Paradise which is similar but on a slightly smaller scale.
Lake Ea Ka
Ea Kao Lake is located on the outskirts of the city, with the peaceful look of vast waters. In the afternoon, many young people often walk around the lake, chat, eat and watch the sunset.
The lake is located 12 km from the center of Buon Ma Thuot city, in the territory of Ea Kao commune. This place has an irrigation work operating since 1983 but the space is still wild. Underneath the lake is a diverse ecosystem with many species of freshwater fish and shrimp. Around the lake are rolling hills and rich flora.
No matter what time it is, Ea Kao becomes an ideal destination for locals and tourists to visit and relax.
The specialty that is passed on by the locals is the fried banana on Y Wang Street. Going to the lake, you order a glass of sugarcane juice, bite a piece of fried banana and enjoy the sunset in the middle of the lake to feel all the peace.
Khai Doan Temple
This is the largest temple in Buon Ma Thuot city. With the skillful hands of the land workers of the ancient capital of Hue, the pagoda has an ancient beauty with the architecture of the Hue ruong house that will make visitors feel like they are returning to the ancient architecture.
Buon Ma Thuot Cathedral
Sacred Heart Church is located at 2 Phan Chu Trinh Street, Tan Loi Ward. This is the cathedral of Buon Ma Thuot diocese. Since the 1930s, this place has been a chapel with thatched roofs with earthen walls. The current construction was completed in 1959.
Buon Ma Thuot exile house
Buon Ma Thuot exile house was established and built by the French colonialists to exile and detain cadres and party members who were arrested and severely sentenced in the central provinces. The work is 2 hectares wide, with many items such as prison, management house, medical house, kitchen – dining, teaching house, torture area, workshop, chapel, desk area… This work was built and operated in two phases: 1931-1945 during the French colonial period and 1954-1975 during the resistance war against the US.
Shop Ako Dong
Ako Dong village , also known as Co village of Ma Rin village of the Ede people, is more than 2 km from Buon Ma Thuot city center. In Ede language, “Ako” means watershed, “Dhong” means valley. Ako Dhong has 27 traditional longhouses of the Ede, dozens of households have taken advantage of what is available for business and tourism. Come to the village on the occasion of Tet to experience traditional activities and exciting gong nights.
10/3 Square
The square is located in the center of Buon Ma Thuot city, spacious and less invaded by surrounding shops. Children often come here to play, fly kites, ride double bikes, rent cyclos, rollerblade… on cool afternoons. At night, this area is really crowded. Bustling, jubilant restaurants and bars. Many people also bring newspapers, mats to spread on the square and rest, eat…
Around the area of 10/3 square, there are quite a few beer bars designed in the form of quite lively beerclub. The space is comfortable, friendly, and very suitable for sitting and enjoying the wind.
Lee’s Hillside picnic area
With many miniatures with images of Mongolia, Bali, Dubai… the picnic photography area is now an attractive check-in point for young people. Visitors can rent from traditional costumes of Vietnam or other countries, to modern clothes for 100,000 – 150,000 VND a set to take pictures in different styles. However, the costumes available are mainly for women.
The entrance ticket to take pictures of the whole area is 70,000 VND per person, an additional 50,000 VND if taking pictures with camels. The picnic area is located at 37, hamlet 8, Cu Ebur commune, far from the city center. Buon Ma Thuot is about 10 km, open from 8am to 5pm daily.In addition to sightseeing in the city, you can explore other famous tourist attractions of Dak Lak such as Lak lake, Dray Nur – Dray Sap waterfall…See more:
Eat what
Please enjoy the famous dishes of Buon Ma Thuot such as grilled chicken, chicken cooked with Giang leaves, sour soup cooked with lentils , specialties of the Serepork line, lam rice, bitter tomato salad … There are also some other dishes. “playful” such as wet cake with grilled meat, grilled spring rolls, fish cake soup with chips, red vermicelli , beef dipped in tamarind, grilled durian .
Referring to grilled meat cake, you should not ignore the famous restaurant on Tran Nhat Duat, which is open from 2pm daily. Wet cake served with pickles, green mango, grilled meat and spring rolls. Each piece of wet cake is quickly turned over and placed on a plate by the seller, and quickly brought to the table. You can eat this dish forever without getting bored because it comes with green mango and pickles.
An interesting specialty is vermicelli, which is cooked from the large meat behind the pig’s leg. Not fussy about ingredients, the big piece of “key” meat is the most delicious and impressive part of the vermicelli bowl. You can enjoy the dish at 222 Nguyen Tat Thanh for 65,000 VND per bowl.
Some references:
- Grilled meat rolls (45 Tran Nhat Duat)
- Hue beef noodle soup (329 Le Duan)
- Noodles (28 Ngo May)
- Pho (144B Le Thanh Tong)
- Banh cuon Bac (84 Mac Thi Buoi)
- Grilled spring rolls (22 Ly Thuong Kiet)
- Fish soup with pickled fish (55 Hai Ba Trung)
- Red vermicelli (corner of Phan Dinh Giot – Le Hong Phong)
- Banh Beo Nam Filter (17 Ama Jhao)
- Pork brain porridge (76 Phan Boi Chau)
- Noodles with peach heart (9 Quang Trung)…
The coffee
Buon Ma Thuot is known as the coffee paradise , the bitter taste here seems to be impossible to repeat anywhere. Coming to Buon Ma Thuot without enjoying coffee is a mistake. You have a lot to choose between famous coffee shops like Azzan, Soul Roastery, StoneVillage or Trung Nguyen village…
ARUL Coffee is a typical Central Highlands restaurant. The shop is not located in a prime location in the center of the city, but in Ako Dhong village, one of the richest villages in the Central Highlands. The space depicts the typical features of Ede traditional culture.
According to coffee connoisseurs, Soul Roastery is a suitable place for young people with spacious industrial-style space and a variety of beverage products. The price of each drink is about 30,000 – 70,000 VND, equivalent to the price of coffee in big cities, but once you enjoy it, you will find it worth the money.
