Crocodile Lake is one of the park highlights, reachable via two different routes. The more straightforward option involves a 9km drive or bike ride from the park headquarters and a 5km trek to the swamp; the walk takes about three hours return. Alternatively, you can trek all the way with a guide along a tougher jungle route criss-crossed by streams. Night treks are popular, as you've the chance of seeing crocs then, as well as other wildlife.

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Southwest Highlands

Few parts of Vietnam stir the imagination with the lure of adventure quite like the highlands. The ribbon that is the Ho Chi Minh Hwy winds its scenic way past coffee plantations, pine-studded mountains, rice paddies with their wallowing buffalo, enormous reed-covered lakes and peaceful villages, laying down the challenge of a two-wheeled journey.

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Attractions

Must-see attractions

Hang Nga Crazy House
Dalat
A freewheeling architectural exploration of surrealism, Hang Nga Crazy House is a joyously designed, outrageously artistic private home. Imagine…
Immaculate Conception Cathedral
Kon Tum
Built entirely from wood, this stunning cathedral from the French era has a dark frontage, gold trim and wide colonnades. Known to the locals as the …
Minh Thanh Temple
Southwest Highlands
Built only in 2014, this large and splendid Buddhist temple, surrounded by water features and bonsai trees, sits south of the city centre. Its proudest…
Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre
Cat Tien National Park
Set on an island in the Dong Nai River, this rehabilitation centre with a stellar reputation hosts golden-cheeked gibbons, pygmy lorises (both endemic to…
Kon Tum Museum
Kon Tum
This museum is one of the region's best, with good lighting and clear English text detailing local religious and spiritual life, including displays on the…
Ethnographic Museum
Buon Ma Thuot
This excellent museum takes you through the history of Dak Lak province, from stone tools and bronze burial drums to the American War and its aftermath,…
Cat Tien National Park
Southwest Highlands
One of the outstanding natural treasures of the region, the 72,000-hectare Cat Tien National Park comprises an amazingly biodiverse region of lowland…
Crémaillère Railway Station
Dalat
From Dalat’s wonderful art deco train station you can ride one of the nine scheduled trains that run to Trai Mat (return from 108,000d, 30 minutes) daily…