Dalat
A freewheeling architectural exploration of surrealism, Hang Nga Crazy House is a joyously designed, outrageously artistic private home. Imagine…
Must-see attractions in Southwest Highlands
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 …
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
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…
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,…
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…
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…
Dalat
En route between Bao Loc and Ho Chi Minh City, 130km southwest of Dalat, Dambri Falls are one of the highest (90m), most magnificent and easily accessible…
Cat Tien National Park
Crocodile Lake is home to 200 crocs and is one of Cat Tien National Park's highlights. Getting here involves a 9km drive or bicycle ride from the park…
Dalat
This coffee farm has been in the family of Rolan since the 1860s. It's part of a K'Ho coffee-growing cooperative that ensures profits directly support K…
Dalat
Built by a French merchant in 1929, the surprisingly modest but attractive royal residence of Bao Dai (1913–97), Vietnam's last emperor, beckons visitors…
Kon Tum
Nine kilometres southeast of Kon Tum, the village of Kon K'tu is reachable across the Kon K'lor suspension bridge and along a potholed road. There's a…
Kon Tum
Ya Chim is the collective name for a group of eight Jarai villages that start 17km southwest of Kon Tum. In them you'll find traditional nghia trang …
Southwest Highlands
The biggest of the three waterfalls located on the Krong Ana River, the impressive 250m-wide Dray Nur is best experienced in the rainy season (May to…
Dalat
The Truc Lam Pagoda enjoys a hilltop setting and has immaculately tended flower and bonsai gardens. It's an active monastery, though the grounds…
Southwest Highlands
Located on the Krong Ana River southwest of Buon Ma Thuot, the 100m-wide Dray Sap (‘smoky falls’ in Ede) waterfall gushes during the rainy season. From…
Southwest Highlands
Pretty Gia Long, 30m high and 100m wide, tumbles into a green-blue lake. After the ticket office, take the right branch of the forested road for 7km to…
Kon Tum
Near the suspension bridge across the river you'll find a large rong in the village of Kon K'lor.
Dalat
This complex comprises a large prayer hall, a dragon made from more than 10,000 beer bottles, a seven-storied pagoda, a massive Bodhisattva of Compassion…
Dalat
Less than 1km from the base of Lang Bian Mountain is Lat Village (pronounced ‘lak’), a fairly unremarkable minority community of about 6000 people spread…
Dalat
Created by a dam in 1919, this banana-shaped lake was named after an anti-authoritarian 17th-century Vietnamese poet. It has become a popular icon of…
Dalat
These gardens were established in 1966 and include hydrangeas, fuchsias and orchids, the latter in shaded buildings to the left of the entrance. Like any…
Southwest Highlands
The largest of Vietnam’s nature reserves, Yok Don National Park has been gradually expanded and today encompasses 115,000 hectares of mainly dry deciduous…
Southwest Highlands
Pleiku's museum features some vaguely interesting Bahnar artefacts, from fine woven baskets and a coat made from tree bark to a replica tomb house, as…
Dalat
Occupying a densely forested highland plateau, this little-visited national park encompasses coniferous woodlands, bamboo groves and grasslands at…
Centre of Rescue and Conservation of Species
Cat Tien National Park
South of the park headquarters, this rescue centre is home to a selection of sun bears and black bears, rescued from poachers and/or bear bile farms, as…
Dalat
Named after a large rock that allegedly resembles an elephant's head, these powerful curved falls are reached by a steep ascent along uneven, very…
Southwest Highlands
These rare underground caves were formed when the surface lava from the now extinct nearby volcanoes cooled and solidified, while the hotter underground…
Dalat
This is the closest waterfall to Dalat, so expect crowds. You can reach the cascade (which is pretty but quite modest) either by walking down or taking a…
Dalat
This hillside museum is a stampede through Dalat's history, with a side trip into natural history, complete with outrageously bad taxidermy, and plenty of…
Southwest Highlands
Three extinct yet impressive volcanoes can be found near Dinh Quan on Hwy 20. Dating from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, the…
Kon Tum
This lovely old Catholic seminary was built in 1934. The upstairs normally functions as an absorbing museum of hill-tribe life, but was closed for…
Buon Ma Thuot
This monument commemorates the events of 10 March 1975 when VC and North Vietnamese troops liberated the city. It’s an interesting piece of socialist…
Dalat
Flanked by enormous coiling concrete dragons rearing out of a pond, and with a fabulously kitsch outdoor tableau featuring the young Buddha atop a lotus…
Dalat
Built in 1938, the Linh Son Pagoda is a lovely ochre-coloured building that fuses French and Chinese architecture. The giant bell is said to be made of…
Dalat
The gingerbread-style Dalat Cathedral was built between 1931 and 1942 for use by French residents and holidaymakers. The cross on the spire is topped by a…
Kon Tum
Northeast of Kon Tum, this village has a small rong and you can observe tranquil riverside activities. It's a poor place, even by local standards, so not…
