At the Kŏ-Tam Community Cultural and Ecotourism Area, you can experience coffee processing and tasting. The area was also established to protect the Kŏ Tam stream at its source and preserve a water source and an Êđê longhouse. Here, coffee experiences and a culturally shaped landscape are part of the same discovery. If you want to get to know Dak Lak not only through coffee, but also through the connection between ecotourism and cultural heritage, Kŏ-Tam offers a practical starting point.
Protected Areas, a Lake, and Waterfalls
Chư Yang Sin National Park is one of six protected areas in Đắk Lắk; its area is listed as 59,269 hectares. Lak Lake offers a different kind of landscape: it is the largest natural freshwater lake in the Central Highlands. In the Vân Long Ecotourism Area, dugout canoe trips bring together stories and legends about the lake and the villages. Here, you encounter nature and regional storytelling in different forms.
At the Drai Nur–Dray Sáp Thượng waterfall complex, white waterfalls plunge into the Sêrêpôk River. Dray Nur Waterfall is one of the best-known waterfalls in Đắk Lắk. The Troh-Bư Orchid Reserve reveals another facet of nature: it preserves about 200 orchid species and more than 10,000 orchid pots attached to living trees. Visitors can also see the world’s largest dugout canoe and an ancient stone gong ensemble there.
Gong Culture and History
The Đắk Lắk Museum was established in 2008 and has three exhibition areas with about 1,000 exhibits. Bản Đôn Ecotourism Village offers another way to engage with the culture, where you can learn about gong culture. The gong culture of the Central Highlands is recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Its cultural significance thus extends beyond any one place.
Dinh Bảo Đại also offers a historical point of interest: it was the residence and workplace of the last emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty. Together with a museum visit and gong culture, this site offers another perspective on history and culture, without making every discovery revolve around the same theme.
Coffee, Tours, and Unique Experiences
In Dak Lak, coffee is part of the experience beyond processing and tasting. Buôn Ma Thuột hosts a week-long coffee festival once a year in early March. The program includes parades, longboat races, cultural exhibitions, and a dedicated pedestrian zone. If you want to plan your trip around the festival, check the dates and program in advance, as both may change.
Specialized tours offered in Đắk Lắk include coffee experiences in Buôn Ma Thuột, visits to villages in the Central Highlands, ecotourism in forests and at waterfalls, and tours focused on Indigenous culture and festivals. Alongside individual sightseeing stops, there are therefore different thematic ways to explore the region. In the Vân Long Ecotourism Area, visitors can also feed, bathe, and photograph elephants. The Yok Don Service, Ecotourism and Environmental Education Center is located in Krông Na Commune in Buôn Đôn District.
More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Buon Ma Thuot, Liên Sơn, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Dương, Bến Tre, Da Nang, Sóc Trăng, An Giang.
See the main travel guide: Vietnam.
