What to Do and See in Pleiku, Gia Lai Province

Gia Lai is a province located in the Central Highlands and it’s the second largest province in Vietnam. The Jarai, a native people of Vietnam with the largest population in the province, are credited with the origin of the name. Pleiku is the central city of Gia Lai and its name also comes from the Jarai, meaning northern village or highland village. With the exception of Da Lat, the tourism industry in other provinces in the Central Highlands is not developed. However, the exploration potential is diverse with the abundance of natural landscapes such as majestic mountains and beautiful waterfalls, sea lakes; and even artificial landscapes such as tea farms, coffee farms, rubber tree gardens; and the culture of the local ethnic minorities of the Jarai and Bahnar. With all these destinations to see and cultures to experience, it might be difficult to pick the right places for you. Check out my list below to help craft an acceptable itinerary for your travels to this most outstanding province of Gia Lai.

Chu Dang Ya Volcano

Located 30 kilometers away to the northeast of Pleiku, Chu Dang Ya volcano is located in Ploi large village, Chu Dang Ya commune, Chu Pah district. Chu Dang Ya in the Jarai language means tough ginger. This volcano has been inactive for millions of years, with a funnel-shaped volcanic crater. It’s hidden in the middle of an immense forest and surrounded by century-old trees. These trees have hollow trunks due a worm infestation but they’re still alive, so you can sit or hide in the trunk.

chu-dang-ya-volcano-pleiku
Photo: Gody.vn

The lava has left red basalt soil which is good for planting crops such as corn, sweet potato, pumpkin, and longan. The natural scenery around the volcanic area is diverse. It even changes from season to season, as does the rest of Vietnam, turning from a ripe green to golden yellow. During the rainy season, the mountain is covered by the vast green fields of sweet potato and taro. In the dry season, yellow wild sunflowers are in bloom against a background of green trees.

Address: Ploi large village, Chu Dang Ya commune, Chu Pah district, Gia Lai province

T’nưng Lake

Pleiku has a famous destination, a calm lake in the mountains, named T’Nung lake. In fact, it is a natural freshwater lake formed in a crater that has been shut down for hundreds of millions of years and is located about seven kilometers away to the northwest of Pleiku city.

t'nung-lake-gia-lai
Photo: Mytour.vn

T’Nung lake has another name, Sea Lake, because the lake area is very wide. It is 228 square hectares big in the dry season and up to 400 square hectares in the rainy season. When the wind passes, the lake ripples and forms waves as strong as the sea.

T’Nung lake provides a huge amount of different kinds of fish for the Central Highlands. Surrounded by the mountains, the area around the lake is also home to rare animals such as geese, kingfisher, Ko Tuc bird, Ko Vong bird, and more. You can rent a motorboat to ride around the lake to watch local people catch fish, and witness the beautiful landscape at sunset.

Address: Surrounded by three streets, Ton Duc Thang, Pho Duc Chinh and Highways 14B streets, Pleiku city, Gia Lai province.

Nine Floor Waterfall (Thac Chin Tang)

Located in La Sao, 30 kilometers away from Pleiku, Nine Floor Waterfall is not really high. However, it stretches along rugged cliffs and is divided into nine separate floors. Each floor is from five to ten meters high and the last two floors are about 15 meters high. There are many cascades that are easy for visitors to climb. If viewed from above, the waterfall looks like a dragon bending before flying into the sky.

nine-story-waterfall-gia-lai
Photo: Hotel24h.com

The surrounding forest ecology is still quite primitive, contributing to the wild beauty of the waterfall. This is a good place for going on a picnic, bathing, and relaxing.

Address: La Sao commune, La Grai district, Gia Lai province

Kon Ka Kinh National Park

Kong Kinh National Park attracts tourists with many beautiful waterfalls and majestic mountains landscapes. The “110 Waterfall”, Dak Bok waterfall, To Bung stream, the top of Kong Ka King mountain, suspension bridges, and abundant flora and fauna will keep you busy for a whole day!

Photo: monre.gov.vn

The forests have many kinds of ancient trees that are, you guessed it, hundreds of years old, rare plants, and rare five-leaf pine trees. Kon Ka Kinh is also the main habitat of an extremely rare species in Vietnam, the gray-shanked douc langur. It is one of the 25 most endangered primate species in the world.

At Kon Ka Kinh, you can visit villages of the Bahnar ethnic minority and have the opportunity to witness their festivals such as a wedding ceremony, buffalo stabbing festival, gong festival, and more.

Address: Ayun commune, Mang Yang district, Gia Lai province

Minh Thanh Pagoda

Located at 14A Nguyen Viet Xuan street, Hoi Phu ward, Pleiku city, Gia Lai province, Minh Thanh pagoda is two kilometers to the southwest of Pleiku. This pagoda is heavily influenced by Chinese and Japanese architecture.

minh-thanh-pagoda
Photo: Instagram @lambaodi

From a distance, you can see the nine-story relic tower and statues of Amida Buddha weighing 40 tons and 7.5 meters tall. The presbytery is 16 meters high, and made of Hinoki (Po Mu) wood. This makes for a truly stunning building. The wood main doors are carved with six elegant Bodhisattvas.

There is even a peaceful garden. Decorated with miniature landscapes, lakes, green trees, this area adds harmony and freshness to the pagoda’s solemn atmosphere.

Address: 348 Nguyen Viet Xuan street, Hoi Phu ward, Pleiku city, Gia Lai province

Pleiku Prison

Located in the center of Pleiku city, you can get to Pleiku prison by car, motorcycle or on foot. In 1925, the French built Pleiku prison to detain criminals, mostly ethnic minorities. By 1940, the revolutionary movement of the ethnic people developed strongly. At that time, the French colonialists used this place to detain patriots. During the Resistance War against America, the Americans continued using Pleiku Prison to detain political prisoners.

pleiku-prison-gia-lai
Photo: Vntrip

Pleiku prison consists of a series of permanent detention houses located in a large campus, surrounded by tall walls with watchtowers policed by armed soldiers. After 1975, the local government kept the prison as a place of historical education for younger generations.

Address: Dien Hong ward, Pleiku city, Gia Lai province

Ham Rong Mountain

Ham Rong mountain is located on Highway 14B, gateway to the city and 11 kilometers south of Pleiku city center. It is also called Chu Ho Dong or Hon Rong mountain.

Ham_rong_pleiku
Photo: Dulichpleiku

Ham Rong mountain is a volcano that erupted millions of years ago and is also considered the roof of Pleiku due to its height of 1,028 meters. It is a precious geological heritage of the province, but the scenery is still very wild and not exploited. From a distance, the mountain has many different shapes. Sometimes it looks like a trapezoid but other times it forms a half circle. If viewed from above, the mountain looks like a huge funnel!

If you get to the top of the mountain, you will be able to enjoy panoramic views of the city, coffee, rubber, tea, and pepper gardens spreading over the hills. The side of the road to the top of the mountain is very beautiful with the yellow color of wildflowers.

Address: Pleiku city, Gia Lai province

Sea Lake of Tea (Bien Ho Che)

Located ten kilometers away to the north of Pleiku, Sea Lake of Tea is located in Chu Pah district, Gia Lai province. This area is called Sea Lake of Tea because it is a combination of 228 hectares of freshwater lake and 1,000 hectares of tea hills. The French grew tea in this area around 1919.

Photo: Mytour

To go to the hills, you will take the highway with the majestic mountains along the way. There is a small road taking you deep into the tea hills and the two sides of the road are covered with pine leaves. In the harvest season, you can see local people scattered throughout the hills to pick tea leaves.

Address: Nghia Hung commune, Chu Pah district, Gia Lai province

With the stunning and beautiful places above, Gia Lai is surely an attractive travel destination for you. Keep reading other articles about Gia Lai and the Central Highlands to understand more about this area.

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