Most foreigners, if they’re familiar with the Central Highlands at all, heard about them 35 years ago, when the region saw some of the bloodiest combat in the American War. Today, some veterans return here on remembrance tours, but the region’s natural beauty and native cultures—not its battle grounds—are its real attractions. The agricultural production of the region is tremendous, moving well beyond the traditional rice paddies into vast fields of strawberries, artichokes, and flowers. Thanks to the Central Highlands, Vietnam is the world’s second largest coffee producer. Many of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic minorities make their homes in the Central Highlands: the Banhar, Jarai, and Sodang live around Kon Tum, the Ëdç and M’nong live around Bu®n Ma Thuÿt, and the K’Long dwell outside à Låt. Unfortunately, most (if not all) minority villages are living under a destructive policy of “Vietnamization,” which is erasing their unique cultures and keeping them in miserable poverty. Violent uprisings in the region have moved officials to close some villages to tourists for security reasons.
The Central Highlands is one of Vietnam’s most fascinating and adventurous regions, and it’s at its best in the fields and mountains outside the provincial capitals. As such, cities in the highlands should be used primarily as jumping-off points: à Låt for mountain treks and hilltop pagodas, Bu®n Ma Thuÿt for surging waterfalls and ethnic minority villages, and Kon Tum for ruined war sites. Most other cities in the region are all but devoid of foreigners—tourist buses don’t venture past à Låt—so in its fields and small villages, the Central Highlands offers an unobstructed view into the reality of Vietnam: an industrious nation struggling to recover from the past and determined to create a better future.
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The Central Highlands