Kon Tum

Coming to Kontum, visitors enjoy mountainous landscapes like Ngok Linh Mountain, Chu Mon Ray Primitive Forest, Dak Tre Tourist Site, and Dak To Hot Spring. Tourists are interesting in historical relics such as Kontum Former Prison, Dak Glei Prison, Ho Chi Minh Trail, Dak To, Tan Canh Battle Field.

Kontum is 50km north of Pleiku; 245km north of Buon Ma Thuot; 198km west of Quy Nhon

The town of Pleiku, capital of Gia Lai Province, is easily recognizable to those who lived through the Vietnam War era: The American Seventh Cavalry, an air brigade and the unit featured in the film Apocalypse Now as the Wagner-blaring helicopter squadron that rains terror in its path, touched down south of Pleiku near famed Camp X-Ray in the La Drang Valley on November 14, 1965, for what would be the first open combat between American and North Vietnamese regulars after full American deployment at Danang. The area is hallowed ground to the veterans of both sides who fought here, and hosts many returnees.

Kontum, and the hills surrounding the provincial city, were home to some of the heaviest fighting at the war's end in 1972. A motorbike or car ride north of Kontum brings you to the likes of Charlie Hill and Dak To, now denuded peaks, and a short ride up the now-paved Ho Chi Minh Trail takes you among some great mountain scenery and ethnic villages. Good tours can be arranged out of Kontum. The city itself has just basic services and, apart from the few interesting in-town sights, is as dull though less busy than Pleiku. Do take a walk out along the Dakbla River.

Kontum is the last jumping-off point before many travelers hop on the newly built Ho Chi Minh Highway where the Ho Chi Minh Trail once ran. The road, also known as Highway 14, connects Kontum with Danang and Hoi An along the coast. The route is popular for travelers riding along with Easy Riders on motorbike tours out of Dalat.

The area around Kontum is home to a number of ethnic minorities: Large populations of Bannar people (famed for their high-peaked roof houses) live near the city center, and there are Sedang and Bo villages here, too.

Accommodations and dining options are spartan, but the interesting sights are worth the journey.

Source: en.vietnam.travel.vn