Buon Ma Thuot

Things to see and do

Yok Don National Park

Yok Don National Park covers 115,545 hectares, and boasts being the largest, protected, dry deciduous forest in Vietnam, hosting an abundance of wildlife, including the endangered black-shanked duoc langur, according to the official literature. It has numerous trails that make for good day trips ... read more
Ban Don Village

Nestled in a crook of the Serepok River, just across the water from the Yok Don National Park, the 'Ede' village of Ban Don is on display for visitors. We found it to be a bit of a Potemkin's village, set up to please tourists and distract them from real minority villages in the area where they ... read more
Waterfalls

The key waterfalls are all to the south of Buon Ma Thuot, and a visit makes for a good day trip. Take note: all of these waterfalls are much less impressive in the dry season. The pretty pictures you see of these falls were taken towards the end of the rainy season, and that's the best time to ... read more
Lak Lake (Ho Lak) and M'nong Village

Lak Lake is about 50km to the southeast of Buon Ma Thuot, and is firmly established on the itineraries of most of the group tour operations in the area. It's a large, scenic lake and there are enough activities going on around it to keep you busy for a day or two if want to do everything. ... read more
Ethnographic Museum

This museum displays clothing and cultural artefacts created by some of the local tribes. All the displays provide helpful explanations in English as to what you're looking at. It's not the kind of museum that would appeal to everyone, but for those who are very curious about the local ethnic ... read more
Museum of the Revolution

The Museum of the Revolution, near the roundabout, is just a room full of pictures with captions in Vietnamese only, and one purposeless diorama. The only foreigners we can imagine getting anything out of it would have to speak Vietnamese and be working on a PhD in Vietnamese history. As for the ... read more
Dak Lak Water Park

The water park (Cong Vien Nuoc Dak Lak) has some pretty impressive slides -- you can see the artificial mountain they sluice down from the street as you head north on Nguyen Tat Thanh. The park is located just before the bus station. On weekdays you'll have the place mostly to yourself -- things ... read more
Ako Dhong Village

If you're only going to visit one Ede village while you're in Buon Ma Thuot, the Ako Dhong Village offers an easy and worthwhile experience. It's on a street on the outskirts of town, and on either side are series of longhouses on stilts built in the traditional style. The way they're laid out is ... read more
Bowling

Just for the heck of it, we though we'd point out that there's a bowling alley in Buon Ma Thuot. Saigon Star Bowling and Coffee is a small place -- with just eight lanes -- but it also offers pool tables and doubles as a cafe. Okay, not exactly an exotic Asian adventure, but have you ever bowled in ... read more
About Buon Ma Thuot

Buon Ma Thuot draws tourists because of the tour and trekking opportunities in the immediate area. But, we have to admit, compared to what's available elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the offerings here don't really compare. If you've seen the stunning waterfalls of Laos, the ones here are muddy, ... read more