48 hours in Gia Lai

Gia Lai boasts the K50 waterfall, Bien Ho lake, centuries-old pine forests, and many delicious dishes, making it an ideal place to experience the area in October and November when the wild sunflowers begin to bloom.

Gia Lai is a mountainous province located in the northern part of the Central Highlands, with Pleiku city as its capital. It boasts many beautiful natural landscapes, including the majestic K50 waterfall, Bien Ho Lake, centuries-old pine forests, and delicious local cuisine. This 48-hour exploration of Gia Lai was suggested by Ms. Ngoc Diep, Head of the Tourism Management Department of the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and a group of tourists from Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 1

Morning

Have breakfast in Pleiku city with Gia Lai dry pho (also known as two-bowl pho) for 30,000 to 55,000 VND. This is considered one of the signature dishes of this mountain town. Hong Dry Pho and Ngoc Son Pho are two of the most famous two-bowl pho chains in Pleiku, with many branches throughout the city.

Pho Gia Lai, served in two bowls, with either beef or chicken. Photo: Phong Vinh.

Pleiku is just as famous for its coffee as Buon Ma Thuot. So, be sure to enjoy a coffee after breakfast. The city's cafes are spacious and beautiful. You can choose from Omely, Maya, Cuoi Acoustic, Java Coffee, Pleiku Old Cafe, and V7 Coffee.

After breakfast, we'll depart for Kon Chư Răng (K'Bang district, about 150 km east of Pleiku city center) to explore K50 Waterfall. In recent years, K50 has emerged as a "must-conquer" waterfall. It's likened to a "princess" hidden amidst the Tây Nguyên mountains and forests because of its pristine beauty.

"Visiting Gia Lai without going to K50 Waterfall is like having an incomplete trip," Ms. Diep said, adding that previously, the road to K50 Waterfall was very difficult because it involved traversing the forest. Now, there is a concrete road, and motorbikes can get close to the waterfall, making travel easier, but it is still mainly a forest trail. K50 Waterfall is located within the Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve, so visitors need to go through the management board.

According to Ms. Diep, the waterfall is 50 meters high, hence its name, K50 Waterfall. It's also called Swallow Waterfall because behind the stream is a cave where many swallows live. K50 Waterfall is like a shimmering silver ribbon amidst the green of the vast mountain forest. Visitors can walk along a dirt path for about 15 minutes to reach the foot of the waterfall. Because it's a forest trek, it's advisable to wear long-sleeved clothing, high socks, and carry a walking stick to avoid insects, snakes, and other reptiles.

K50 Waterfall. Photo: Anh Minh

After checking in and exploring K50 waterfall, visitors have lunch in the forest with food prepared in advance by the conservation area management or bring their own.

Evening

On the way back to the city, tourists will pass through the resistance villages of Stơr and Mơ Hra, villages that are characteristic and significant to the people of the Central Highlands.

The resistance village, located about 70 km from Pleiku City, is where the hero Núp was born and raised. Here, Núp initiated and led the people in rising up against the French. The village of Stơr and the hero Núp have become symbols of "The Nation Rises Up".

Mơ Hra Village embodies the distinctive cultural characteristics of the Ba Na people. It has now become a community-based tourism model attracting many visitors. Tourists enjoy dinner and listen to traditional performances of gong music and T'rưng instruments by the campfire. Familiar, traditional dishes include sticky rice cooked in bamboo tubes, bitter eggplant with cassava leaves, grilled stream fish, and grilled chicken.

Spend the night at the 3-star Tre Xanh Hotel in the city center, for 650,000 VND per night. In Pleiku, there is the 4-star Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hotel with room rates ranging from over 1 million VND per night, and many guesthouses and homestays at more affordable prices.

Day 2

Morning and noon

For breakfast on the second day, visitors can choose from dishes such as beef noodle soup or crab noodle soup. "Fermented crab noodle soup" (or crab sauce noodle soup) is another Gia Lai specialty, alongside two-bowl pho. As the name suggests, the main ingredient is crab. The reason crab noodle soup has such a strong aroma is due to the fermentation process of the crab broth. The bowl of noodles is rich and flavorful, and when eaten, there is no longer the strong, pungent smell that customers experience when they first enter the restaurant.

Gia Lai's stinky crab noodle soup. Photo: Anh Minh

Beautiful and famous destinations in the city such as the Bien Ho tourist area (To Nung Lake), the century-old pine forest, the tea hills (Bien Ho Tea), and Buu Minh Pagoda will be the next stop on the second day in Pleiku. These destinations are relatively close to each other, so visitors can visit them all in one morning.

"Tea Lake" covers more than 1,000 hectares. The tea hills here date back to the 1920s when the French began reclaiming the highland land to plant tea because of its cool climate. This is also the first tea hill in the Central Highlands.

The century-old pine trees next to the tea hill, stretching about 1 km, were planted in 1917 with 101 trees. This is always a popular spot for tourists and young people to take photos. "Note that you shouldn't come here late in the day, around midday, because then the sun shines directly overhead, making your photos less beautiful and lacking the slanted rays of sunlight," Minh, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, shared his experience.

Along the pine-lined streets are a few mobile cafes in repurposed old cars, creating a rather relaxing setting for visitors to rest.

Centuries-old pine trees. Photo: Tran Hoa

Another option for those who enjoy physical activity is to climb the Chu Dang Ya volcanic crater, located in Chu Dang Ya commune, Chu Pah district, about 30km from the center of Pleiku. It's about another 20km from Bien Ho Lake. If you visit between October and November, you'll see vibrant yellow wild sunflowers blooming along the way up the mountain. Remember to bring drinking water and wear comfortable shoes as it's quite hot and there's no shade. There are many motorbike taxis below, so visitors only need to walk a short distance to the summit.

Lunch at Plei Têng grilled chicken restaurant in Tân Sơn area. Tourists can sit and eat in cool stilt houses, accompanied by Central Highlands music, enjoying hot, crispy, golden-brown grilled chicken with sticky rice cooked in bamboo tubes and dipped in sesame salt. A satisfying meal costs less than 200,000 VND per person.

Evening

Returning to Pleiku City, visit Dai Doan Ket Square, also known as the Grand Square, with its spacious 12-hectare area. At the center of the square is a bronze statue of President Ho Chi Minh. The statue is 10.8 meters tall, weighs 16 tons, and stands on a 4.5-meter-high concrete pedestal covered with green stone. This is a popular spot for locals and tourists to take photos when visiting Pleiku. The square's grounds are spacious and airy, but due to the lack of shade, it's best visited after 5 PM.

In the evening, visitors can enjoy local cuisine or regional delicacies at restaurants such as Hoang Gia Garden, Huu Sao Food Village, Ngoc Lam Restaurant, Pho Bien Restaurant, and Nha Toi Restaurant. Additionally, there are several snacks available, including grilled pork vermicelli, shrimp pancakes, steamed rice cakes, fried sticky rice, grilled banana sweet soup, and purple sticky rice yogurt, all for just a few tens of thousands of VND.

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