Encountering Dak Lak in its plain form.

Hearing you say that, I changed the itinerary to surprise you with a very different Dak Lak – gentle, tranquil, and poetic. It's a highland region with countryside reminiscent of the lowlands, where gentle currents have nurtured a land with the characteristics of the Mekong Delta. It's a place of vast, straight rice paddies, where, during harvest season, the entire landscape is bathed in a brilliant golden hue, fragrant with the scent of freshly harvested straw. It's a place where people live not only on coffee, pepper, rubber, and durian, but also on their fields and farms.

A similar Dak Lak is found in Krong Ana district (in the south of the province), named after the Krong Ana River, one of the two tributaries of the Serepok River. The Serepok River no longer rushes down the famous rapids like Dray Nur and Dray Sap, but in some sections flows quietly, winding through green and yellow fields like a gentle lullaby of nature. A very peaceful rhythm of life – the rhythm of the fields, the rivers, and the people on the plateau – carries the soul of the beloved countryside of both Northern and Southern Vietnam. The rice paddies of Binh Hoa and Quang Dien, growing from the red basalt soil, are simple yet proud. With an annual cultivation area of tens of thousands of hectares, Krong Ana is one of Dak Lak's major rice granaries and has established the "Krong Ana Rice" brand.

Peaceful fields on the plateau.

A picture-perfect Dak Lak unfolds as you travel along National Highway 27, starting from Yang Tao commune to Buon Triet and Buon Tria (Lak district), where you'll find picturesque rice fields.

Looking back through history, it's astonishing and unimaginable that these fertile, peaceful fields were originally a desolate, swampy, and reed-covered area. Half a century ago, after liberation, thousands of people, with rudimentary tools and a passionate, daring spirit, carried out a "revolution" of land reclamation. The fields took shape, expanded, and connected the communes of Buôn Triết and Buôn Tría in Lắk district to Krông Ana, Quảng Phú, and Đức Xuyên districts (now Krông Nô – Đắk Nông ).

I told you that I had the opportunity to visit Buon Tria during harvest season. In the middle of the vast fields, old people, women, and children were all working together, their hands moving swiftly, their mouths filled with joyful laughter. The smell of fresh straw, the sound of threshing machines, and the calls of each other in their mother tongues, M'nong and Ede, created a vibrant symphony of harvest. Sitting down for lunch in the middle of the field: sticky rice, grilled fish, salted lemongrass, and wild vegetables—oh, it tasted better than any delicacy I had ever tasted.

Dak Lak, in its plain form, is present even in the remote border region – Ea Sup district (in the northwest of the province). Ea Sup is a plain of two extremes: hot and dry, and rainy and flood-prone, yet this low-lying area boasts a real rice paddy field amidst the vast forest. During the rainy season, Ea Sup becomes a giant reservoir. The people here not only live with the land but also "negotiate" with the water. Ea Sup has developed the Ea Bung, Ea Rok, and Ea Le rice paddies, some areas achieving three harvests thanks to the irrigation system that draws water from the upper Ea Sup reservoir. The border region is further enriched by the rice crop.

Traveling thousands of kilometers just to wander, admire, and hear the history of the rice fields, you'd say it's fascinating, because the value lies not only in high-end resorts, grandiose and bustling tourist destinations, but in the pristine, rustic nature of the land, the vastness of the fields, and the peacefulness of the soaring egrets. It's a tonic for the soul, a breath that fills the lungs, both strange and familiar, both close and intimate. Dak Lak, in its shape as a plain amidst the plateau, whispers its invitation with its gentle charm. An invitation that isn't loud, but profound enough to make anyone who sets foot there remember it forever.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/du-lich/202504/gap-dak-lak-trong-dang-voc-dong-bang-2bb167e/