Wild sunflower week - Chu Dang Ya Volcano 2025: Cultural tourism highlight of Gia Lai

Every year, when November comes, Chu Dang Ya volcano (Bien Ho commune, Gia Lai ) puts on a brilliant yellow coat of wild sunflowers - a flower symbolizing the strong vitality of the Central Highlands.

In 2025, the Wild Sunflower Week - Chu Dang Ya Volcano takes place from November 2 to 16, with the peak being three days from November 14 to 16, 2025, promising to bring visitors a cultural and tourism festival full of identity.

The “Gia Lai City Trail - Great Forest Dream” race taking place on November 2 is the opening activity for the series of events of Wild Sunflower Week - Chu Dang Ya Volcano in 2025.

Within the framework of the week, there will be a regional culinary space, introducing local specialties; a painting, photography, and sculpture camp with the theme of Chu Dang Ya volcano, wild sunflowers, and Gia Lai culture.

The festival also has many special activities such as gong performances, xoang dance, weaving, statue carving, making traditional musical instruments, introducing brocade costumes, cultural artifacts and traditional handicrafts, and typical local products.

To protect the landscape and the image of civilized tourism, the People's Committee of Bien Ho commune has requested agencies, units and people to raise awareness of environmental protection, not to pick wild sunflowers to make headbands or sell to tourists.

Tourism businesses are encouraged to use handmade flowers (such as plastic flowers, fabric flowers) instead of natural flowers to preserve the natural beauty of the golden mountain slopes.

In particular, within the framework of this year's Week, Gia Lai province will incorporate the event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space being recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (November 25, 2005 - November 25, 2025).

The event is expected to be held solemnly and meaningfully, contributing to honoring and spreading the unique cultural heritage values of the Central Highlands.

Wild sunflowers in full bloom. (Source: VNA)

The 2025 Wild Sunflower - Chu Dang Ya Volcano Week promises to become an impressive cultural and tourism highlight, bringing the image of Gia Lai - the land of yellow wild sunflowers and the echoes of gongs - closer to domestic and foreign tourists.

Located about 30km northeast of Pleiku City center, Chu Dang Ya volcano (Gia Lai) has an altitude of about 975m above sea level.

According to archaeologists, Chu Dang Ya is a volcanic crater formed by lava flows that erupted millions of years ago.

In the language of the J'rai people, Chu Dang Ya means "wild ginger root." Legend has it that there was once an old woman who lived at the foot of the mountain. One day, she had a stomachache and was treated by a local herbalist but was unable to get better. In her desperate pain, she tried to climb the mountain near her home hoping to find something that could help her.

At the top of the mountain, she saw a clump of ginger growing naturally and thought it was a gift from Heaven, so she dug it up and ate it. Immediately after, she felt much better. She took some more ginger home to eat and her illness was completely gone.

Her story spread around the area and from then on the Jrai people here called that mountain Chu Dang Ya.

The beauty of Chu Dang Ya has the simplicity of the windy Central Highlands, wild and rustic but extremely charming.

In 2018, the Daily Mail (UK) magazine included Chu Dang Ya volcano in the list of destinations worth visiting, even though this is an inactive volcano that has been cold for millions of years. According to Daily Mail, this is a place that makes adventurous tourists fascinated by its natural landscape and unique indigenous culture.

In 2020, Chu Dang Ya Volcano was in the top 50 most beautiful landscape photos in the world at the Landscape photography contest organized by Agora.

Chu Dang Ya volcano has been inactive for millions of years, and the remaining lava remains have made this land extremely fertile. The local people have taken advantage of the fertility of the land to grow many types of agricultural products such as arrowroot, corn, squash, and potatoes. This farming activity has also given Chu Dang Ya a very impressive beauty.

Seen from above, Chu Dang Ya volcano has a large funnel shape, with diverse natural scenery. Surrounding the volcano are ancient trees, shrubs and lush crop fields.

People often say that Chu Dang Ya is like a mountain girl who loves to beautify herself. In each season, this mountain has its own beauty that makes anyone who stops here feel moved and not want to leave.

When the bright red color of the arrowroot flowers blooms, it also signals the arrival of the rainy season. At this time, the trees are lush green, and the scenery in Chu Dang Ya is full of life.

Chu Dang Ya is most beautiful during wild sunflower season. (Photo: Hong Hanh/Vietnam+)

In the dry season, Chu Dang Ya has a wild beauty, with bare tree branches, withered by the changing of leaves.

Chu Dang Ya is most beautiful in the wild sunflower season, when the mountain is covered in brilliant yellow from the hillsides to the crater. The scenery of Chu Dang Ya at this time becomes more splendid and impressive than at other times of the year.

From the Chu Dang Ya volcano dome, visitors can freely enjoy the panoramic view of Pleiku mountain town, Bien Ho scenic spot; at the same time, admire the scenery and take pictures of the charming wild sunflowers blooming around the crater, at the foot of the mountain.

Chu Dang Ya Volcano is truly a paradise for those who love the wild and charming beauty of the Central Highlands. Because of its wildness, Chu Dang Ya has become a very famous tourist destination, captivating travel enthusiasts from near and far.

Coming here, visitors will feel extremely comfortable and peaceful. All the fatigue and worries of life seem to be forgotten when we are immersed in the immense space of the great forest. The lingering feeling will be relaxation and tranquility, where there are only grass, trees, flowers and leaves under every step./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tuan-le-hoa-da-quy-nui-lua-chu-dang-ya-2025-diem-nhan-van-hoa-du-lich-gia-lai-post1074788.vnp