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By Root 1620 0

be a crime to visit the heart of Vietnam’s coffee industry without tasting the product itself, and there are plenty of opportunities in Buon Ma Thuot’s cafés. They’re scattered all over town, so you need never suffer from caffeine withdrawal, but there’s a particular concentration along the south end of Le Thanh Tong, known to locals as “Coffee Street”. These cafés are packed in the evenings and surrounded by a sea of motorbikes, whose owners sip their drinks in the dim-lit interiors. For the most atmospheric places, however, head north of town, where the Thung Lung Hong Café, Hem 153 Phan Chu Trinh, is snuggled at the base of a steep valley at the end of a sidestreet off Phan Chu Trinh. It’s hugely popular among locals and, given the dearth of nightlife in Buon Ma Thuot, a godsend for visitors too. Over at G26 Tran Khanh Du, the Polang Café has a striking facade, which resembles a longhouse entrance, and inside the decor utilizes minority patterns and motifs, while the bases of some tables and chairs are made of the gnarled stumps of coffee bushes – an inspired use of the plant. The menu includes coffee, tea and cocktails at very reasonable prices; there’s often live music here at the weekend.

The central highlands | Through the highlands | Buon Ma Thuot and around |

Around Buon Ma Thuot

Once you’ve exhausted Buon Ma Thuot’s urban attractions, which doesn’t take long, it’s time to get out and explore the highlands. There are some impressive waterfalls southwest of town, while the northwest route out of town leads to Yok Don National Park and the touristy village of Ban Don.

The central highlands | Through the highlands | Buon Ma Thuot and around | Around Buon Ma Thuot |

The waterfalls

About 30km southwest of Buon Ma Thuot are several waterfalls (small admission and parking fee at each one) that are worth visiting, especially in the wet season, though unless you’re a real waterfall fan, there’s no real point in seeing them all. Dray Sap and Dray Nur, situated side by side, are the most impressive and most popular.

To get to the falls, follow Highway 14 for 20km southwest of town, then turn left at the village of Ea Ting. Just a kilometre down this road, a left turn leads to Trinh Nu Falls, a narrow chute of water approached by a steep path. At the top of the falls is a restaurant with small, inviting pavilions overlooking the river – a good spot to rest up for refreshment or lunch.

The crescent-shaped Dray Sap and neighbouring Dray Nur Falls are about 10km down the road from Ea Ting. After a short descent down steps from the car park, a wooden suspension bridge to the left leads to Dray Nur Falls, which, though not as wide as Dray Sap, carry more water in the dry season. On the other hand, at the end of the wet season, in September, water levels are usually too high for the short walk to the falls to be accessible. Almost 15m high and over 100m wide, Dray Sap doesn’t mean “waterfall of smoke” for nothing: a fug of invigorating spray sags the air around. The area round the falls can get very crowded at weekends and on public holidays, but midweek a trip here makes a pleasant outing for a half or full day. Just after passing the ticket office at the approach to Dray Sap Falls, a road branching to the right leads another 7km to Gia Long Falls, yet another waterfall in the region, where there’s also the chance of camping.

The central highlands | Through the highlands | Buon Ma Thuot and around | Around Buon Ma Thuot |

Yok Don National Park

Exit west out of Buon Ma Thuot along Phan Boi Chau, and 45km later you’ll arrive at the entrance to Vietnam’s largest wildlife preserve, the Yok Don National Park, whose 115,000 hectares lie nestled into the hinge of the Cambodian border and the Serepok River. The surfaced road to the park makes a pleasant journey, and if you start off early in the morning you might see the minority peoples leaving their split-bamboo thatch houses lined along the route for work in the fields, carrying their tools in raffia backpacks.

Over sixty species of animals, including tigers,