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Kon Tum is a province in the northernmost of the Central Highlands of Vietnam, located at the Indochina Junction, mostly in the west of the Truong Son Mountain Range. Regarding the origin of the name, in the Ba Na language, “Kon” means village, “Tum” means lake, referring to a village near a lake next to the Dak Bla River, now Kon Ko Nam Village in Kon Tum City.
Traveling to Kon Tum and experiencing many wonderful things in this highland will make you love and appreciate the people and land here even more. In particular, the famous and worth-visiting tourist destinations attract many tourists to this place. Asia King Travel will provide more information about this beautiful land in this article.
Wooden church in Kon Tum. Source: VnExpress
Previously, it was still sparsely populated and had a large deserted land. In the 19th century, the French found their way to this land to spread their religion. From 1841 to 1850, the French colonialists established the first Catholic base in Kon Tum.
On July 4, 1904, the French colonialists established Plei Ku Der Province, including two administrative offices: one in Kon Tum (previously belonging to Binh Dinh Province) and one in Cheo Reo (previously belonging to Phu Yen Province). In February 1954, this location was the first and only province in the Central Highlands to be completely liberated.
Gong performance at Pa Si Waterfall. Source: bvhttvdl
In October 1975, the province merged with Gia Lai Province to form Gia Lai - Kon Tum Province, the largest province in Vietnam at that time. In October 1991, the province was re-established. Accordingly, some new districts were established. By 2015, the province had 1 city and 9 districts. Which, Kon Tum City is the political, economic, cultural and social center of the province.
Read more: Vietnam Tour 9 days: Nature of the highland
This destination has a typical highland climate with a cool space all year round. The climate is divided into two distinct seasons: rainy season and dry season. The rainy season usually starts from April to November, the dry season from December to March of the following year.
Mang Den is considered a miniature Da Lat in the heart of Kon Tum. Source: MIA
This is the ideal time to visit famous tourist attractions such as Mang Den, Kon Tum Wooden Church, Kon Klor Communal House, Kon Klor Suspension Bridge, Kon Tum Prison and Pa Sy Waterfall. The dry, warm weather will make it easy for you to move and explore.
The rainy season often has sudden showers, but it is also the time when nature becomes green and lively. You can participate in traditional festivals of locals, admire the golden rice fields, as well as enjoy the fresh air of the mountains and forests.
Coffee flowers bloom in Dak Ha in late March and early April. Source: VnExpress
If you want to experience the vibrant festival atmosphere and learn about the unique culture of the local people, come to this tourist destination during the following festivals:
Kon Tum is a mountainous, border province located in the north of the Central Highlands. It borders Quang Nam Province to the north; Gia Lai Province to the south; Quang Ngai Province to the east. Kon Tum is also the only province that borders both Laos and Cambodia.
To get there from Saigon, follow National Highway 14 through Binh Phuoc, Dak Nong, Buon Ma Thuot and then to Kon Tum. For short trips, most tourists choose to go there by plane to both save time and convenience. With this means of transportation, you will have to fly to Pleiku Airport, 50 kilometers from Kon Tum. Flights to Pleiku airport are operated quite frequently every day.
Kon Tum has many breathtakingly beautiful scenes. Source: Easygo
After arriving at Pleiku Airport, visitors continue to take a passenger car, taxi or bus from the airport to Kon Tum City. Normally, this trip will take about 1-2 hours to arrive. You will have the opportunity to explore the poetic Central Highlands mountains and forests more independently and comfortably.
When coming to the Central Highlands in general or Kon Tum in particular, visitors should try Red Noodle. This dish has a unique preparation method that you can hardly find anywhere else in Vietnam. A bowl of Red Noodle usually includes the main ingredients of field crab, meatballs and boiled quail eggs.
Red noodles always win the hearts of many tourists when they come here. Source: Tour Taynguyen
The name Red Noodle comes from the color of the noodles. The dish is initially white, but after being cooked in a pot of broth, absorbing spices, annatto color and shrimp paste color, they become red, bearing the mark of the basalt land. The dish is available in luxury restaurants or popular roadside stalls.
To make bamboo shoot sticky rice, people first soak sticky rice with turmeric powder for many hours. Thanks to that, when steamed, the sticky rice will have an eye-catching yellow color. Sticky rice is served with stir-fried bamboo shoots, boiled bamboo shoots, roe, sesame or braised pork.
This can be considered a specialty not to be missed when coming to Kon Tum. In the dry season, leaf salad only has about 30-40 types of forest leaves. When the rainy season comes, leaf salad will have at least 70 types and people even count that if it is complete, it must be at least 100 types of leaves.
Kon Tum leaf salad was also voted as one of the 10 Vietnamese dishes that achieved the culinary quintessence of Asia. Source: VietnamNet
Leaf salad is served with boiled meat, shrimp, and pork skin. The special dipping sauce of leaf salad is made from a mixture of fermented sticky rice, incubated with dried shrimp and pork belly, with a light yellow color and rich flavor.
The locals often eat bamboo rice with grilled chicken. This is also a habit as well as a typical cultural feature here. In the cold Central Highlands, after a long day, enjoying hot and fragrant grilled chicken with bamboo rice is really worth it.
This is a great combination of the distinctive flavor of sticky rice and delicious chicken. Source: Tour du lich Mang Den
Kon Tum is a land that promises interesting experiences, with the flavor of the sunny and windy Central Highlands mountains and forests. Hopefully the above information will stimulate your curiosity to set foot in this promised land. What are you waiting for? Contact Asia King Travel to schedule your upcoming trip now.
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