Vietnam Central Highlands Trek

Kontum, Vietnam · Vietnam

Moderate7 daysAsia~£400 est.

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Overview

Kon Tum province is the Vietnam that lowland tourism never reaches. You walk village to village through the Bahnar, Jarai and Sedang heartland, sleeping beneath the soaring thatched prows of rong communal houses that tower above the treeline like upturned axe blades. The moment that stays with you is a Jarai communal cemetery: carved wooden figures crouched in mourning around the tombs, a funerary tradition found nowhere else in Southeast Asia. Between villages the trail crosses coffee and pepper plantations and the cool pine hills around Mang Den, and if your visit coincides with a ceremony you will hear the gong music UNESCO lists as a masterpiece of intangible heritage. The catch is paperwork, not terrain: several minority villages require a licensed guide and local registration, so book through a Kontum-based operator rather than turning up solo. Go in the November to March dry season - from May the afternoon storms turn the red-clay paths to grease. Around £400 covers a week of guiding, homestays and food; carry small-denomination dong, as there are no ATMs beyond Kontum city.