Comprehensive Guide to Kon Tum Travel from A to Z

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Ngày cập nhật gần nhất: 15/4/2026

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Comprehensive Guide to Kon Tum Travel from A to Z

Traveling to Kon Tum – a land of many wonders and the origin of unique mountainous cuisine. Let's explore what this Kon Tum land has to offer with Mytour!

Comprehensive Guide to Kon Tum Travel from A to Z

Overview of Kon Tum Tourism

Traveling to Kon Tum and experiencing many wonderful things in this highland region will make you love and appreciate the people and the land here even more. Kon Tum is a province in the northernmost part of the Central Highlands of Vietnam, located at the Đông Dương intersection, mostly to the west of the Trường Sơn mountain range. The origin of the name “Kon Tum” in the Ba Na language is believed to refer to a village near a lake next to the Đắk Bla River, which is now the village of Kon Kơ Nâm in Kon Tum city.

Transportation to Get to Kon Tum

By Air: If you prefer to travel to Kon Tum by air, you'll need to fly to Pleiku Airport, which is 50km away from Kon Tum. From there, you can take a taxi or bus to Kon Tum. Check out great flight deals to Pleiku only at Mytour!

From Ho Chi Minh City to Pleiku. Flight time is 1 hour and 10 minutes.

There are no direct flights from Hanoi to Pleiku, so travelers can fly to Ho Chi Minh City first and then proceed to Pleiku from there.

By Bus: The route from Hanoi to Kon Tum is approximately 1080km long. On average, there are about 3 bus trips per day on this route, with 3 bus companies for you to consider:

Viet Tan Bus – Phone number: 1900888684.
Dang Khoa Bus – Phone number: 0603864606.
Hong Anh Bus – Phone number: 05003637153.

The route from Ho Chi Minh City to Kon Tum is approximately 576km long. On average, there are about 7 bus trips per day on this route. You can consider the following bus companies:

Minh Quoc Bus – Phone number: 02603855855.
Viet Tan Bus – Phone number: 02603913999.
Thuan Phat Bus – Phone number: 19008916.
Long Van Bus – Phone number: 1900888684.

The route from Da Nang to Kon Tum is approximately 350km long. On average, there are about 2 bus trips per day on this route. There are 2 bus companies for you to consider:

Minh Quoc Bus – Phone number: 0603 866 835.
Viet Tan Bus – Phone number: 1900888684.

Must-Visit Places in Kon Tum

Mang Den

Dubbed as the 'Second Da Lat of Kon Tum', Mang Den is a town in Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province, boasting pristine forests, numerous lakes, and waterfalls. The climate here is cool and fresh, perfect for tourists seeking relief from the summer heat. Situated at an altitude of 1,100 - 1,400m above sea level, amidst dense pine forests and wildflowers, the weather in Mang Den is always cool. Visiting Mang Den, you'll travel along winding roads flanked by lush green pine forests, with the scent of pine resin in the air. Echoing through the air are the melodious songs of birds, while the refreshing climate exudes the rugged, majestic charm of the mountains and forests.

Dong Duong Junction

Dong Duong Junction, a legendary landmark, marks the meeting point of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It's where travelers share tales of the 'rooster crowing, heard by all three countries'. To reach Dong Duong Junction, travelers must embark on a challenging journey along winding, twisting roads.

Stepping onto the border area and climbing the steps, you'll reach a granite milestone, 2m tall and weighing nearly 900kg, placed at an altitude of 1,086m. It's one of two border markers symbolizing the three nations of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The triangular-shaped milestone faces each country's territory, adorned with their respective national emblems.

Kon Tum Cathedral, also known as the Wooden Church, was built in 1913 by French priests and is now used as the main cathedral and residence of the bishop of the Kon Tum diocese. This church follows Roman architecture combined with the stilt-house architecture of the Ba Na people—a fusion of European style and the culture of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. What's unique about this structure is that it's entirely made of ironwood, without the use of concrete or steel reinforcement. The intricate carvings of the columns and beams here reflect the meticulous craftsmanship, exuding the natural yet grandiose aura of the local indigenous people.

Kon Klor Suspension Bridge

When it comes to famous attractions in Kon Tum tourism, the Kon Klor Suspension Bridge cannot be missed – a legendary bridge connecting the two banks of the legendary Dak Bla River. From this bridge, casting your gaze over the rural landscape, rice fields, cornfields, and sugarcane fields around, along with the river flowing tirelessly beneath the bridge, travelers will feel their souls uplifted.

Here, you can visit the Ba Na ethnic village of Kon Klor, share a drink of traditional rice wine with them before crossing the river via the suspension bridge to reach a fertile alluvial land. There are banana plantations, coffee gardens, and various fruit trees. After a winding 6km journey, you'll reach Kon K'tu village, a Ba Na ethnic village that still retains its original lifestyle and pristine natural scenery.

Chu Mom Ray National Park

Chu Mom Ray National Park is located in the northern part of the Central Highlands and the west of Kon Tum province, spanning the districts of Sa Thay and Ngoc Hoi. It boasts the highest biodiversity among national parks today, with nearly 1,500 plant species, including 131 identified as rare and endangered, such as orchids, cycads, and more.

Dak Bla River

The Dak Bla River holds great significance in the hearts of the people of Kon Tum, as without the Dak Bla River, there would be no Kon Tum, both historically and geographically. When visiting the mountain town of Kon Tum, you'll be mesmerized by the image of the Dak Bla River, like a graceful silk ribbon winding around the small city of Kon Tum, and it's truly impressive to see amidst the vast expanse of the Dak Bla River, the wooden boats drifting gracefully like forest leaves on the river.

The Bishop's Palace, built in 1935, blends harmoniously traditional architecture of the indigenous people with Western architectural styles. Except for the pillars under the floor made of reinforced concrete, the entire building is constructed from precious woods, known for their exceptional durability. Particularly, there's a traditional house here considered a small museum showcasing household items, agricultural tools, and cultural artifacts of the indigenous ethnic groups living in the area.

Kon K’lor Communal House

The Kon K’lor Communal House symbolizes unity and community strength. Standing at 22 meters tall, over 6 meters wide, and more than 17 meters long, with traditional design and materials including wood, bamboo, rattan, leaves, and intricate patterns, this is an intriguing destination for tourists.

Ngoc Linh Mountain

Ngoc Linh Mountain is part of the Southern Truong Son Mountain Range. With a height of 2,600 meters, it's suitable for mountain climbers and adventure enthusiasts. Notably, within the Ngoc Linh range is the famous Vietnamese ginseng species called Ngoc Linh ginseng, concentrated in the mountainous districts of Ngoc Linh in Kon Tum and Quang Nam provinces at elevations from 1,500m to 2,100m.

Pa Sy Waterfall

The ecological tourist area of Pa Sy Waterfall is located in Kon Tu Rang village of the Rơ Măm people, in Mang Canh commune, Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province, 6km northwest of the center of Kon Plong district. The ecological tourist area of Pa Sy Waterfall boasts pristine beauty with primeval pine forests and a system of waterfalls and lakes. The climate here is fresh and cool all year round.

Delicacies of Kon Tum

Kon Tum Leaf Salad

This unique dish consists of over 40 types of forest leaves, thinly sliced boiled pork, shrimp, and a dipping sauce made from fermented glutinous rice, dried onions, me, and satay. The proper way to enjoy this dish is to place cabbage or peach leaves outside, add sour leaves and other preferred leaves inside, then roll them into small funnels, and add pork and shrimp inside.

Just a dish of sticky rice made from familiar glutinous rice, cleverly combined with wild bamboo shoots, has become a familiar breakfast dish for every resident of Kon Tum. The process of making bamboo shoot sticky rice is quite simple and not complicated. Fresh bamboo shoots after being harvested from the forest are peeled, cleaned, and sliced into bite-sized pieces. After the preliminary processing to remove the bitterness, the bamboo shoots are stir-fried with spices to become flavorful. Good quality glutinous rice is soaked in diluted saltwater with added turmeric powder for color for about 8 hours before cooking.

Bitter eggplant is a rustic dish of the ethnic minorities of Kon Tum. The eggplant is sliced thinly, skewered onto sticks, and grilled. When the eggplant turns dark brown, emits a fragrant aroma, and is cooked but still retains some bitterness and a slightly chewy texture, it is served with forest salt and pepper or eaten with grilled wild meat. In addition, bitter eggplant can be cooked into various stewed dishes with shrimp, crayfish caught in the river, or braised bitter eggplant with eels, all of which are delicious and exude an enticing aroma.

When visiting Sa Thay district, Kon Tum – the home of the Rơ Măm ethnic people, you should try the unique and delicious golden ant fish salad. Although the name may sound strange to many, once tasted, people often crave for more. The stream fish is caught in just the right size, about the width of three fingers, cleaned, minced, and squeezed to remove excess water to reduce the fishy smell. Golden ants are selected from young ant nests, while fish eggs are mashed separately. A mixture of rock salt, green chili, forest pepper is mixed with the fish and ants, adding a bit of toasted rice flour for fragrance. When eating, wrap the mixture in sung leaves, enjoy the sweet taste of the stream fish blending with the tender flavor of young ants, and the spicy kick of pepper and chili, creating an exquisite taste.

Roasted Black Pig with Bamboo Shoots

The Black Pig breed of the indigenous ethnic people. Raised on natural mountainous feed, the meat is firm and highly nutritious. Even when fully grown, the largest pig weighs less than 20kg. The pig is cleaned of fur, eviscerated; then marinated with spices made from ingredients from the Black Pig mountain forest. The pig is roasted whole over charcoal until the skin is golden and crispy, emanating a fragrant aroma.

Basa Fish Cooked with Bamboo Shoots

In the Măng Đen Plateau, Kon Tum, there are many lakes with cool, cold water all year round. Therefore, basa fish are raised and thrive here. Basa fish is a cartilaginous fish, with its entire bone structure and head made of cartilage. The flesh of the basa fish is white, firm, with a rich, fatty taste, high nutritional content, and easy absorption. Here, you can enjoy a dish of freshly caught basa fish from the sparkling lakes. The basa fish is cleaned, marinated with spices from the medicinal plants of the Măng Đen forest, then steamed, braised, or grilled.

Red Noodles of the Plateau

Red Noodles of the Plateau is one of the must-try dishes in Kon Tum. Unlike other noodle dishes such as beef noodles, fish cake noodles, or fermented fish noodles, red noodles of the plateau are simpler both in preparation and taste.

Fried Kon Tum Crickets

When in Kon Tum, don't forget to indulge in the specialty dish of fried crickets to experience its aromatic, nutty, and rich flavor without feeling overwhelmed. While dishes made from crickets may seem unfamiliar to those from the plains, for the ethnic minorities of Kon Tum, cricket-based dishes are quite familiar and highly favored. There are many types of crickets such as rice crickets, charcoal crickets, fire crickets, but only rice crickets are suitable for cooking delicious dishes.

Souvenirs to Bring Back from Kon Tum

Ngọc Linh Ginseng

One of the most useful souvenirs for a trip to Kon Tum is to buy Ngọc Linh Ginseng as a gift. This is one of the most precious medicinal herbs in Vietnam, with a much higher Saponin content than other ginseng varieties in the world.

Dak Ha Coffee

Dak Ha Coffee has a pleasantly bitter and rich sweet taste, with a strong, unadulterated aroma. It's the finest pure Vietnamese product for those who enjoy delicious and clean coffee. If you're unsure what to buy when traveling to Kon Tum, this is perhaps a great suggestion for you, as an ideal gift for your loved ones, friends.

Wild Kon Tum Wild Bananas

Kon Tum wild bananas are small in size, with thin skins. Locals often peel and dry them for soaking in alcohol or cooking. This is always a gift that many tourists buy to bring back to their families because of its many wonderful uses and it's well-received by the recipients.

Kon Tum Dried Bamboo Shoots

One of the specialties in Kon Tum that cannot be overlooked is dried bamboo shoots. Delicious dried bamboo shoots have a light yellow color, appearing amber and shiny. They retain a distinctive aroma, with thick, wide flesh, and when touched, they don't feel damp, and can be easily snapped.

Forest Pepper

The màng tang tree, also known as forest pepper, sơn tiêu... This is a type of hardwood tree, growing upright with many branches, smooth bark, and no thorns. The leaves of forest pepper are very smooth, green, divided into three leaves on each side and very tender. When dried, the forest pepper fruit has a brownish-black color, which can be easily distinguished by the naked eye. To distinguish this type of pepper from cultivated pepper, we only need to differentiate by its very fragrant and less pungent smell.

Smoked Huệ Tâm Black Bamboo Shoot Meat

The rich, flavorful meat combined with the smell of kitchen smoke is passed down as a traditional dish by the locals here. Meat is hung on the kitchen rack, and special ghè wine is served to guests. The best pieces of meat are carefully selected and mixed with mac khen seeds, wild coriander seeds, forest pepper,... from the deep forests. This will be an extremely wonderful gift to give to friends and relatives.