Gia Lai
A Central Highlands province centred on the city of Pleiku, known for a volcanic crater lake and tea hills. Walk the misty shore of Bien Ho lake, see the Chu Dang Ya crater and Minh Thanh pagoda, and eat two-bowl pho and grilled chicken with bamboo-tube rice. Two days suits travellers exploring the highlands.
●●●●○ Worth a special trip in this corridor
Photo: Phó Nháy · CC BY-SA 3.0
You come to Pleiku for the lake. Biển Hồ, also called Hồ T’Nưng, sits about 7 km north, and the Gia Lai provincial portal calls it a trace of three extinct volcanoes. From Phạm Văn Đồng, Quốc lộ 14, turn at the Biển Hồ junction onto Tôn Đức Thắng and walk the shore while the morning mist is still on the water.
Chu Đăng Ya is about 30 km northeast, an inactive crater about 500 m above sea level. Farmers plant the bowl with pumpkin, taro, and corn, and wild sunflowers cover the slopes in the dry-season window. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism names steep, slippery sections on the walk up from Ploi lagri village. Minh Thanh Pagoda stands on the hill above town, built in 1964, with a 72 m gold-painted tower, a po mu wood ceiling, and carved wooden doors. It is not Buu Minh pagoda, the landmark on the road toward the volcano.
Breakfast is two-bowl pho, phở hai tô: dry noodles in one bowl and hot broth in the other, with the fermented black soybean sauce Go Vietnam ties to Gia Lai. Shops concentrate on Nguyen Van Troi through midday. At night, Dien Hong food street, on Nguyen Thien Thuat and Tran Phu in Dien Hong ward, serves the same bowl plus grilled dishes. Vietnam.vn records the street opening on 22 April 2026 with 73 lots, on the old night-market ground. Grilled chicken with cơm lam, sticky rice cooked in bamboo, is the highland lunch or dinner. The Vietnam News Agency names Le Duan alleys as the area in town, and the national tourism walk-up names Tan Son commune after the volcano.
On festival week and on Saturdays, gong ensembles play at Dai Doan Ket Square. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism promotes those Saturday evenings, and Vietnam.vn announces Gong Festival Night in 2026 at 20:00 on 7 November. The series that year runs 30 October through 8 November, with a street festival on 6 November through central Pleiku, Dien Hong, and Hoi Phu. Boat tickets, gate donations, stall prices, and Saturday start times outside that night are Check on arrival.
Common questions
- Should you stay in Pleiku or Quy Nhơn?
- Stay in Pleiku for Biển Hồ, Chu Đăng Ya, and PXU airport. Quy Nhơn is the merged province’s coastal capital, about 180 km away on the Pleiku portal’s enterprise note, with its own beach climate. They are not interchangeable nights.
- When are the gongs and the sunflowers?
- Vietnam Tourism calls November to April the drier months, and November to December the wild-sunflower window. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism article on Chu Đăng Ya names late October to December. The 2026 series is 30 October through 8 November, with Gong Festival Night at 20:00 on 7 November at Dai Doan Ket Square. Later years are Check on arrival. Saturday gong evenings are also promoted, and start times outside that festival night are Check on arrival.
- Where is breakfast?
- Two-bowl pho, dry noodles in one bowl and broth in the other, along Nguyen Van Troi through midday. Go Vietnam ties the fermented black soybean sauce to Gia Lai. Dien Hong food street serves the same bowl at night. Stall prices are Check on arrival.
Top attractions in Gia Lai
1 Biển Hồ Biển Hồ (Hồ T’Nưng)
Walk the shore of Biển Hồ, a crater lake about 7 km north of Pleiku.
2 Buu Minh Pagoda Chùa Bửu Minh
Walk Buu Minh Pagoda, the tea-hill temple north of Pleiku.
3 Dong Xanh Park Công viên Đồng Xanh
Walk Dong Xanh Park, the highland culture grounds about 10 km from Pleiku.
4 K50 Thác K50 (Thác Hang Én)
Trek to K50, the Hang Én fall in Kon Chư Răng, and register before you go.
5 Minh Thanh Pagoda Chùa Minh Thành
Walk Minh Thanh Pagoda, the gold-painted tower on the hill above Pleiku.
6 Tây Sơn Thượng đạo Tây Sơn Thượng đạo
Walk the Tây Sơn Thượng đạo relics, the 1771 base in the An Khê forest.
Side trips from Gia Lai
Da Lat
A cool mountain town in the Central Highlands, with pine hills, flower gardens and a lake in the centre.
Kon Tum
A highland city in central Vietnam, known for its wooden cathedral and Ba Na villages along the Dak Bla River.
Quy Nhon
A coastal city in central Vietnam with a long sandy beach right in the city centre.
Da Nang
Central Vietnam’s beach city, with a long sandy shore, bridges over the river and mountains close by.
Ho Chi Minh City
Former Saigon in the south, with Thảo Điền, Japanese streets, and Chợ Lớn.
Gia Lai by interest
Getting there and around
Pleiku Airport, PXU, is about 5 km from the center. The Gia Lai provincial portal names domestic routes to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang. Block times are Check on arrival. Taxis and ride-hail cover the lake, about 7 km north, and Chu Đăng Ya, about 30 km northeast. Ride a motorbike yourself only with the proper license. The provincial introduction names the airport and Quốc lộ 14 and 19, not a train into Pleiku.
Quy Nhơn, the provincial capital since the 2025 merger, is about 180 km by road on the Pleiku portal’s enterprise note. Drive minutes are Check on arrival. Quốc lộ 19 is the coast-to-highlands road. Quốc lộ 14 runs north toward Kon Tum. The walk up Chu Đăng Ya includes steep, slippery sections in wet weather.
Gia Lai itineraries
Hotels
Tours & Attractions
Restaurants
What to order is on the food guide.
Southeast Asia TravelGuide Network
Compare Across Southeast Asia: Vietnam vs. Thailand
Most Vietnam trips can add Bangkok for the city night and Phuket for an Andaman beach week.
Capital
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- Royal temples and river hotels
- Thonglor and Charoenkrung after dark
- The usual air gate for a two-country trip
Andaman coast
Phuket
- West-coast beaches and beach clubs
- Amanpuri and Kamala
- A beach week after the Vietnam cities