Mang Den
A cool pine-forest plateau in the Central Highlands, about 60 km from Kon Tum city. See Pa Sy waterfall, walk the shore of Dak Ke lake, visit Kon Pring village, and eat grilled chicken with bamboo-tube rice. One night suits travellers looking for fresh air and quiet nature.
●●●●○ Worth a special trip in this corridor
Photo: Weendang · CC BY-SA 3.0
You wake to pine air on a plateau at about 1,200 m, with a hot cup of local Arabica while the mist lifts off the trees. Get to Dak Ke lake while that mist still sits on the water, or drive out to Pa Sy, where three streams meet and drop through the forest. Seven lakes and three waterfalls are scattered around the town. The afternoon belongs to Kon Pring, a Mơ Nâm village a few kilometres up Highway 24.
Make Mang Den the night if cool air, water in the forest, and a village afternoon are why you came. Da Lat is the other cool plateau, and the larger city if you want one. Kon Tum city, about 60 km southwest on the same highway, is the base for its wooden church and coffee. The mistake is sleeping there and driving up for the day. The pine-and-mist morning only happens if you are already here.
Most people fly into Pleiku, about 100 km away, and come up by hired car or taxi. The last stretch is the pass, a road that snakes over forest, farms, and valleys. Stop at a curve on a clear morning, before the cloud builds. Once you are up, the falls, lakes, and village all sit outside the town strip, so you need wheels: a hired car, a motorbike taxi, a rented motorbike, or your lodge’s driver.
Pa Sy is about 9 km from town, a fall at around 1,500 m in a 25-hectare eco-cultural park with Ro Mam culture displays. You walk down forest stairs to the water. Dak Ke is the best-known lake. Walk the shore, take a canoe out or fish where it is offered, and find the traditional nhà rông beside the water. The smaller Dak Ke waterfall is more remote, with a natural pool you can swim in once you find it. The signs are poor, so ask for the path. Toong Dam is the quiet lake, ringed by old trees.
Kon Pring is one of four community tourism villages in Kon Plông. Come for the communal house, the stilt houses, weaving, rice wine, and gongs, and ask before you photograph inside the nhà rông. Khanh Lam pagoda is the climb: about 200 stone steps up a forested hill to tiered roofs above the trees. In town, the Mang Den church and its Virgin Mary statue make a short stop.
Evenings are quiet, with no bar street. Dinner is grilled chicken with lam rice at a local restaurant or your homestay. Rượu cần, fermented sticky-rice wine drunk through long bamboo straws, comes out around a fire with the gongs. On Saturday and Sunday the market on the pine hill off Hùng Vương fills with highland food. Then sleep early. The best hour here is dawn.
Common questions
- Is Mang Den part of Kon Tum city?
- No. It is a plateau town in Kon Plông, about 60 km northeast of Kon Tum city on Highway 24. Kon Tum province merged into Quảng Ngãi in 2025, so you will see both names. Sleep in Mang Den when the pine night is the point.
- What does Pa Sy waterfall cost?
- Quảng Ngãi set the gate at 50,000 VND for adults and 25,000 VND for children from 30 May 2026, under Resolution 52/2026/NQ-HĐND. Older listings, including Việt Úc Tourist’s, still show the earlier 20,000 VND. Pay the price on the board at the counter.
- How do I get to Mang Den?
- There is no airport in town. Fly to Pleiku, about 100 km away, and come up by hired car or taxi. From Kon Tum city it is about 60 km on Highway 24. The last stretch is the pass, so arrive in daylight if you can.
- Is there nightlife in Mang Den?
- Not a bar street. The evening is a grilled-chicken-and-lam-rice dinner at a local restaurant or your homestay, and rượu cần around a fire when the gongs come out. Most people sleep early for the dawn mist.
- When is the Mang Den cultural festival?
- The 2023 edition ran 27–30 November in Mang Den town, with a caravan, a food contest, and a music show. The Mang Den Ultra Trail opened on 20 February in 2025. Confirm this year’s dates for both before you plan around them.
Top attractions in Mang Den
1 Pa Sy Waterfall Thác Pa Sỹ
Walk down to Pa Sy, the forest fall where three streams meet in one drop.
2 Dak Ke Lake Hồ Đắk Ke
Get to Dak Ke in the first hour of light, while mist still sits on the water and the shore path is quiet.
3 Kon Pring village Làng Kon Pring
Ride a few kilometres up Highway 24 to Kon Pring, a Mơ Nâm community village where the steep roof of the nh…
4 Mang Den church and the Virgin Mary statue Đức Mẹ Măng Đen
Visit the Virgin Mary statue and the church at the Mang Den pilgrimage center.
Side trips from Mang Den
Kon Tum
A highland city in central Vietnam, known for its wooden cathedral and Ba Na villages along the Dak Bla River.
Gia Lai
A Central Highlands province centred on the city of Pleiku, known for a volcanic crater lake and tea hills.
Da Lat
A cool mountain town in the Central Highlands, with pine hills, flower gardens and a lake in the centre.
Mang Den by interest
Getting there and around
The falls, lakes, and village are all outside the town strip, so plan on wheels. Hire a car or a motorbike taxi, rent a motorbike, or ask your lodge for a driver. Pa Sy is about 9 km out. Kon Pring is on Highway 24, about 3 km from the centre by Mang Den Tourism’s count and about 5 km by Go Vietnam Travel’s and the Vietnam Tourism rural portal’s. Kon Tum city is about 60 km southwest down the same highway, and the town centre sits along Nguyen Hue Street.
Mang Den itineraries
Hotels
Tours & Attractions
Restaurants
What to order is on the food guide.
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