The CO TU & its neighbor hill tribes in the central highland

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Highlights:

Discover the mountain landscapes and daily life of the local people ; exchange & share a moment in their life and especially take the opportunity to explore the nature and culture of the Cơ Tu ethnic minority group in Quang Nam province.

Day 1 Arrival in Da Nang – Bho Hoong  (D)/70kms ~ 2hrs of drive: 

Upon your arrival, greetings by your local guide and we will travel westwards to go to Bho Hoong village of Cơ Tu ethnic minority group (called also Katu).

Aside from Bho Hoong village (15kms), we will visit also Dho Roong brocade making village in Ta Tu commune to explore their ancient technique. Then we pass through a suspension bridge to get “Bho Hoong village”. Welcome by your host and have lunch before your discover around the village.

A light trek (3hrs) passing through the mountain and forest is the best way to explore the daily life of local people. End of the day, share a convivial moment with the villagers who celebrate the ‘tung tung da da’ dance, which is an indispensable part of community activities, festivals and the daily life of Cơ Tu people. “Tung tung’, which means ‘rise up’ in the Cơ Tu language, is a dance dedicated to men to represent human’s strength and spirit to conquer nature, and determination to protect their village. Meanwhile, ‘da da’ is a dance for women to express people’s gratitude to God and pray for good weather conditions, health and peace.

Have dinner with local specialties such as ‘zo ra’ (vegetables, meat or fish cooked in a bamboo tube), ‘zo rua’ (pickled pork), ‘com lam’ (rice cooked in a bamboo tube), and ‘ta vat’ wine (wine made from the sap of ‘ta vat’ – a tree in coconut family). Overnight at a traditional house.

Day 2 Bho Hoong – Hoi An (B,L,D)/100kms ~ 3hrs of drive:

After your breakfast, we drive toward to Tra Que village, Hoi An city. On arrival, check in at your guest house, a calm and serenity place where you would absorb all the benefits of this idyllic location. Introduce with your host (a French photographer if he is not in mission, who has also a great collection of pictures about Co Tu people and many others from Vietnamese minorities as well at www.motaiba.com/rehahn-photos/?lang=en

Free time to discover by yourself this peaceful house located in the middle of rice paddies. Two Overnights in the guesthouse where you will meet his family, precious moment to share.

Day 3 Hoi An (B,L,D):

Today, discover by bicycle Tra Que, the gardeners’ village has 200 owners and 500 farmers, cultivating 20 sorts of vegetables and herbs like mint, salad, basil, coriander, broccoli and others, on more than 50 hectares of ground. Enjoy a walk in the village to meet the locals cultivating the earth. You will learn everything you need to know about Tra Que’s history, the vegetables growing methods, the use of medicinal plants and the Vietnamese material medical.

Come to Mr. Minh’s family to prepare the lunch. On the menu : crunchy pancakes, nems from Hoi An, tam huu, grilled fish in a leaf of banana tree…

And finally, to finish this beautiful day, bicycle until one of the most beautiful beached in Hoi An but surely the most tranquil “ An Bang beach”. Free time for your relaxing and/or swimming before going back to Tra Que.

BBQ dinner could be prepared for you to say goodbye to your host; Good night for your next step tomorrow.

Day 4 Hoi An – Kham Duc (B,L,D)/145kms ~ 4h of drive:

This day, we drive southwest toward Kham Duc, a little town of Quang Nam province near Laos border.

Stopping at the Cham tower and historic American war sites. We will then go along the Ho Chi Minh trail, visit pineapple plantations and enjoy it, then stopping for swimming and relaxing near a waterfall. Visit other ethnic minority villages such as Tay, Nung… to learn their traditions, customs, and cultures. Arrival in Kham Duc and stay overnight at a local hotel. 

Jour 5 Kham Duc – Kom Tum (B,L,D)/160kms ~ 4h30 of route:

Departure to Kon Tum in the Central highland by travelling through the rice fields. Along the way to visit other ethnic minority villages such as Strieng, Sedang, Bahnar,… to learn their traditions, customs, cultures.

We will climb up the Lo Xo pass at 2000m of attitude then stop at some historic sites as Charlie Hill (E42 base in the war); Dak To, Tan Canh where used to be a fierce battle between the US army and Vietnam in 1967.

Arrival in Kon Tum where you pass your overnight.

Day 6 Kon Tum and its surroundings (B,L,D):

After your breakfast, we will have sightseeing in the town and its surrounding: old Catholic seminary (built in 1934) & its museum; Wooden Church of nearly 100 years old with the architecture style mixed between the local and western culture.

Afternoon, we will go outside of the town to visit some Bahnar Villages – one among the first minority groups in Central Highlands such as Plei Tonghia, Kon Robang admiring the beautiful Rong house and the local life.

We’ll move later to Kon Hongo Kotu of Rongao ethnic, situated on the edge of Dakbla river, light walking in the village to discover its custom before the sunset. Return to the town for your dinner & overnight.

Day 7 Kon Tum – Kon KoTu village (B,L,D):

We leave the town today for a 2days 1 night at homestay in the Banar village “Kon Kotu”. Drive to departure point at the suspension bridge “Kon Klor” where we start our trek through Bahnar ethnic minority villages (Kon KLor I et Kon KLor II). Along the trek, we can see the truly life and the custom of the local people. We do the trek upstream Dakbla river and pass through sugar cane and cassava fields.

Picnic lunch then free time on the edge of the river. We continue until the village where we have dinner and stay overnight at homestay in their traditional spilt house.

Day 8 Kon Ko Tu – Kon Tum departure (B,L):

After your breakfast, we say goodbye to your host and follow the path to go to Kon Praih (Kon Ray) where we will visit “Kon Biu” village of Sedang Sodrah hill tribes. We take again a suspension bridge and reach Kon Brap Yu village of Bahnar Jeleng minority. We will have a break at tourist complex of Mang Den, called “the little Da Lat” for lunch. Afternoon, we continue to the Pasy waterfall where we can do a light trekking in the pine forest before going back to Kon Tum.

 

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