As the third largest city in the Central Highlands, Gia Lai Vietnam possesses a modern beauty. Save now the best travel guide of Gia Lai for the best travel experience !

What to Know About Gia Lai Vietnam

After Da Lat and Buon Ma Thuot, Gia Lai Province is the third largest one in the Central Highlands. If Da Lat brings poetic and romantic beauty, Buon Me Thuot is full of coffee flavor, Gia Lai is considered as a mountain town, a place of liberal and wild beauty. This place is remembered not only for its majestic natural scenes but also for the modernity of Gia Lai province with many attractive places to eat and play.

The name Gia Lai is derived from the word "Jarai", which is the name of the indigenous people living in Gia Lai. Over many years of establishment and development, Gia Lai province now has 17 administrative units including Pleiku City, 2 towns An Khe, Ayun Pa and 14 districts including Chu Pah, Chu Prong, Dak Doa, and Chu Se, Chu Puh, Phu Thien, Mang Yang, Krong Pa, Kong Chro, Kbang, Ia Pa, Ia Grai, Duc Co, Dak Po.

With overall rich resources, mild climate, unique indigenous culture, outstanding people... Gia Lai has become a "heart" of tourists in Vietnam or abroad.

How to Travel to Gia Lai from Ho Chi Minh City

Gia Lai has Pleiku airport in Pleiku city. Therefore, the fastest way for tourists to get to Gia Lai Vietnam is by plane. There will be flights for visitors traveling from Hanoi - Pleiku, Ho Chi Minh City - Pleiku or Da Nang - Pleiku. Pleiku Airport is about 3-4km from the city center. Upon landing, visitors can pre-book a shuttle bus or a taxi to move to the city center.

In addition, tourists who want to experience the view in many places and save money can choose to travel to Gia Lai by coach. Most provinces have bus routes to Gia Lai. Even if you are ready and want to conquer the challenge, you can form a group to travel to Gia Lai by motorbike.

If traveling as a family with young children or elderly people, the best option is to rent a tourist car. Groups of young people can rent motorbikes to take the initiative in the schedule as well as freely explore the beautiful scenery of Gia Lai in the middle of the Central Highlands.

What Is the Best Time to Travel to Gia Lai Vietnam

In general, every season Gia Lai Province has beautiful features that attract tourists. However, from November to April next year, is Gia Lai dry season, this is considered the most ideal time for tourists to plan their itinerary to discover Gia Lai. If Hanoi has a beautiful blooming Milkwood pine flower season, Gia Lai also has a season of wild sunflowers blooming in the golden sunshine around November - December.

In addition, the year-end period is also the time when many traditional cultural festivals of ethnic minorities take place such as celebrating the Mung Lua Moi ceremony; gong festival... Next year, from about February to April, Gia Lai will be covered by the immense pure white of coffee flowers.

Best Hotels to Stay in Gia Lai

Most of the beautiful attractions in Gia Lai Vietnam are not too far from the city center. Therefore, visitors can choose to stay in Pleiku City, visit during the day and return to the center at night. Gia Lai has many good quality hotels, such as: Hoang Anh Gia Lai Pleiku Hotel, Mekong Gia Lai Hotel, Bee Gia Lai Hotel.

In addition to choosing hotels, visitors can also stay at homestays in Gia Lai. Some homestays with good services that Vietnam Original Travel can recommend to visitors are Tithonia Homestay, Homestay Ngoi Que Gia Lai, Hani House.

Top Food to Try in Gia Lai Vietnam

Gia Lai also owns a system of restaurants specializing in each segment, from main meals to snack restaurants, meeting the requirements from luxury to affordable for tourists.

Restaurant Specializing in Serving 3 Main Meals

According to Vietnamese culture, a day has 3 main meals: breakfast - lunch - dinner. Vietnamese people, even in the North-Central-South, attach great importance to meals and regions will have different specialties. In Gia Lai, famous restaurants serving tourists the main dishes of the day can be mentioned such as Duy Nhat Palace serving dishes from three regions of Vietnam, Com Lam and Grilled Chicken PleiTieng restaurant, Half-dried beef Muoi Duc... All these locations are very convenient for tourists to move to.

Pubs with Affordable Prices

In addition to the variety of restaurants serving main dishes, Gia Lai is also the kingdom of pubs with affordable prices. With the chilly night, it would be great if you go to a pub and enjoy the nightlife of Gia Lai Province. Among the top 3 famous pubs that tourists cannot ignore when coming to Gia Lai are Ngo Quan, Rio Garden, and Beer Center PK. Most pubs are designed with a garden theme, creating a familiar feeling for visitors.

Restaurants Specializing in Cheap Snacks

One thing is that whether traveling in Vietnam or abroad like Thailand, Laos...tourists will want to enjoy the typical street snacks of each country. With the name "mountaintown" of the Central Highlands, Gia Lai Vietnam also has its own snack restaurants imbued with regional culture that visitors will surely fall in love with.

Cheap snack restaurants in Gia Lai are called Soc Banh Snack Restaurant, Ba Dung Sweet Soup, Co Loi Grilled Banana, and Ba Sau Grilled Lui. In your Gia Lai Itinerary, do not forget to try these restaurants to explore the signature taste of Gia Lai snacks.

What to Visit in Gia Lai Province

T'Nung Lake in Pleiku City

T'Nung Lake, also known as Bien Ho, means "sea on the mountain". Worthy of its name, T'Nung Lake is the largest lake in Gia Lai Province with a huge volume of water even though there are no rivers or streams flowing in, with an average depth of about 16-20m. The lake was formed thanks to 3 ancient craters connecting with each other, forming 3 sunken funnels.

When coming to T'Nung Lake, visitors will immerse themselves in the fresh air and have moments of relaxation after tiring working days. The road going down to Bien Ho is winding like a picture with green pine trees on both sides. At the end of the road are stone steps leading visitors to admire the beauty of Bien Ho.

This place gives visitors a peaceful and poetic feeling with the beauty of majestic natural mountains. Moreover, when the sun goes down, you will be able to admire and feel the full beauty of this place. T'Nung Lake is considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the Central Highlands Vietnam.

Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve

Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve is likened to a precious jewel of the Central Highlands mountains and forests. This place is famous for the most diverse ecosystem in the country. The reserve covers 1.6 million hectares of primeval forest with a variety of rare plants. Specifically, the reserve discovered 833 species of plants with many species listed in the Red Book of Vietnam and the world. There are also 392 animal species with many precious species such as red-cheeked gibbon, gray-shanked douc langur….

Away from the hustle and bustle of Saigon, say goodbye to the hot days of Hanoi and return to Kon Chu Rang conservation area, visitors will enjoy the majestic and wild nature with 12 majestic waterfalls. In addition, visitors when coming here can also participate in waterfall bathing, climbing, discovering the life, customs and habits of the Ba Na people.

Minh Thanh Pagoda

In addition to the majestic mountain scenery, Gia Lai is also adorned with a unique temple named Minh Thanh. About 2km from Pleiku city center, located on a gentle hill in the heart of the misty mountain town, Minh Thanh Pagoda appears as a unique architectural complex with fanciful and ancient beauty that attracts many tourists.

All that architecture has made the picture of the pagoda more splendid, beautiful from afar, like a miniature palace in the misty mountain town of Pleiku.

Kon Ka Kinh National Park

If you are a wild nature lover, you should definitely go to Kon Ka Kinh National Park. Kon Ka Kinh has been honored as one of the ASEAN Heritage Parks since 2003. Along the way, you will witness with your own eyes the rich flora and fauna and beautiful natural landscapes here. In particular, to the top of Kon Ka Kinh, the majestic scenery of the Truong Son range will be captured in your eyes.

Gia Lai Vietnam has always been a destination with many interesting things, leaving visitors with many experiences about food, culture and landmarks here. Let's immediately save the notes when coming to Gia Lai so that you can customize for yourself a satisfactory tour!

Read more 

=> Excursion to the Central Highlands Vietnam