Breathtakingly beautiful, Northern Central Highlands in the "end of the year" season.

Northern Central Highlands in late autumn - a scene of dazzling beauty.

The northwestern part of the Central Highlands, bordering northeastern Cambodia and southeastern Laos, is not as fertile as the southern part of the Central Highlands, such as Dak Lak and Lam Dong. Here, there are only vast rubber plantations, stretching endlessly along steep slopes.

When the last rains of the season have stopped for about two months, and the dry season becomes evident, this is the special "season" in the Central Highlands - the "end of the year season".

In the Central Highlands, after the rainy season ends, the sky is usually very clear and breezy all day. However, clouds often appear in the evening, creating spectacular sunsets. The western sky casts a brilliant glow with shades of purple, orange, and pink, dyeing the evening clouds.

That's not all. In the last month of the lunar year, the moon in the Central Highlands is very large and bright. In the early morning, when the sky is a clear blue (even though it was cloudy the night before), the moon is still perfectly round and casts a pearly white light on the treetops before setting and giving way to the sun.

Vast rubber forests during the leaf-shedding season.

In the northern part of the Central Highlands, besides a small area planted with pepper, cashew, and coffee, rubber is the main crop. The vast rubber forests of Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces are also the season when the trees shed their leaves at the end of the year.

Along the roads, winding like ribbons across the hillsides, with long, steep slopes reaching as far as the eye can see, are stretches of rubber forests on either side. In the leaf-shedding season, the dry, yellowish-brown leaves cover the ground in a thick layer. The trees display a kaleidoscope of colors: newly sprouted green leaves, the last remaining green leaves, interspersed with vibrant red leaves like maple leaves, and most abundantly, the yellow of the old leaves about to fall.

Spring is just around the corner, the festive atmosphere of Tet (Vietnamese New Year) is everywhere, but here, the rubber forests are shedding their leaves, the space seems to stand still, silent in the last afternoon of the year, amidst the beautiful colors of nature. The evening sun is gradually setting over the mountains and forests. A layer of mist has begun to appear on the horizon. But the yellow and red leaves don't care about that. Under the last rays of the setting sun, they still shine brightly, calmly radiating their colors in the forest.

Tet is just around the corner, spring is just around the corner. With the arrival of spring, the forest will change its attire, with the vibrant green of new shoots and leaves full of life. Then the forest will be bustling again, with rubber tappers tapping the trees and bees diligently making honey…

Text & photos: Nam Hoa