Traveling to Mang Den on your own: what do you need to prepare?

In general, traveling to Mang Den is quite cheap, but getting there is still an obstacle. Tourists who want to go to Mang Den have to travel many stages, or take a long time to reach this town.

1. How to move?

The fastest way to get to Mang Den from Hanoi or Saigon is to fly to Pleiku airport. On average, there are two flights per day from Saigon to Pleiku and vice versa. From here, you can take a taxi, limousine or bus to Mang Den town center, which takes about 2 hours. The one-way cost for a taxi from Pleiku airport to Mang Den is about 1,200,000 VND, limousine 350,000 VND, bus 80,000 VND.

This way you can save about 10 hours compared to taking a bus - which takes about 14 hours for the Saigon - Mang Den journey, but the cost of travel will be higher. Round-trip tickets for the Saigon - Pleiku flight are about 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 VND, and bus tickets directly to Mang Den town are about 800,000 VND.

Arriving at Mang Den, my group rented a motorbike to experience with the rental price from 150,000 - 200,000 VND/day depending on the type of motorbike. This is the most suitable means of transport to travel in Mang Den, the cost is reasonable, and it is easy to get to the destinations. In particular, perhaps only by riding a motorbike can you fully feel the atmosphere of the mountains and forests of Mang Den.

2. What time?

Winter in Kon Tum lasts from about October to December, this is also the right time to travel to Mang Den. From Kon Tum city to Mang Den town, the temperature has a clear difference. I came to Mang Den in early November, during the day it was still sunny and warm, about 24 - 26 degrees. But at night and early morning the temperature drops quite deeply to 17 - 19 degrees, so you need to prepare more warm clothes.

3. Where?

The popular type of accommodation in Mang Den is homestay. Homestay prices range from about 400,000 - 800,000 VND/room/2 people. For me, homestay is a convenient and easy choice. Coming to a land like Mang Den, I want to have the closest connection with nature and people. Choosing to stay at a homestay is one of the first ways to get closer to the culture and people here.

In addition, the homestay also has a lot of space for visitors to experience and connect with each other. Most homestays will also provide dining and BBQ services right at the accommodation facility. At night, sitting around the campfire with loved ones, listening to the crackling sound of coals, the sizzling sound of pork belly giving off a delicious aroma... there is nothing better.

4. Where to go?

Pa Sy Waterfall

Pa Sy Waterfall Ecotourism Area is located in Kon Tu Rang Commune, covering an area of ​​about 25 hectares, including a system of roads, communal houses, handicraft workshops, cultural exhibition houses, vegetable and flower farms. From the town center, it takes about 20 minutes to get here. The road is quite bad with quite a few potholes on the road, visitors should control their speed to ensure safety.

The waterfall is formed from the three largest streams in Mang Den, so it is called Pau Suh (meaning three streams converging into one stream). Here, visitors can walk around to see the surrounding scenery, visit the flower farm and don't forget to try wading in the stream to feel the cool water. Many people often stand on the floating bridge to take pictures with the waterfall, but the bridge surface is shaky and slippery, so you need to be careful when standing here.

Kon Bring Village

This is one of the four major tourist villages in Kon Plong, where a number of M'Nâm ethnic people live. Kon Bring appears with the simple, rustic beauty of sparse wooden houses that have turned yellow over the years, standing out against the immense green of the mountains and forests.

There are not many activities to experience here, so visitors can walk around the village, go inside the Kon Bring cultural house to explore the architecture of the Krong house. From afar, it looks like a giant handbag with a majestic pointed roof. According to the people, the Krong house was built with such a high roof to gather the sacredness of heaven and earth, as a place to connect people with gods.

Mang Den Market

Mang Den Market has been in operation for just over a month but is a very attractive destination for visitors. The market is held from 2 pm on Friday to 3 pm on Sunday every week. The market has about 23 stalls, 9 communal houses of communes and towns introducing local products and 15 stalls of organizations and individuals displaying and selling OCOP products, medicinal herbs, agricultural products...

The market is located entirely in the pine hill area on Hung Vuong Street, Mang Den Town with stalls arranged, designed and decorated with very interesting characteristics. In addition to delicious food and local products, there are also interesting cultural and artistic activities for visitors. You should visit the market in the afternoon from about 3 pm, when the sun starts to lessen and the weather is more mild.

Mang Den Walking Street & Cuisine

Mang Den Walking and Food Street is organized on Vo Nguyen Giap Street, Mang Den town with a system of hotels, restaurants and a series of food stalls stretching along. In particular, from here visitors can fully watch the sunset over Mang Den town, so it is also called "Sunset Boulevard".

In the late afternoon, visiting the food court, buying a hot baked potato and then standing and immersing yourself in the magnificent sunset scene, is probably a wonderful experience.

Article and photos: Bi Le