Hello friends,

Today is the weekend; I hope you had a good week at work and that you are in good health. Today I'd like to share with you a very cute place to visit and take pictures if you ever get the chance to visit the highlands of Kon Tum province, which is Dak Ke Lake. Dak Ke Lake, located in the Mang Den eco-tourism area, is one of the lakes with enchanting scenery, like a fairy in the middle of the mountains and forests of the Central Highlands, which attracts many tourists to visit and take pictures. To help you better understand Dak Ke Lake tourism, I'll share some information about the lake that I had the opportunity to visit earlier this month.

Information about Dak Ke Lake

Dak Ke Lake is part of the Mang Den eco-tourism area. Mang Den is a small town in Kon Tum Province's Kon Plong district. Mang Den town is approximately 53 kilometers from Kon Tum city center. Dak Ke Lake is nearly 3 hectares in size. Anyone who visits will be captivated by the very cute space, which features a calm blue lake surrounded by vast forests and flowers blooming in a variety of colors around the lake. All of this results in a charming painting that captures people's hearts. In addition, when you visit Dak Ke Lake, you will hear fascinating stories about the legends of the lakes and waterfalls. It is said that the lakes and waterfalls in Mang Den are the embodiment of the Gods above God.

The legend goes that in the past, Mang Den was an uninhabited area, so the god Yang Plinh - similar to the Jade Emperor God - sent his 7 sons down here to establish a village to live in, each of them ruling 1 land area, and the wives of these 7 sons transformed into animals such as pigs, deer, fish, and lizards to look after and govern animals of the same species as themselves. All Yang Plinh’s sons are not allowed to eat the animals that the wives have transformed into at the request of the god Yang Pling, and if they do, they will be severely punished.

Thanks to the fertile soil and favorable weather, the gods taught their descendants the skills of building houses, farming, hunting, weaving, knitting, singing, etc., from which life in 7 villages of 7 brothers Children in Mang Den are more and more prosperous, warm and happy. Every year, the children have to fly to heaven to report the situation of mankind to their father. But after that, life on earth fascinated them; from then on they did not fly back to heaven.

Then once during the New Year's festival, because they were so absorbed in playing and eating and drinking all week, Yang Pling's children forgot their father's instructions and ate meat of the same species as their wife and disappeared, only the son. The youngest son still remembers his father's instructions, so he shouldn't eat animals of the same species that his wife turned into.

Then, during the New Year festival, because they were so engrossed in playing, eating, and drinking all week, Yang Plinh's sons forgot what their father told them and ate meat of the same species created by their wives, except the youngest son, who remembers what his father told him, so he shouldn't eat animals of the same species that his wife turned into.

When the god Yang Plinh heard about it while looking down from the sky, he became enraged and decided to punish his seven sons. Although the youngest son did not eat the same animals as his wife, he did not remind his brothers because he knew, so he was also punished. Following that, God Yan Plinh sent seven fire pillars from the sky to strike seven villages in order to punish seven boys. After the flames were extinguished, they transformed into the seven lakes that exist today. Toong Ly Leng, Toong Ziu, Toong Zo Ri, Toong Sang, Toong Po, Toong Dam, and Toong Ro Poong are the names of seven lakes (which is present-day Dak Ke Lake). While punishing his sons, there were 3 fire pillars shot up into the sky, forming 3 waterfalls in Mang Den. Those are Pa Sy, Dak Ke, and Dak Pne waterfalls today.

Some experiences when traveling to Dak Ke Lake - Mang Den Town

To have a complete and smooth trip, you need to make a specific schedule for your trip from means of transportation, accommodation, time, and food. All this information will be shared by me further below.

1. The right time to travel

Mang Den is a small town with a cool and temperate climate all year round because it is surrounded by mountain ranges and primary forest flora and is located at an altitude of 1,200m above sea level. So you can come here at any time of the year. However, it is best to go from February to May. This is the most ideal time to feel the chilly weather, airy air and the gentle intoxicating scent of wild flowers and leaves pine or turpentine. And in October, 11 and 12 is also an ideal time to hunt for the golden ripe rice fields.

2. Transport

To get to Mang Den town in Kon Tum province, you can take a variety of modes of transportation, including motorcycles, cars, and coaches. Because there is no airport in Kon Tum, tourists from major cities such as Hanoi, Saigon, or Da Nang can both dock at Pleiku City Airport and then take a bus to Mang Den, which is nearly 55 kilometers away. To get to Dak Ke Lake Eco-tourism Area, you can rent a motorcycle, car, or taxi. The tourist attractions are very close, so you won't have to travel far.

3. Place of stay

Although when I arrived in Mang Den town, I saw that there were many hotels on both sides of the road, but when I booked a room half a month ago, the room was already sold out despite trying to contact a lot of hotels and homestays here. It was only later that I learned that during the 2-year epidemic, many hotels and homestays were closed and no longer operating, and some hotels were seriously degraded. Currently, Mang Den has only 2 new big hotels that have just been opened and put into service in early 2022, namely the Golden Boutique Hotel Mang Den (address at Villa Lot 26 Nguyen Du Street, Mang Den Town). Kon Plong District, Kon Tum Province and Dakke Mang Den Resort (near Dakke Lake area)

One thing to note for you is that although there are many hotels here, the number of rooms is very limited. If you go on peak occasions such as major holidays of the year in Vietnam, this place is usually full of rooms; it is difficult to book a room. So if you intend to go here during the New Year, you need to contact 1 month in advance to book a room. According to my price survey through booking channels, the room price in Mang Den is also quite soft, ranging from 200,000 to 1,500,000 VND depending on the location and investment level of the hotel. If you don't want to stay or can't book a room here, you can go to Kon Tum city center to stay overnight depending on the purpose of your trip. If you stay in the city center of Kontum, a place you should not miss is the wooden church of Kom Tum. This church was built in 1913, completed in 1918 and still exists today.

4. What is there to see and play in Dac Ke Lake?

Dak Ke Lake did not have any special games on the lake when I came to visit. This is simply a charming landscape for you to admire, walk around the lake, and take photos in. The area around the lake has food service, and the coffee is especially good. My friends and I couldn't resist the wonderful, distinct flavor of coffee. I've heard that there are some recreational games for tourists here, such as fishing, riding a duck boat, and renting a horse-drawn carriage to walk around the lake, but all I saw are some recreational fishing tourists which no guests ride horses, duck boats. In addition to Dac Ke Lake, Mang Den town has a number of other tourist attractions for you to visit and take pictures, one of which is Pa Sy Waterfall. Belows are some photos of the Pa Sy waterfall.

5. Where can you eat and drink?

According to my travel experience, you should always bring some snacks and drinks with you first in case you can't find a suitable place to eat or no longer have food.

At Mang Den eco-tourism area, there are many restaurants around with many typical dishes prepared in the way of highland people. But perhaps the most famous dish here is Grilled Chicken with Lam Rice, the chicken is grilled with charcoal fire, and the rice is put in a bamboo tube and then grilled to perfection. And one of the famous restaurants that many tourists come to eat is Co Sinh restaurant, which specializes in serving grilled chicken with Com lam.

The above article shares my experiences during my 3 days 2 nights discovery trip to Mang Den, Gia Lai. Hopefully this article will give you some useful information and a little experience when traveling at Dak Ke Lake - in Mang Den eco-tourism area, Kon Tum province. Hope this information will help you in your upcoming trips.

Thank you for taking the time to read the post. Wishing you happy, joyful and successful days.