Riding elephants and driving dug-out canoes to explore Lak Lake

Riding elephants and driving dug-out canoes to explore Lak Lake

Some 60km South of Buon Ma Thuot city, covering nearly 500 ha, Lak lake is the second largest natural lake in Vietnam, after Ba Be lake in the Northeastern province of Bac Kan. Tourists are advised to experience typical eco-tourism forms, such as elephant-riding, dug-out canoe rowing, cycling to explore M’nong ethnic minorities’ daily life and their habitat.

Rowing dug-out canoes is ideal to explore the rich flora around the lake.

Sitting on a dug-out canoe driven by local M’nong people, tourists listen to a legend of the lake. The legend has been told that after a fight between the god of fire and the water deity, a M’nong Rlam ethnic boy, Y Lak, caught a young eel and decided to breed it. Strangely, the eel grew as fast as it could and the pool where the eel was raised became an immense lake. Since then, the lake has been called ‘Dak of Lak’ (Y Lak’s water) or Lak lake by the M’nong people.

More than ten elephants are available around the lake to serve tourists. It often costs VND 200,000 to VND 600,000 for a 15-minute, 30-minute or 1-hour elephant ride.

On an elephant-riding trip, tourists are taken to old villages, rice fields, lines of wild almond (Irvingia) trees and the lake. After the trip, tourists should reward the elephant with small gifts, such as a bunch of bananas or sugar-cane.

Tourists might be surprised when seeing elephants freely grazing by the lake.

Tourists are advised to explore M’nong ethnic minorities’ typical houses in Jun or M’lieng villages by bicycle.

From King Bao Dai’s private residence located on the top of a hill behind Lien Son town, tourists can view the whole Lak lake.

Just 10km from Lak lake, Yang Tao commune is the only place in the Central Highlands where the old pottery trade of the M’nong Rlam people is preserved. Visiting the commune, tourists can learn about the trade and buy pottery products at reasonable price.

Tourists may go trekking around the lake and take photos of picturesque scenery.

It is ideal to visit the lake in early September when golden ripe rice fields stretch along both sides of the road from Buon Ma Thuot city to the lake.

Source: Vnexpress

Translated by Mai Huong

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