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Geographical location: Dak Lak is located in southwest of Truong Son mountains with 11030’–13025’ North latitude and 107030’–109030 East longitude. The province borders to Gia Lai Province to the North, Lam Dong and Binh Phuoc Provinces to the South, Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen Provinces to the East and Cambodia to the West with 240km of common frontier.
About 60 km south of Buon Ma Thuot is Lak Lake. Overlooking the lake is the old Summer residence of Emperor Bao Dai which has been renovated into a hotel. Surrounding the lake is Jun Village, home of the Jun people. The villagers have a peculiar form of fishing where they attach metal rods to a car battery and run the rods through the water zapping and stunning the fish and then collecting them to keep in a tank at the village until they are needed.
Politically, Ðak Lak is divided into thirteen districts:
Buôn Ðôn, Cu Kuin, Cu M'gar, Ea H'leo, Ea Kar, Ea Súp, Krông Ana, Krông Bông, Krông Buk, Krông Nang, Krông Pak, Lak, M'Drak
Ethnic groups
The history of the land and the people of Dak Lak is related closely to the history of establishment and development of Vietnamese nation in connection with tradition of union and strong hearted struggle against foreign aggression of the people of different ethnic groups. It goes with rich and unique cultural values that compatriots of various ethnic origins in this land have built on this land. Daklak is fatherland of native ethnic minorities of Ede, M’nong, Gia Rai... The most populated among which are Ede and M’nong nationalities. Ede people belong to Malaysian- Polidenisain language family and inhabit mostly in north plateau from Ea Hleo, Ho Commune down to M’Drak and up to Buon Ma Thuot. M’nong people of Mongoloid-Khmer language family inhabit mostly in southern plateau and along West-southern d rontier. Along with people of other ethnic groups, Ede and M’nong people are long-standing owners of Central Highlands that are rich of potentialities, traditions and cultural identity.
During the wars against French and American aggressors, and particularly after the liberation of the country (1975) up to now, more and more people of different nationalities from the Middle Lands, the North come to Daklak to build their new life, along with native people to build a big family of siblings nationalities. Although ethnic groups in Daklak do not establish separate territories of separate ethnic groups, each ethnic group concentrates in a certain zone or in populated concentrations. Each ethnic group tries their best to maintain, to develop their individual cultural identity. At the same time, there is cultural exchange between nationalities that makes the cultural inter mixture in living and social activities. The most highlighted thing is tradition of union, mutual affection and love, joining hands with each other in the struggle for the independence, freedom of the Fatherland in the past and the work of development and defense of the Fatherland at the present.
Traditional culture
Speaking about traditional culture of Daklak, firstly it is needed to speak about very special cultural foundation of native people. Inhabiting in boundless highlands with rich forestland, from generation to generation the people of ethnic minorities have built very abundant and diversified culture with unique and impressive tangible and intangible cultural heritages. Speaking about national cultural heritages, it is impossible to omit famous tangible heritages such as dàn dá, gongs, nhà dài (long house), nhà m? (sepulcher) as well as customary laws, festivals, customs and habits, and plentiful public and communal activities. However, the most imperative and plentiful ones are unique treasure of folk literature with khans (people’s epics), legends, fables, stories written in verse... that are rich of national identity transferred from generation to generation. Moreover, Ê Ðê ethnic group also has their own writing system, which late has been phonetically transcribed for use from French and American periods up to now.
In the past as well as nowadays, the basic social relations of ethnic groups has bold outline of blood relationship and strong collective characteristics. Generally, Ê Ðê as well as M’nong and Gia Rai ethnic groups have common feature – strong existence of good traditional social relationship established after long historical periods. The spirit of collectives, democracy, equality, mutual love and affection... still has imperative governing power. In addition, the martial spirit, humanity, love to the nature, to the peace, laboriousness, creativeness, are also the typical features of compatriots of nationalities of Daklak. The most notable is the will of unconquerable struggle against the natural calamities and the glorious tradition of struggle defending the villages, the native land, and the fatherland. This tradition was developed to a high degree during the time Daklak’s people raised together with the Party to revolutionize, to struggle against French colonists and American imperative. Along with traditional culture of native nationalities, modern Daklak has cultures brought from northern people, who come from the North to establish new life here, and traditional culture of the Kinh’s (Vi?t) people with all cultural aspect of three regions of the country. All of these are being preserved and developed in harmony with progressive and rich of national identity Vietnamese culture. Furthermore, talking about Daklak’s culture, we cannot skip beauties of natures, places of historical interestbearing imprints of each phase of development of the history. In Daklak several archaeological vestiges of the human, who lived here thousands of years, have been founded. These are vestiges in Drai Si (Cu M’ga District), EaTieu Commune, Qu?ng Ði?n Commune (Krong Ana District), Dak RLap Town, Qu?ng Tr?c Commune (Dak Rlap District), Buôn Tri?t Commune, Lak Lake (Lak District) Truong xuan, Dak Rung Communes, Gia Nghia Town (Dak Nong District), Dak Ro Commune (Krong No District), Ea Pan Commune (Ea Kar District).
In abovementioned archaeological sites, stone instruments, tools, jewelry, potteries have been founded. Materials were from basalts – the specific characteristics of Central Highlands. The design and creating technique have features similar to that of Bi?n H? (Sea Lake) and Sa Hu?nh (Bình Ð?nh) cultures. There have been discovered six brass drums in Ea Sup, Buôn Ma Thu?t, Ea H’leo, Krông Pac and Ea Kar that feature bronze age of civilization. Especially, there are vestiges from the Cham people in this land. These are Yang Pong (Great God) Tower in Chu M/Lanh Commune (Ea Sup District), Rasungbatau (big water tanks) in Buôn Ma Thu?t, ancient graves in Ea K’tur and Cu Ewy Communes (Krong Ana District), Cham Well in Yang Mao Commune, Ruins in Hoà Thành Commune (Krong Bong District). Among them, Ea Png Tower was built in the end of XIII century under the Sinhavarman King worshipping Sinva Deity. This is the only remaining ancient Cham tower in the Central Highlands. Concerning Modern Times, there are tens of famous relics such as Buôn Ma Thu?t prison; L?c Giao Communal House – the place featuring the presence of civilization of wet rice of community of Vi?t people in Daklak; CADA Plantation; private residence of B?o Ð?i – the stamp of the last feudal dynasty of Vietnam, Ðak Tuôr Cave; and many other historic and cultural vestiges..
Tourism:
One of strong forces of Daklak Province is tourism. There are more and more investments in this field of activities for more efficient deployment. Average growth rate for period 1990-2000 was 30% per annum. In 1995, the province met only 70,100 participations, (4,250 participations of foreign travelers). In 2000, this number increased to 132,550, among which 7,790 man-times of foreign tourists. For the next period, Daklak Province has decided that the tourism is a breakthrough industry for the economic structural movement.
Daklak is a mountain province that is rich of big tourist potentiality. There are little places in the world that have so many beauty-spot as in Daklak province. The most famous scenery are world-famous waterfalls such as Dray Sap, Gia Long, Trinh N?, Krông Kmar, B?y Nhánh, Th?y Tiên, Ba T?ng..., large lagoons of 200-600ha area such as Lak, Ea Kao, Ea Ð?n, Tây Lakes … suitable for sailing, surfing, fishing, entertainment activities. Coming to Daklak, travelers could visit primeval forests with diversified ecological systems and species in Yok Ðôn National Park, Nam Ka Special Forest, Nam Nung, Ta Dung Conservation Zones. Constant development of hunting elephants and other big forest animals from time immemorial has made Buon Don regionally reputed as the brisk trading centre on the Central Highlands. L?c Giao Communal House is the place with stamps of Vi?t’s people on the highland. There are private palace of ex-imperator Bao Ðai, Yang Prong Town – the Cham’s construction built in XIV century, Buon Ma Thuot Prison, Dak Tuor Cave, provincial museum in the center of Buon Ma Thuot City with small rough model of Buon Ma Thuot Victory in the all-out attack in the historical spring of 1975… Particularly, if Buon Ma Thuot City is taken as center, then almost all beautiful spots and relics of Daklak Province are within a circle of radius less than 50km that is very suitable for tourism. On the other hand, Daklak is famous by its rich and multiform culture of customs and habits. There are not only imposing cultural heritage of native ethnic groups such as Ê dê, M’nông with remarkable epics such as Ðam San, Ðam Bri, Xinh Nhã, genie lunar New Year pole, but also valuable tangible cultural heritages dàn dá (stone musical instrument), gongs Daklak is also a place, where 44 brother’s ethnic groups live together. Although the ethnic groups do not form separate inhabiting territories, they are concentrated in certain regions with individual identity and tradition that has created unique folk culture of particular characteristics of Central Highlands. Traditional culture of Daklak is very plentiful and really attracts tourists, especially historians, culturists, phoneticist … Besides, traditional professions such as sculpting statues in tombs, knitting brocade, original cultural rituals such as festivals of ethnic minorities – celebrating harvest in the end of December, elephants race in big festivals, Gongs festival – are preserved. Tourism of the province is concentrated on two contents: Ecotourism and cultural tourism. In particular, ecotourism of the province will develop following forms:
Water tourism on lagoons, rivers, waterfalls, Climbing, Forest research, sightseeing
Visiting National Park and Natural Conservation Zones;Cultural tourism of the province will develop following forms; Sightseeing on revolutionary and ethnic museums; Visiting traditional festivals and enjoying folk arts; Visiting and learning handicraft arts
Entertainment tourism
For having provincial tourism developed corresponding to its potentiality and strong forces, the province has approved Master Plan of Daklak’s Tourism up to 2010 and detailed tourism zones as follows:
Lak Lake Tourist Zone
Ea Kao Lake Tourist Zone
Buôn Ðôn Tourist Zone
Dray Sap - Gia Long - Trinh N? Waterfall Tourist Zone
Entertainment Center in center of Buôn Ma Thu?t City
H? Tây - Ðak Min Tourist Zone
Ðak Nông Tourist Zone
In addition, the province has issued policies of encouragement and preference of investment in tourism and service with open and easy mechanism in order to attract investors form all over the world for rapid development of Daklak’s tourism.
Population and ethnic groups
- There are about 1,882,221 people inhabiting in Daklak that include 44 brothers’ ethnic groups. In there:
+ Native inhabitants in Daklak consist mainly of Ede, M’nong people with people of other ethnic majorities such as Ba Na, Gia Rai, Se Dang in small quantity. At present, local ethnic groups have 355,266 people, among them 70.1% of Êdê origin, 17% of Mnong and 18.5% of other ethnic groups of Ba Na, Gia Rai, Se Dang.
+ During the time of the war against American aggressors, particularly after Liberation of the South Vietnam (1975), a number of people of ethnic majorities from Central Part and the North have come to Daklak for their new life that has made population structure of Daklak changed rapidly. Among 44 brother’s ethnic groups in territory of Ðak Lak Province, groups with large number of inhabitants are:
Kinh’s people occupy 70.65% total population; Ede people occupy 13.69 %, Nung people – 3.9%,Mnong – 3.51%, Tay people – 3.03%,Thai people – 1.04%, Dao people – 0.86%
Although each ethnic group in Daklak has their own tradition and identity, all of them always unite to build their common fatherland and create a plentiful and rich of national identity culture
Tourist attract
Being a land rich of culture and histories, Daklak today has many relics that are being in inventory, reorganization and classified. In addition to archaeological vestiges such as Kien Duc relics (Dak Rlap), Ea Knuek sepulchral mounds (Krong Pac), Cham Hoa Son Tomb (Krong Bong), Yang
Prong tower (Ea Sup), there are many cultural and famous relics such as:
Tuy Duc historical turning point (Dak Rlap District) – remains of No Trang Long’s upspring, Buon Ma Thuot Prison, CADA Plantation, Dak Mil Gaol, where from 1936-1943 many revolutionists were jailed: Lac Giao Communal House, Lak Lake Tourist Zone ,Ea Kao Lake Tourist Zone ,Buon Don Tourist Zone ,Dray Sap - Gia Long - Trinh Nu Waterfall Tourist Zone ,Entertainment Center in center of Buôn Ma Thuot City ,Ho Tay - Dak Min Tourist Zone ,Dak Nong Tourist Zone.
Daklak has important national roads such as National Highway 14 from Da Nang via Buon Ma Thuot City to Ho Chi Minh City, National Highway 26 to Nha Trang, National Highway 27 to Da Lat, National Highway 28 to Phan Thiet. Daklak also has airport connecting Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Ha Noi and quite large internal inland roads.
Buon Ma Thuot Airport at the present performs two main routes:
Buon Ma Thuot - Da Nang - Ha Noi,
Buon Ma Thuot - Ho Chi Minh City
Current inland roads system consists of:
+ National Highways: There are 5 lines with total length of 700.2km, in there:
National Highway 14 of 272km long and national Highway 26 of 119km. Roads of mountain III level with asphalted surface and permanent drainage.
National Highway 27 of 83.2km long. Roads of mountain IV level with asphalted surface and 28.2km of permanent drainage
National Highway 28 of 58km long and National Highway 14C of 168km. Roads of mountain IV level. At present roads are with soil surface and temporal bridges and sewers with asphalted surface and permanent drainage sewers.
+ Provincial roads comprise 16 lines with total length of 610km of IV level mountain roads, in there 151km are asphalted, 30km are covered by asphalted concrete and 117km are covered by gravels. 44 bridges with 716m length are permanent and 44 temporary bridges of 560m long.
+ District roads consist of 77 lines of 806km long mainly of IV and V mountain level. Among them 61km have been asphalted, 178km covered by gravels, the remaining are soil covered. Eleven bridges of 108m long are permanent.
+ Urban roads have 109.5km length, in which 54km asphalted.
+ Roads in rural areas have length of more than 4400km. They mainly are covered by soil with about 200 bridges of 1200m long.
Average density of automobile roads on natural area is 0.435km/km2, in average, ration of automobile roads to 1000 people is 0.506km/1000 persons.
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