A wild sunflower festival will be held at the Chu Dang Ya extinct volcano in the central highlands province of Gia Lai from December 1 to 3.

The festival aims to honor the land, the people, and the cultural values of the ethnic groups in Chu Pah district and help introduce and promote the attractions and the potential development of the district’s tourism sector among tour operators and other provinces.

Along with the beautiful roads, valleys, mountains, and the volcano covered by wild yellow sunflowers, visitors can also enjoy various activities reflecting the typical culture of local ethnic minorities, such as a gong performance, calligraphy, brocade weaving, statue sculpturing, the making of ethnic musical instruments, and a series of festivals.

There is also a display of beautiful pictures on the festivals, beliefs, natural landscapes, people, and tourist spots in the area. Sports and games include crossbow shooting, walking on stilts, and tug of war, etc.

Souvenir and food shops will offer handmade products and local specialties such as brocade, flutes, papoose and dried bamboo shoots, honey wild banana, Lingzhi mushrooms, grilled chicken with E, a special sauce of the area, a typical local dish called bo mot nang-muoi ot kien vang (dried beef mixed with weaver ants and salt and chili), a BBQ market for meat, sweet potato, and corn.

The Chu Dang Ya extinct volcano is around 30 km from Pleiku and 20 km from the famous Bien Ho tourism site. The funnel-shaped crater and volcanic ash mixed with red basalt soil are still evident today. 

Chu Dang Ya was voted by the Vietnam Records Association, Vietkings, as No.1 in the Top 10 most attractive destinations in Gia Lai in 2017. It is more fascinating at the time when wild sunflowers start to bloom, from November to December.

VN Economic Times