Water falls - Tourist potentials of Đắk Nông

In dialect of M’ Nông ethnic minority, Đắk Nông means a gourd of water, a thing inseparable from western highlanders. Đắk Nông is considered as second Đà Lạt in the high plateau, the head sources of rivers and steams which gave rise to a number of beautiful waterfalls: D’ray Sap, Gia Long, Trinh Nữ, Liêng Nung, Đắk Glun, Ba Tầng…

D'ray Sap water fall

Photo: Ngọc Hà

Most wonderful is fall D’ray Sap in Krông Nô district. In the natural landscapes, D’ray Sap water pours down from 20m height. In Ê đê language, D’ray Sap means fall of smoke. Legend has it that, there once lived a young girl named H’mi, a hard-working farmer. One day when she was having a rest, a monster so big that its head as a mountain, its eyes as the big pots, with long beard and pointed teeth, its body was covered by shining scabs. It appeared from sky and flied in a river, its trunk went deep into the soil that made a colossal column of water. The monster flung the wings, made a heavy rain, and then disappeared. H’mi was so frightened that she turned into fog, and her boyfriend into a big tree. The right spot is now the waterfall D’ray Sap. Their passionate love created the fall, as beautiful as the rainbow in the thin screen of water and smoke.

Trinh Nữ fall (virginity) is about 1km from the district town Cơ Jut in the west. You can walk on stone –steps round the fall viewing natural beauty in the sounds and sights of the fall, you can take a rest or even stay overnight in tent or in stilt-house of the highlanders.

Gia Long fall in about 50m high and 100m large, flowing downstream to river Serepok. There’s a small lake in between the forests, the “Fairy lake” as it’s called, is 80m2 large, clean, clear and beautiful. Gia Long fall is very attractive to visitors.

At about 8km from Gia Nghĩa town in the water fall Liêng Nung, an eco-cultural tourism area. The fall hides itself in the hills and forests. The natural scenery, the noise of falling water and the singing of birds, the 30m-high water flows make the scene more attractive and fascinating.

Apart from rivers and streams, there are large lakes in Đắk Nông such as Easo, West, Trúc, Ea T’linh and Đắc Rông… that have become tourist potentials good for future tourism development.

                                                                                NGUYÊN HẢI