The ancient village of Kon K’Tu boasts spectacular natural beauty with rugged mountains and gentle babbling brooks. Located in Dak Ro Wa Commune of Kon Tum Town, 600km north of Ho Chi Minh City, Kon K’Tu is a popular ecotourist site.

From 1867-1869, the village contained around 100 houses but the population failed to grow and at one point, there were just three families left in the community. It wasn’t until 1920 that the village was re-established and thriving once again.

Today, villagers still hold many traditional festivals. The K’lang T’nglang (Catching water drops) Festival is held annually at the beginning of the first lunar month to wish for good weather, good crops and good health. The event lasts for two days and two nights. On the first day, villagers prepare a long pole with decorations and the next day they give offerings to God while enjoying food and drinks together. Other activities of the festival include praying to sacred beings and performing dances.

Visitors to Kon K’Tu will have an opportunity to see traditional long-houses and stilt homes occupied by minority ethnic groups. Each long-house is around 25 meters in length and has three doors and four to six stoves. Many generations usually live together in one home.

Building a long-house is extremely difficult as villagers have to fell trees, cut grass and collect other materials. The poles for long-houses and stilt homes must be chopped and shaped with axes, and tied with ropes made from forest trees. Once built, however, the homes are warm in the wet season and cool in the dry season.

Around 10 years ago, Kon K’Tu began attracting tourists because of its wild, unspoiled beauty. The construction of the Kon K’Lo suspension bridge in the 1990s has made travel between the village and Kon Tum Town more convenient.

Now villagers can trade goods and communicate with people in other localities more easily. “Tourists to Kon Tum are very interested in its wilderness,” says Nguyen Do Huynh of the Kon Tum Tourism Company.

VietNamNet/TN