Ho Chi Minh Road Central Highlands

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Phong Nha

   Phong Nha lies in central Vietnam in a country made of limestone, a landscape of jagged green peaks, hidden valleys and rivers that vanish underground. The village sits on the Son River, in Quang Binh province, and the nearest big town is Dong Hoi, about forty kilometres to the east on the coast. Behind it, the mountains rise toward the Laotian border, and the whole region was declared a World Heritage Site in 2003 for its caves and karst.

   Read the complete Phong Nha write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Phong Nha is where the day begins. Next is Khe Sanh.

2. 2. Khe Sanh

   Khe Sanh is a name that carries weight: for eleven weeks in the spring of 1968, a US Marine combat base on this plateau was besieged by North Vietnamese forces in one of the most closely watched battles of the war, and the red-earth hills around the town still bear the scars. A small museum on the site of the old base displays aircraft, bunkers and artefacts, and the overgrown airstrip is still visible. The place is quiet now, a market town of the Hướng Hóa district in Quảng Trị province, and the war is remembered with solemnity rather than spectacle.

   Read the complete Khe Sanh write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Khe Sanh comes up about 187 km into the recorded legs. Next is A Luoi.

3. 3. A Lưới

   A Lưới lies in a long, narrow valley in the mountains of Thừa Thiên Huế province, close to the border with Laos, in country of steep forested ridges that catch the clouds. The valley is known by an older name, the A Shau, and it is remembered for the heavy fighting that took place here during the Vietnam War, when it served as a major corridor for the Ho Chi Minh trail. In May 1969, a battle for a hill nearby, known to American troops as Hamburger Hill, became a symbol of the war's costs. Today, A Lưới is a quiet district town with a market, fields of rice and a few memorial sites.

   Read the complete A Luoi write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 292 km into the recorded legs you reach A Luoi. Next is Kon Tum.

4. 4. Kon Tum

   Kon Tum is a small, quiet city in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, at about five hundred metres above sea level, where the Dak Bla River winds through a plateau of red earth, coffee, rubber and pepper. It is a place where the Vietnamese world meets the world of the highland peoples, the Bahnar, Sedang and Jarai among them, whose villages, longhouses and traditions still survive in the surrounding hills. The city is often overlooked in favour of busier places, which is part of its appeal.

   Read the complete Kon Tum write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kon Tum, late in the day. Next is Buon Ma Thuot.

5. 5. Buôn Ma Thuột

   Buôn Ma Thuột is the coffee capital of Vietnam, and you can smell it before you see it. The city sits on the red basalt plateau of the Central Highlands, at around five hundred metres, where volcanic soil and a distinct dry season suit robusta better than almost anywhere in the world. Vietnam is the second-largest coffee producer on earth, and this province, Đắk Lắk, grows a big share of it. In the cafés, the coffee comes in a small steel filter that drips slowly into a glass, thick, bitter and sweet with condensed milk. Order it, sit on a plastic stool, and let the street move around you.

   Read the complete Buon Ma Thuot write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Buon Ma Thuot. That is the ride.