Discover the beauty of Chu Dang Ya Volcano through Wild Sunflower Week 2024

Chu Dang Ya is most beautiful during wild sunflower season. (Photo: Hong Hanh/Vietnam+) — Chu Dang Ya is most beautiful during wild sunflower season.

The 2024 Wild Sunflower-Chu Dang Ya Volcano Week is a provincial-level event, scheduled to take place from November 6 to 12, 2024 in the communal house yard of Ia Gri village and the volcano area of Chu Dang Ya commune (Chu Pah district, Gia Lai province).

On the afternoon of September 24, 2025, at a meeting with leaders of Chu Pah District People's Committee and related departments, branches, units and localities on the plan to organize the Wild Sunflower - Chu Dang Ya Volcano Week in 2024, Vice Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich said that the Week aims to introduce and promote scenic spots, cultural and historical destinations to tourists, thereby calling for investment and gradually developing tourism types.

Within the framework of the Week, there are 11 main activities including cultural activities such as gong performances, xoang dance, weaving, statue carving, musical instrument making; introducing brocade costumes, cultural artifacts, traditional handicrafts, local specialties; recreating the New Rice Celebration ceremony of the Jrai people; rice pounding performances.

Besides, there are sports competitions such as pole pushing, stilt running, tug of war, sack jumping...; organizing folk games for tourists to experience; displaying photographic works about the culture and tourism development potential of the province.

The program also includes a competition to conquer the peak of Chu Dang Ya Volcano; a competition on traditional weaving and brocade weaving.

In particular, the Wild Sunflower Week - Chu Dang Ya Volcano in 2024 is expected to include hot air balloon releases; creating opportunities for visitors to directly experience hot air balloons, see the entire Chu Nam mountain peak, Chu Dang Ya volcano and the scenery of Pleiku city.

On this occasion, the 2024 half marathon "Awakening the Chu Pah countryside - Journey connecting Mountains and Flowers" will take place with the competition categories of 21km, 10km, 5km and 2km on a mixed running track, combining street running (road) and trails, steep hills (trail).

Located about 30km northeast of Pleiku City center, Chu Dang Ya volcano belongs to Ploi Lagri village, Chu Dang Ya commune, Chu Pah district (Gia Lai) with an altitude of about 975m above sea level.

According to archaeologists, Chu Dang Ya is a volcanic crater formed by lava flows that erupted millions of years ago.

In the language of the J'rai people, Chu Dang Ya means "wild ginger". Legend has it that there was once an old woman who lived at the foot of the mountain. One day, she had a stomachache and was treated by a local herbalist but the illness did not go away. In her desperate pain, she tried her best to climb the mountain near her home, hoping to find something that could help her.

At the top of the mountain, she saw a patch of ginger growing naturally and thought it was a gift from Heaven, so she dug it up and ate it. Immediately after, she felt much better. She took some more ginger home to eat and her illness was completely gone.

Her story spread around the area and from then on the Jrai people here called that mountain Chu Dang Ya.

The beauty of Chu Dang Ya has the simplicity of the windy Central Highlands, wild and rustic but extremely charming.

In 2018, the Daily Mail (UK) magazine listed Chu Dang Ya volcano as a very worth-visiting destination, even though it is an inactive volcano that has been cold for millions of years. According to the Daily Mail, this is a place that fascinates adventure travelers because of its natural landscape and unique indigenous culture.

In 2020, Chu Dang Ya Volcano was in the top 50 most beautiful landscape photos in the world at the Landscape photography contest organized by Agora.

Chu Dang Ya volcano has been inactive for millions of years, and the remaining lava remains have made this land extremely fertile. The local people have taken advantage of the fertile soil to grow many agricultural products such as cassava, corn, squash and sweet potatoes. This farming activity has also given Chu Dang Ya a very impressive beauty.

Seen from above, Chu Dang Ya volcano has a large funnel shape, with diverse natural scenery. Surrounding the volcano are ancient trees, shrubs and lush crop fields.

People often say that Chu Dang Ya is like a mountain girl who loves to beautify herself. In each season, this mountain has its own beauty that makes anyone who sets foot here feel excited and not want to leave.

When the bright red color of the arrowroot flowers blooms, it also signals the arrival of the rainy season. At this time, the trees are lush green, and the scenery in Chu Dang Ya is full of life.

In the dry season, Chu Dang Ya has a wild beauty, with bare tree branches, withered by the changing of leaves.

Chu Dang Ya is most beautiful during the wild sunflower season, when the mountain is covered in brilliant yellow from the hillsides to the crater. The scenery of Chu Dang Ya at this time becomes more splendid and impressive than at other times of the year.

From the Chu Dang Ya volcano dome, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of Pleiku mountain town, the famous Bien Ho landscape; at the same time, admire the scenery and take pictures of the charming wild sunflowers blooming around the crater and at the foot of the mountain.

Chu Dang Ya volcano is truly a paradise for those who love the wild and charming beauty of the Central Highlands. Because of its wildness, Chu Dang Ya has become a very famous tourist destination, captivating travel enthusiasts from near and far.

Coming here, visitors will feel extremely comfortable and peaceful. All the fatigue and worries of life seem to be forgotten when we are immersed in the immense space of the great forest. The lingering feeling will be relaxation and tranquility, where there are only grass, trees, flowers under each step.

TH (according to VNA)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/kham-pha-ve-dep-nui-lua-chu-dang-ya-qua-tuan-le-hoa-da-quy-nam-2024-394037.html