Located not far from the bustling town of the highlands, Ako Dhong village still retains its ancient appearance and the thousand-year-old traditional culture of the Ede people in this land of Buon Ma Thuot.
Traveling to Dak Lak’s capital Buon Ma Thuot, you will have a lot of choices about destinations. If you want to discover a proper traditional space of the Ede people, then come to Ako Dhong village, also known as Co village. Village. This village is one of the attractive destinations for you to explore the “village within the city” space with many exciting things waiting for you.
The VIllage Overview
Buon Ako Dhong is located right near the center of Buon Ma Thuot city, so visitors can find and visit very quickly. This beautiful village is at Tran Nhat Duat street, just 20km from the center and north. Visitors can easily reach Ako Dhong village by many different means. Especially for tourists staying in the central area, they can rent a motorbike to visit this beautiful village directly, and at the same time can conveniently visit other destinations of the city actively.
In the Ede language, Ako Dhong means valley upstream of the stream, “Ako” means headwater, and “Dhong” means valley. This name also means prosperous village or tile house. Kinh people often call Ako Dhong to Buon Co Thon citadel for easy calling. The village’s name also comes from the fact that this place is the starting point of many streams such as Ea Ding, Ea Pii, Thun M’nung Ea Giang, Ea Dung, and the most significant stream in Buon Ma Thuot is Ea Nuol stream.
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What’s so attractive about Ako Dhong Village?
Traveling in Ako Dhong, visitors will see the image of an ancient Ede village with longhouses with unique architecture. Walking around the town, visitors will have the opportunity to take a closer look at the beautiful and peaceful scenery. The people in the village are also very friendly, ready to become a home guide to help visitors discover more about the house architecture, lifestyle, and cultural beauty of their ethnic people.
Ako Dhong Village has more than 30 typical longhouses. These houses are shaped like a big boat. The main door will be on the left side of the house, the windows open to the side, the wooden ceiling looks like the roof of a boat. An extended home of the Ede will have two parts, including the front half, “Gah”, which is the place for the host to welcome guests and the common living space of the family. The second half is “Ok” which is the private space of family members and the kitchen.
Prominent in this village is the old Ama H’Rin, who once led the villages to clear the flower forest and founded the famous Ako Dhong village. The village elder’s house is considered the soul of the village, and when looking at the village, people will also remember the legendary chief of the village.
Following the gentle slopes leading to the end of the village, visitors will be walking under the rows of green trees. The slope’s end is a large lake with clear water and a wooden bridge spanning the cool thatched huts. On the side of the lake, willow trees are falling into the water, and the small roads around the lake have the vibrant colors of tortoise trees, creating a beautiful space.
In the space of Ako Dhong, visitors will encounter a cafe with a rustic appearance full of poetic birdsong, a great place to stop for visitors to enjoy the most peaceful moments.
Traveling to Dak Lak and coming to Ako Dhong village, visitors certainly cannot ignore the gong music festivals of the people here. The gong for the Ede people is a sacred treasure and one of the unique cultural and spiritual symbols. The gongs in Ako Dhong village are placed in the most solemn place of the main longhouse.
Currently, Ako Dhong village also has stalls selling unique ethnic brocades to serve the needs of tourists near and far. Visitors, in addition to visiting and shopping, can also experience the exceptional brocade weaving.
Returning to Buon Ma Thuot, visitors will be able to return to a vast sky of red basalt soil and be immersed in the unique cultural space of this land and Ako Dhong with traditional longhouses, tops, and mountains. The flickering fire or the wine jar of the people will be one of the great destinations for visitors’ journey. No need to go to the remote villages in the middle of the forest, but right in the heart of Buon Ma Thuot, you can still discover the culture of the Central Highlands echoing the epic of a thousand years.
