Chu Dang Ya

Chu Dang Ya is an extinct volcanic cone near Pleiku whose basalt soil is farmed intensively - sweet potato, taro, pumpkin and maize planted in bands right up the slopes and into the crater bowl itself, so the whole cone reads as a pattern of cultivation rather than a wild hill. Its season is November, when da quy, the wild sunflower that grows along the roadsides of the central highlands, flowers yellow across the slopes and the province holds a festival on the cone. Outside that month it is a farmed hill with a good view over the Gia Lai plateau from the rim.

What you actually see

• A cone farmed to the crater - crops planted in bands up the slopes.
• Basalt soil - the reason the farming works.
• Wild sunflowers in November - yellow across the slopes.
• A view over the plateau - from the rim.

When to go

November for the sunflowers and the festival; December to April otherwise. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Outside November there is much less to see. The climb is short but steep and dusty. These are working fields and walking through the crops is not welcome. Facilities are none.

Nearby

Bien Ho lake is south towards Pleiku; the Sea Lake tea hills are close.