Ta Dung Lake

Ta Dung is a hydroelectric reservoir on the Dong Nai river in Dak Nong, filled from 2011, and what makes it photographed is what the water left standing: the tops of the drowned hills remain above the surface as a scatter of some forty islets, wooded, in an arrangement that gets it called a Ha Long of the highlands - a comparison that is about shape rather than geology, since these are hilltops rather than karst. It sits inside the Ta Dung national park and the Dak Nong geopark. Boats go out among the islets and viewpoints on the road above give the standard photograph, best with morning mist.

What you'll find

• About forty wooded islets - the tops of hills drowned in 2011.
• A hydro reservoir - filled on the Dong Nai river.
• Morning mist on the water - the standard photograph.
• Inside a national park and geopark - Ta Dung and Dak Nong.

When to go

November to April, at dawn for the mist. A full day.

Before you go

The lake is a reservoir and levels change, sometimes leaving mudbanks. Boat trips are informal and negotiated. Roads to the viewpoints are rough in places. Facilities are minimal.

Nearby

Gia Nghia is north-west; the Krong No caves are north.