A stretch of Vietnam's Central Highlands has turned into a ten-day stage for gong music, volcano views and yellow-blooming hillsides. The Gong Festival – Wild Sunflower Week – Chư Đăng Ya Volcano 2026 opened on October 30 in Ia Gri village, Biển Hồ Commune, in Gia Lai Province, and runs through November 8 across Pleiku Ward and surrounding areas.
The programme leans heavily on the region's ethnic minority heritage. Expect performances of gong music and traditional instruments, exchanges between artisan troupes, and a reenactment of a Jrai ceremony consecrating a newly built communal house — a rare look at a ritual most visitors would never otherwise see. There's also an OCOP market (Vietnam's 'One Commune One Product' scheme) selling local specialities and traditional food, plus sports competitions including the Gia Lai City Trail – Dream of the Great Forest running race.
The most practical news for travellers is the launch of a community-based tourism product in Ia Nueng village. Built with residents' input, it combines training in tourism services with preservation of Jrai traditions, so visitors can book experiences around daily village life, home cooking and traditional crafts rather than passing through as spectators.
Biển Hồ Commune has plenty to fill the rest of an itinerary: Biển Hồ (a scenic crater lake), the Chư Đăng Ya Volcano, green tea hills and old-growth pine stands. The timing is no accident — the festival overlaps with wild sunflower season, when the volcano's slopes turn bright yellow. Local Jrai culture, from gong ensembles to xoang dance and seasonal festivals, is the other big draw.
Gia Lai has bigger plans, too. The province is targeting 15 million visitors and VNĐ35 trillion (about US$1.36 billion) in tourism revenue in 2026, and wants to link highland, coastal and border destinations while courting international charter flights into Phù Cát Airport.
For travellers, this is a good moment to see a part of Vietnam that sits well off the backpacker trail. Come for the festival dates if you can; if not, the wild sunflower bloom and the cooler highland weather make late October and November a sweet spot anyway. The new Ia Nueng village experience is the kind of low-key, community-run option that suits anyone tired of coach-tour Vietnam.
