On the morning of May 1, at the Buon Don District Festival Center (Dak Lak Province), the People's Committee of Buon Don District coordinated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dak Lak Province to organize the opening ceremony of the Dak Lak Hot Air Balloon Festival 2025 - Flying over the great forest.

Opening the festival, Chairman of the People's Committee of Buon Don district Pham Trung Nghia said that Buon Don is a land rich in historical and cultural traditions and has long been home to ethnic minority communities. Buon Don is also known as the cradle of hunting and taming wild elephants, with vast primeval forests, poetic rivers and rich cultural identity.

The Hot Air Balloon Festival taking place from May 1-3, 2025 is a special cultural, sports and tourism event, an opportunity to promote and introduce the natural beauty and unique traditional cultural values ​​of Buon Don to tourists; at the same time, creating a joyful and exciting atmosphere, contributing to improving the spiritual life of the people during the holidays.

The Hot Air Balloon Festival is also an opportunity to enhance exchanges, cooperation and connections with localities, organizations and businesses in the fields of tourism, culture and sports; thereby contributing to promoting the socio-economic development of the district.

"The festival promises to bring visitors unforgettable experiences when they can see the whole view of Buon Don from above, admire the majestic beauty of Yok Don National Forest, the poetic Serepok River and the traditional villages of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands," Mr. Pham Trung Nghia emphasized.

The festival takes place with many activities such as free-flying and hanging hot air balloon performances; experiential activities for tourists; cultural exchanges, traditional arts; food stalls and local specialties...

Flight times are from 7:30-10:30 and from 15:30-18:30, flight duration is 5-10 minutes. The festival organizers prepare many different types of tickets to meet the needs of visitors such as standard flight tickets, sunset tickets, priority tickets, private sunrise flight tickets.

Many tourists who experience hot air ballooning for the first time and see the great forest from above are very excited and delighted.

Ms. Pham Thuy Trang, from Buon Ma Thuot city, said that this was the first time she experienced this new type of tourism, feeling safe and very excited. Watching the clouds and the scenery from above, Ms. Trang felt proud because her hometown is so beautiful. Not only her, her two children also enjoyed experiencing this type of tourism.

Sharing the same excitement as Ms. Trang, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hieu, Tan Hoa Commune, Buon Don District, said that the Hot Air Balloon Festival brings new vitality to Dak Lak tourism in addition to the familiar tourism products. This is the first time he and his 9-year-old daughter have experienced flying on a hot air balloon, both nervous and excited.

Mr. Hieu, like many tourists, hopes that Dak Lak province in general and Buon Don district in particular will have many new and unique types of experiential tourism to serve the people and tourists.

The Hot Air Balloon Festival is not only a special entertainment event, but also a golden opportunity to "awaken" the tourism potential of Dak Lak.

Dak Lak possesses priceless natural and cultural treasures, such as legendary Buon Don, poetic Lak Lake, majestic Dray Nur waterfall, immense Yok Don National Park - "gems" waiting to be discovered and shine./.