Pleiku is off most tourists' itineraries, and that's good news for those who love getting off the travel guidebook ant trail. Tucked deep into the Central Highlands, but at an elevation (780 meters) that doesn't make it particularly a mountain retreat from the heat of the lowlands - such as Dalat - Pleiku's biggest draws are its sheer remoteness and proximity to hilltribes that haven't yet commercialized themselves to Western tourism. Pleiku is the heart and soul of the Central Highlands, essentially untouristed save for the occasional backpacker and those seeking to explore virgin hilltribe villages and the lush scenery of the Truong Son Mountains.

Pleiku is for the adventurers, who want to see a part of Vietnam that hasn't sold out to brochures and tourist-luring gimmicks. Though this clean, uncluttered town of some 40,000 people is connected to Saigon by air (via Danang), you'd never know it, and once you get out of town, more than likely your accommodations will be a stilted longhouse, courtesy of the generosity (and curiosity) of a nearby extended ethnic minority family - which include the Jarai, Sedeng, Rengao and Bahnar groups.

There was an American military base here in the mid-1960s that came under a heavy Viet Cong attacks in February 1965. At the time, there were only about 25,000 U.S. military "advisers" in Vietnam, and the assaults on the Pleiku base were used as an excuse to escalate the presence of U.S. troops in Vietnam, which later in the year arrived in Danang en masse.

These days, there is little testament to the savage fighting seen here 35 years ago. Foreign tourists are, instead, treated to ethnic minority cultural shows and elephant rides in the nearby village of Nhon Hoa. And, frankly, the experience trekking through the jungle astride an elephant here is far more authentic and scenic than the elephant tours offered in Lak, about 50 km south of Buon Ma Thuot. As well, the Pleiku area isn't nearly as deforested as the ridgelines ringing Buon Ma Thuot. Though in the dry season - between November and May - the mountains can look pretty brown and thirsty, the region around Pleiku is heavily forested and possesses a lot of the wildlife that has been driven away (or simply killed and stuffed) by the encroachment of humans in places like Dalat and Buon Ma Thuot.

About 50 km north of Pleiku, Kontum is also populated mainly by Jarai, Sedeng, Rengao and Bahnar ethnic minority hilltribes. Even farther off the beaten track than Pleiku, Kontum attracts even fewer foreign guests and is generally a side or day trip from Pleiku. During the war, Kontum was virtually blasted off the map by continuous B-52 strikes and intense fighting between ARVN and NVA troops in 1972. Formerly, foreigners needed a permit to visit here, as much of the population on the area, hilltribe folks trained by the CIA and American military, still hadn't quite accepted Uncle Ho's hostile takeover of the South. But the area's not out of bounds these days, which allows visitors to Pleiku and Kontum to experience not only elephant treks in Nhon Hoa but the beautiful Gia Lai forest and mighty Yali waterfalls of Pleiku and the towering, 40-meter Jrai Li waterfalls 20 km southwest of Kontum.