Located on the Krong Ana river – about 30km to the southwest of Buon Me Thuot city, Dray Sap may be the most impressive waterfall in Central Highland. Dray Sap means “smoky falls” in Ede as the water fall from 10m height creating fogs like smoke.
Dray Sap is belong to a system of three waterfalls including the Dray Nur and the Gia Long. Dray Nur can be found at 100m from Dray Sap by crossing a wooden suspension bridge. Much farer, Gia Long falls situate in the upper area around 3km from the main one. High altitude operation with rushing water and powerful sounds are really impressive for the visitors. Fogs spray out, soaring along with the forest landscape created majestic scenery. The water of three falls are supplied by two rivers Krong No (husband river) and Krong Ana (wife river). They are both M’nong names.
Dray Sap’s legend is about a beautiful Ede girl named H’Mi. Many rich M’Nong and Ede men loved her and proposed to her but she denies them because she falls in love with a poor man from her village. H’Mi usually makes an appointment with her boyfriend to go to work together in the mountain fields. Once, when they sat side-by-side on a mountain rock, a bird-like beast appears and lands near them. The beast has a large trunk and its trunk drills down into the ground making water erupt into the air. It starts raining heavily and H’Mi changes into a cloud drifting in the sky while her boyfriend changes into an ancient tree. The ground that the beast bored, turns into Dray Sap Falls.
Nowadays, visitors can find a huge ancient tree beside a large rock upstream of the waterfall. The key waterfalls are all to the south of Buon Ma Thuot, and a visit makes for a good day trip. All of these waterfalls are much less impressive in the dry season. The pretty pictures you see of these falls were taken towards the end of the rainy season, and that’s the best time to go.