North of Kon Tum, Route 14 follows the old Ho Chi Minh Trail which snakes north through Kon Tum, Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue provinces, all the while running parallel to the Lao/Vietnamese frontier — sometimes little more than a kilometre away behind a rise to the west. This remote, little-visited region can be a highlight of an excursion through Vietnam, and while many of those who do experience it do so with the Easy Riders, it’s even better if you’ve got your own wheels.

Commencing from Kon Tum, Route 14 runs through Dak To, Ngoc Hoi, Dak Glei and Phuoc Son from where you can take a right turn on 14E and cruise downhill through Hiep Duc till you reach Highway 1 at the town of Thanh Binh midway between Tam Ky and Hoi An. From Phuoc Son you can also continue north, through Nam Giang, Prao and A Luoi before finally reaching Route 9 and the DMZ just to the east of Khe Sanh.

This section covers the Kon Tum to Hiep Duc route via Phuoc Son. We’ll add the more northern stretch as soon as we ride it!

Dak To
Dak To is sometimes visited on a day-trip from Kon Tum, but even the tour organisers admit it’s not really worth the effort. There’s a war memorial, with two salvaged tanks — one Russian, one Chinese — which were used by the Viet Cong towards the end of the American war. Just outside town are the remains of an American-built airstrip along with some bombed-out foxholes. These are worth taking a look if you are passing through.

As Dak To lies just 40km north of Kon Tum and 20 km south of Ngoc Hoi (Plei Kan) you don’t really need to spend a night here — unless you want to.

Ngoc Hoi (Plei Kan)
Ngoc Hoi is on a spot along the Ho Chi Minh Trail (Route 14) where it does a hairpin turn just 14 km from the Lao border of Bo Y. You’ll most likely find yourself bedding down in Ngoc Hoi if you’ve decided to take a walk on the wild side and use the Bo Y border to cross between Attapeu in Laos and Kon Tum in Vietnam. It’s also a possible rest stop when touring the Central Highlands independently. While Ngoc Hoi is surrounded by rolling, green countryside, the town itself is unremarkable. Locals refer to this place as Ngoc Hoi, but it’s Plei Kan on the maps and some road signs.