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More tourists get lost on Lam Dong Mountain

Local authorities have reported that an increasing number of visitors have got lost while exploring Langbiang Mountain in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

More tourists get lost on Lam Dong Mountain - 1

Langbiang Mountain in Lam Dong Province.

Pham Xuan Nguyen from the Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park reported that they've had to conduct searches for up to 10 tourists who went missing while exploring Langbiang Mountain over the past three months.

"Most of them were visiting the mountain on their own, and they said they had not properly studied the weather and terrain before their trips," Nguyen said.

According to Nguyen, Langbiang usually sees sunny weather in the mornings and sudden rain in the afternoons between April and November. 

"Many visitors arrived at the mountain at noon and decided to start their tour when seeing the beautiful sunny weather," he explained. "However, they then got lost in the late afternoon when it suddenly became dark with dense mist and black clouds."

Nguyen said they've set up warning signs to alert visitors about the dangers and will co-operate with relevant agencies to ban tourists without professional guides from dangerous paths on the mountain.

Speaking to local media, the Director of Langbiang Tourist Site, Phan Duc Hung, said they have just suspended their walking tours to Langbiang due to landslides in some sections.

"Landslides have occurred on the mountain due to continuous rain recently," Hung said. "We'll only resume the tour when the weather improves and the landslide situation is addressed."

In the late afternoon of September 29, two tourists went missing on the mountain amid heavy rainfall and slippery terrain. Local police officers and rescuers located the duo, both from Ho Chi Minh City, after a three-hour search in a densely forested area. The tourists were then escorted back to safety.

More tourists get lost on Lam Dong Mountain - 2

Two tourists are found after going missing on Langbiang Mountain in September 2024.

Lang Biang is one of the highest mountains in Lam Dong Province (over 2000m above sea level). In 2015, UNESCO recognised it as a World Biosphere Reserve. The reserve includes a large primaeval forest area with the core area of Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, one of Vietnam's four biodiversity centres.