1. Where is Sacred Heart Cathedral?
Sacred Heart Cathedral is located at 02, Phan Chu Trinh Street, Thang Loi Ward, Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. It is about 900 m southwest of the city center and about 355 km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
2. How is Sacred Heart Cathedral unique?
Sacred Heart Cathedral is also famous as the cathedral of Buon Ma Thuot Diocese. This is the first missionary base in the vast Central Highlands. Moreover, it is located in a prime location, right in the center of Buon Ma Thuot city. The Sacred Heart Church is a symbol of the combination of traditional wooden house architecture of the Ede people and the influence of Catholicism. It creates a unique, warm and very characteristic space.
3. History of the formation of the Sacred Heart Cathedral
Initially, the Sacred Heart Cathedral was just a small chapel with a thatched roof and earthen walls. Later, when the Catholic community from Kon Tum settled in Buon Ma Thuot. People expanded and upgraded this chapel into a large church gradually.
- On March 30, 1937, Buon Ma Thuot Parish officially became a parish under the management of Father Peter Nguyen Dac Can.
- In September 1956, Father JB. Tran Thanh Ngoan started building a new church, the predecessor of today’s Sacred Heart Cathedral.
- In 1959, the church was inaugurated and became the Cathedral of Buon Ma Thuot, marking an important milestone in the development of this diocese.
Since then, the church has not only been a place to hold religious ceremonies but also a local cultural destination.
4. How to get to the Sacred Heart Cathedral?
Because the Sacred Heart Church is located right in the center of Buon Ma Thuot, you can easily get here by many different means.
4.1 By motorbike:
You should rent a motorbike in the city center or rent it right at the hotel (if available). The motorbike rental service in Buon Ma Thuot is not yet very popular, so it will be a bit difficult for you to find a place to rent a motorbike.
However, motorbikes are a suitable means of transport for those who want to be more proactive in terms of time. It is also convenient to stop to take pictures and admire the scenery along both sides of the road before stopping at the Sacred Heart Church to visit or attend mass.
4.2 By taxi:
In addition, if you want to be able to enjoy the scenery along the way and do not have to spend too much effort finding your way. Then the taxi promises to become the most ideal “companion”. The reputable taxi companies you can choose include Mai Linh taxi, Ban Me taxi, Ban Me Xanh taxi, Tay Nguyen taxi, Quyet Tien taxi or Dak Lak taxi.
4.3 By walking:
In addition, if you want to exercise and explore small alleys. Walking or cycling will not be a bad suggestion at all. However, if you want to walk or cycle, you must be in good health and fully equipped with sun protection items such as hats, jackets, sunglasses and sunscreen. You also can find location from here.
5. Admiring the unique architecture of the Sacred Heart Cathedral
This is a land with a diverse ethnic group living around the Truong Son – Tay Nguyen range. Therefore, you will not be too surprised when their architectural style also has some influence on the constructions here. And of course, the Sacred Heart Church is also one of them when using the traditional long wooden house design of the Ede people as a guideline when building.
With a length of 45m and a width of 12m, the Sacred Heart Cathedral was built on a plot of land with an area of 828 square meters. Currently, the Sacred Heart Church is one of the few churches in the Buon Ma Thuot area with a capacity of up to 1,200 seats for parishioners. With the use of wood as the main building material, the Sacred Heart Church brings a feeling of simplicity, warmth and familiarity to those who have the opportunity to visit.
6. Experience attending mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral
An experience not to be missed when visiting the Sacred Heart Cathedral is attending mass here. Held on Sundays and major holidays, mass at the church not only brings a sacred atmosphere. But also helps you understand more about the religious life of the Central Highlands people.
In addition, the masses here are not complicated, but are imbued with community and respect. You will be immersed in the solemn space and listen to inspirational sermons from the priests.
7. Enjoying Buon Ma Thuot specialties when visiting the Sacred Heart Cathedral
7.1 Red vermicelli
Red vermicelli is a specialty of the highland city of Buon Ma Thuot. The name of the dish comes from a bowl of vermicelli with the characteristic red color of the broth. The dish is a combination of many ingredients such as: crab roe, quail eggs, vegetables, …
7.2 Bun gio chia
Bun gio chia or bun chia has a broth quite similar to Hue beef vermicelli. The biggest difference is in the ingredients. Instead of using beef, the people of this highland region use the meat from the hind leg of the pig. The selected meat is brought home, washed, then simmered until tender in a pot of broth, then taken out to cool.
In particular, every time a customer orders a dish, the owner takes each piece of pork leg and drops it into the hot broth. Then, they put it in a bowl of vermicelli with a little shrimp paste, finally add green onions, onions and pour hot broth into the bowl.
7.3 Tamarind beef dipping
Tamarind beef dipping with sweet and sour taste, served with bread, watercress and salad is also a famous delicious dish. They sliced beef thinly, just enough to eat, then dipped in boiling tamarind sauce. This dish is unique because of the sour and sweet taste of tamarind, so it is difficult to get bored. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to come here, try this dish.
7.4 Bamboo rice – sa lua chicken
Bamboo rice and sa lua chicken are two famous dishes of the ethnic people in Ban Don. Coming here, you can enjoy this dish in restaurants in Buon Ma Thuot.
7.5 Forest vegetable soup
Ede people’s leaf soup is also famous as leaf hotpot. They made this dish from 10 different types of forest leaves. When eaten, it has a bitter and spicy taste that is very unique. You can find this dish in specialty restaurants in Buon Ma Thuot.
7.6 Sour Catfish Soup
Sour Catfish Soup or Catfish Hotpot. This is a specialty fish dish of the majestic Serepork River that you can hardly miss when traveling to Buon Ma Thuot. People stewed the hotpot broth with fish, tomatoes, crushed lemongrass, pickled bamboo shoots, etc.
The delicious and sweet hotpot broth has a little sour taste from tomatoes and pickled bamboo shoots, the fish meat is fragrant and firm. Hotpot is often eaten with hotpot vegetables and fresh vermicelli. Moreover, this is a delicious dish and has a very good cooling effect on sunny days. In addition, they used catfish to braise in a clay pot, cook catfish soup.
8. Accommodation when visiting Sacred Heart Cathedral
When traveling to this unique church, you can refer to some of the following accommodations:
- Queeny’s Farmstay. Address: 442/139 Y Moan Enuol, Cu E Bur, Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak.
- Com Homestay. Address: Dang Tat, Ea Tu, Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak.
- K’pan House homestay. Address: 56/2/8 Nguyen Thi Dinh, Cu E Bur, Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak.
- Lee’s house Buon Ma Thuot. Address: Cu E Bur, Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak.
- SOJO Hotel Dak Lak. Address: No. 15 Hung Vuong, Tu An, Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak.
- Bazan Xanh Hotel. Address: No. 5 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Tan Loi, Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak.
- Muong Thanh Luxury Buon Ma Thuot Hotel. Address: 81 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Tan An, Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak.
- Dakruco Hotels. Address: 30 Nguyen Chi Thanh, Tan Lap, Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak.
As one of the top photography destinations in Buon Ma Thuot. Sacred Heart Cathedral attracts the attention of many tourists with its very special traditional long wooden house architecture. Please contact Origin Vietnam – a professional tour operator. If you have the opportunity to return to the great Central Highlands, you must definitely visit this beautiful church once.
