The Durian Festival that opened on August 15 in Dak Lak Province, in Vietnam's Central Highlands, has set a Guinness World Record with a parade of 500 pickup trucks carrying 1,000 tons of durian. The festival runs through September 2, so anyone traveling to Vietnam in late August or early September will catch this rare chance to feel the growing region's energy firsthand. For durian lovers, it's a chance to be \"surrounded by mountains of fruit\" \u2014 a very different experience from picking one at a time off a shop shelf.<\/p>\n
The record is for \"the largest parade of pickup trucks loaded with durian.\" The 500-vehicle convoy passed along Tran Phu and Le Duan streets, entered National Highway 26, and headed to Buon Ma Thuot, the Central Highlands' hub city, completing about 40km that included Vo Nguyen Giap Street. The following day, August 16, Guinness World Records adjudicator Son Minh Nguyen confirmed the record on site and presented the certificate. The figure of 1,000 tons is also a way of showing off just how much harvest the region can move at once.<\/p>\n
The 2026 Dak Lak Durian Festival is the province's first, running for about two and a half weeks from August 15 to September 2. The organizing committee expects around 300,000 visitors, and this is peak harvest season in Dak Lak, when fruit piles up even along the roadsides. The Mekong Delta has long been known as Vietnam's durian-growing region, but the Central Highlands' Dak Lak is expanding its output too, and this festival is a chance for it to assert its presence. The back half of the festival is easy to fit into a travel schedule, since September 2 is a holiday marking Vietnam's National Day, a time when domestic tourists are also on the move.<\/p>\n
Durian is a fruit that's hard to bring fresh into Japan, so eating it locally is really the only option. Timing your visit with the festival in the growing region lets you pick fully ripe fruit that hasn't traveled, at prices more affordable than in the cities. Even if you miss the truck parade, the two-and-a-half-week run means travelers whose stay just happens to overlap with the festival can still easily drop by.<\/p>\n
The fruit itself is still the main attraction of the festival. With tastings across different varieties and processed goods for sale, it's worth trying several varieties at the venue before deciding how much to buy. If you want to know about all-you-can-eat durian experiences first, seeour piece on the 20-variety durian buffet held in Can Tho<\/a>\u2014 comparing the two makes the difference in character between the Central Highlands and southern growing regions clear. If you get tired of plain fruit at the venue, some Dak Lak chefs are alsotrying a new way of eating it, grilling seafood with durian<\/a>, and the surprise of a sweet fruit turning into a savory dish makes for good conversation on the trip.<\/p>\n Buon Ma Thuot, also the parade's endpoint, serves as the gateway to Dak Lak. The city has its own airport, and flying in on a domestic route from Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi is the realistic option. Amid a Vietnam travel scene dominated by coastal resorts, this elevated highland city has dry, comfortable air and is easy to walk around even at the height of summer. Rather than making the trip just for the festival, it's worth pairing it withBuon Ma Thuot's coffee scene<\/a>as the centerpiece of a trip of at least two days and one night \u2014 that way you can also visit roasteries and farms in the Robusta-growing region. Durian and coffee are both signature agricultural products of Dak Lak, making it easy to build a single trip around tasting the difference at the source. Hotels in the city fill up fast on weekends during the festival, so if your dates are set, it's safer to book early.<\/p>\n Travelers should also know upfront that durian comes with restrictions on where you can bring it. Because of its strong smell, it's often banned from hotel rooms, airplane cabins, and many taxis. If you buy some at the venue, choosing an amount you can finish on the spot will save you trouble with luggage and transport.<\/p>\n The 500-truck, 1,000-ton parade was a one-time record-setting event, but the festival itself runs through September 2. Even if you miss the truck convoy, comparing durian varieties in Dak Lak at peak harvest and pairing it with Buon Ma Thuot's coffee scene makes for a trip that captures the Central Highlands' identity as a growing region. If you don't mind the smell of durian, Dak Lak at this time of year is a destination worth adding to your itinerary.<\/p>\nBase Yourself in Buon Ma Thuot and Pair It With the Coffee Town<\/h2>\n
Practical information to nail down before you go<\/h3>\n
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Time It Before September 2 to Catch the Growing Region at Its Peak<\/h2>\n
Sources<\/h3>\n