Amidst the immense mountains and forests of Lam Dong province, suddenly emerges a beautiful town which many visitors have likened to a Western city. A tourist, after a week's rest at Dalat, said that his health had improved visibly. Before leaving the city, he said: "In a near future Dalat will be a Switzerland in South-East Asia". This remark comes from the fact that Dalat captivates all those who have been there once.
Nestled on an elevation of around 1500m above sea level among the pitching hills of the Langbian Plateau, the city of Dalat is Vietnam's premier hilly destination with beguiling streets, picturesque churches, bounteous vegetable gardens and splashing waterfalls, all suffused with the intoxicating scents of pine trees and wood-smoke .The city's more fanciful historians swear its name is an acronym of the Latin, "dat aliis laetitium aliis temperiem", (offering pleasure to one and freshness to another), though a far likelier derivation renders it as the stream ("da") of a local hill-tribe, the Lat.
With a population of 135,000, Dalat is like a small European town with fresh air and a cool climate - the annual average temperature is about 18oC. The city is decorated with a wide variety of flowers. Beautiful flowers such as rhododendron, cherry, mimosa, hydrangea, rose, daisy, and dahlia are all grown here. Dalat offers a harmonious combination of natural scenery and historical sites. So far the city has been considered as one of the leading tourist centers of the country. Dalat is also well-known as an "academic city" with several academic centers such as the University of Dalat, the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, the Military Academy, the Teacher Training College, and the Vaccine Institute.
With a population of 135,000, Dalat is like a small European town with fresh air and a cool climate - the annual average temperature is about 18oC. The city is decorated with a wide variety of flowers. Beautiful flowers such as rhododendron, cherry, mimosa, hydrangea, rose, daisy, and dahlia are all grown here. Dalat offers a harmonious combination of natural scenery and historical sites. So far the city has been considered as one of the leading tourist centers of the country. Dalat is also well-known as an "academic city" with several academic centers such as the University of Dalat, the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, the Military Academy, the Teacher Training College, and the Vaccine Institute.
With such unique characteristics, Dalat is a prosperous center of cultures, tourism, and subtropical agriculture of Central Vietnam and particularly the West Highlands area, Thousands of visitors come to Dalat to enjoy their holidays or their honeymoons every year. In addition, Dalat is only 300 kilometers north of Ho Chi Minh City and 200 km from NhaTrang (a coastal city). So visitors can travel to Dalat by car or by plane.
The city still retains its old horse Carts, with their hoops clattering on the roads, evoking the famous symphony "Persian Market". Sitting on a horse cart at Dalat, tourists do not have to pull down the hood as in cold countries, and can have a panoramic view of the surrounding landscapes.
Dalat is renowned as a city of pine-trees, waterfalls and flowers. Flowers of all colors, with many species, the most numerous of which are orchids. More than elsewhere in Vietnam, Dalat sees flowers vie with one another in blossoming in spring. It has many precious species of orchids including 71 species of dendrobium, 33 species of habenaria, 31 species of pria, 22 species of liparis, 19 species of bulbophyllum, 12 species of cymbidium, 10 species of vanda, etc.
Dalat abounds not only in wild orchids but also in land orchids (dialan), that is the kind grown in earthen vases.
Dalat has few rivers and canals but many picturesque waterfalls. It takes tourists several days to visit all the waterfalls in the area. The famous Cam Ly Falls, only 2 km from the heart of the city as the crow flies, is high on the tour programs.
The Prenn Falls, also called Thien Sa. 13 km south of Dalat, is a pride of its people, who always advertise it to
tourists in the first place. The falls are the first place to be seen by tourists, the first rendezvous between them and Dalat
Standing before the Prenn Falls, man blends with Nature, and feels free from the earthly world. The water pours down from a height of 15 m (49 ft) like a white curtain hiding a frog-mouth- shaped cave inside which tourists will cross a small bridge and sneak behind the falls. Around the Prenn Falls are the Thousand Flowers Valley and green pine hills.
The Ankroret Falls (also called Golden Stream Falls) is very beautiful in the sunny season, as its water falls on a bed of granite, attracting flights of butterflies.
The Da Tanla Falls, about 6 km south of the city , cascades on two tiers of tone hemmed in by high rocky walls, creating a wild beauty.
The Lien Khuong Falls, 30 km from Dalat, is a big cascade whose noise blends with the chirping of wild birds. l
The Gougah Falls, commonly called O Gad (pot-hole} Falls, 38 km from the heart of the city, pours its water from a height of 20 m (65 ft). Its silvery water, reverberating the sun, creates many bright colors, with the hues and tints of a rainbow.
The Pongour Falls, like as mystic picture, lies deep in a thick forest, 50 km from the heart of Dalat. It evokes primeval forests. with the footprints of wild beasts that prowl and play there at night. Its water, falling from a height of 30 m (98 ft), makes it one of the most picturesque waterfalls in Indochina. In the rainy season tourists can hear it even from a distance of 3 km (1.86 mi).
If tourists choose one of the most picturesque falls to see in the morning, they should reserve the late afternoon for a visit to the Love Valley and the Than Tho (Whispers) Lake, both of which are covered with dense pine forests.
More than in other cities of Vietnam, roads and streets in Dalat are rendezvous of lovers. Not only in the late afternoon, but even at noon, the mist, like a thin cloud, hovers over the roads and streets. making them look more eerie.
Taking the national culture as the background and assimilating the world culture, the tourist service of Dalat is striving to develop an elegant style-allying the antique and the moderm receiving tourists. It is restoring its infrastructure, its existing hotels and restaurants, boldly transforming and upgrading them to keep pace with the advance of the modern world.
In Dalat, on fine days, tourists can get up early in the morning to welcome dawn on the highlands. Opening their windows, they will have a breath-taking view of nature, and inhale the fragrance of wild flowers wafted by the clouds which fly in as lightly as silk yams.
Twilight on Dalat also brings many pictures and sensations. The silhouettes of mountains are dimmed while the fragrance of night rises up. It is the time of lovers. As a poet says. Dalat is a "city of honey- moons", a "city of love". The clouds, skimming the ground, reveal off and on couples of young lovers strolling on the roads, clasping each other.
In Dalat tourists can see many couples of young lovers walking under the light drizzle, holding umbrellas of different colors.
In the morning, the Dalat market -a harmonious architectural work -gathers people of all ethnic origin, wearing
multicolor traditional costumes, and coming from surrounding villages. Dalat abounds in fresh vegetables and fruits, which are piled up like mountains. One of the most appreciated of them are avocadoes which are rich in lipids, and strawberries which are much bigger and more fragrant than mulberries. Vegetables and fruits are daily sent by truck- loads from Dalat to Saigon. They are also exported to many countries.
At the Dalat market, tourists can see and buy a wide range of art and craft articles made by the skilful hands of people who have come here from various parts of the country .These include fur clothes and hats, rattan boxes, handbags made of "ivory bamboo" tapes, pressed flowers, wooden logs for grafting orchid flowers, and especially engravings on pine wood with a "fire-pen" devised by a family still reserves the copyright.
In Dalat, tourists can visit villages and hamlets inhabited by ethnic minorities such as the Mnong, Koho, Ma, etc. who live on hillside farming, hunting, gardening, coffee, tea and tobacco planting... They will keep unforgettable memories of the customs and ways and especially the village festivals of this Central Highlands area.
Many tourists have written their Vietnamese friends, saying that they still feel lovesick of Dalat... Dalat, with the wind rustling through the pine leaves, the roar of waterfalls, the chirping of birds, the clatter of horse hoofs, the pure and wholesome atmosphere... How they miss this mountain resort..
Dalat is renowned as a city of pine-trees, waterfalls and flowers. Flowers of all colors, with many species, the most numerous of which are orchids. More than elsewhere in Vietnam, Dalat sees flowers vie with one another in blossoming in spring. It has many precious species of orchids including 71 species of dendrobium, 33 species of habenaria, 31 species of pria, 22 species of liparis, 19 species of bulbophyllum, 12 species of cymbidium, 10 species of vanda, etc.
Dalat abounds not only in wild orchids but also in land orchids (dialan), that is the kind grown in earthen vases.
Dalat has few rivers and canals but many picturesque waterfalls. It takes tourists several days to visit all the waterfalls in the area. The famous Cam Ly Falls, only 2 km from the heart of the city as the crow flies, is high on the tour programs.
The Prenn Falls, also called Thien Sa. 13 km south of Dalat, is a pride of its people, who always advertise it to
tourists in the first place. The falls are the first place to be seen by tourists, the first rendezvous between them and Dalat
Standing before the Prenn Falls, man blends with Nature, and feels free from the earthly world. The water pours down from a height of 15 m (49 ft) like a white curtain hiding a frog-mouth- shaped cave inside which tourists will cross a small bridge and sneak behind the falls. Around the Prenn Falls are the Thousand Flowers Valley and green pine hills.
The Ankroret Falls (also called Golden Stream Falls) is very beautiful in the sunny season, as its water falls on a bed of granite, attracting flights of butterflies.
The Da Tanla Falls, about 6 km south of the city , cascades on two tiers of tone hemmed in by high rocky walls, creating a wild beauty.
The Lien Khuong Falls, 30 km from Dalat, is a big cascade whose noise blends with the chirping of wild birds. l
The Gougah Falls, commonly called O Gad (pot-hole} Falls, 38 km from the heart of the city, pours its water from a height of 20 m (65 ft). Its silvery water, reverberating the sun, creates many bright colors, with the hues and tints of a rainbow.
The Pongour Falls, like as mystic picture, lies deep in a thick forest, 50 km from the heart of Dalat. It evokes primeval forests. with the footprints of wild beasts that prowl and play there at night. Its water, falling from a height of 30 m (98 ft), makes it one of the most picturesque waterfalls in Indochina. In the rainy season tourists can hear it even from a distance of 3 km (1.86 mi).
If tourists choose one of the most picturesque falls to see in the morning, they should reserve the late afternoon for a visit to the Love Valley and the Than Tho (Whispers) Lake, both of which are covered with dense pine forests.
More than in other cities of Vietnam, roads and streets in Dalat are rendezvous of lovers. Not only in the late afternoon, but even at noon, the mist, like a thin cloud, hovers over the roads and streets. making them look more eerie.
Taking the national culture as the background and assimilating the world culture, the tourist service of Dalat is striving to develop an elegant style-allying the antique and the moderm receiving tourists. It is restoring its infrastructure, its existing hotels and restaurants, boldly transforming and upgrading them to keep pace with the advance of the modern world.
In Dalat, on fine days, tourists can get up early in the morning to welcome dawn on the highlands. Opening their windows, they will have a breath-taking view of nature, and inhale the fragrance of wild flowers wafted by the clouds which fly in as lightly as silk yams.
Twilight on Dalat also brings many pictures and sensations. The silhouettes of mountains are dimmed while the fragrance of night rises up. It is the time of lovers. As a poet says. Dalat is a "city of honey- moons", a "city of love". The clouds, skimming the ground, reveal off and on couples of young lovers strolling on the roads, clasping each other.
In Dalat tourists can see many couples of young lovers walking under the light drizzle, holding umbrellas of different colors.
In the morning, the Dalat market -a harmonious architectural work -gathers people of all ethnic origin, wearing
multicolor traditional costumes, and coming from surrounding villages. Dalat abounds in fresh vegetables and fruits, which are piled up like mountains. One of the most appreciated of them are avocadoes which are rich in lipids, and strawberries which are much bigger and more fragrant than mulberries. Vegetables and fruits are daily sent by truck- loads from Dalat to Saigon. They are also exported to many countries.
At the Dalat market, tourists can see and buy a wide range of art and craft articles made by the skilful hands of people who have come here from various parts of the country .These include fur clothes and hats, rattan boxes, handbags made of "ivory bamboo" tapes, pressed flowers, wooden logs for grafting orchid flowers, and especially engravings on pine wood with a "fire-pen" devised by a family still reserves the copyright.
In Dalat, tourists can visit villages and hamlets inhabited by ethnic minorities such as the Mnong, Koho, Ma, etc. who live on hillside farming, hunting, gardening, coffee, tea and tobacco planting... They will keep unforgettable memories of the customs and ways and especially the village festivals of this Central Highlands area.
Many tourists have written their Vietnamese friends, saying that they still feel lovesick of Dalat... Dalat, with the wind rustling through the pine leaves, the roar of waterfalls, the chirping of birds, the clatter of horse hoofs, the pure and wholesome atmosphere... How they miss this mountain resort..
