Located in the Central Highland, Da Lat lies in the temperate region with lakes, mountains, forests, waterfalls and gardens. Like a gemstone of Lam Dong province, this beautiful city is located on Lam Vien plateau of the central Highland in Vietnam. Dalat city is 1,481 km away from Hanoi city and 293 km from Ho Chi Minh city, 205 km from Nha Trang city.
Da Lat has been a home to various Montagnard groups for centuries. The first person to claim that they had discovered the site of Da Lat was Dr. Alexandre Yersin, ( a protege of Louise Pasteur – the first person to identify the plague bacillus), on June 21st in 1893 when he set his feet on the Langbiang mountain. The city was established in 1912 and rapidly become very popular with Europeans as a cool retreat from the sweltering heat of the coastal plains and the Mekong Delta. In the local Lat language, Da Lat means “River of the Lat tribe”, a home a Lach people, a member of a large family of Vietnamese ethnic groups. At that time, Da Lat was choosen as a relaxation place of French because of its climate similarity with France.
Due to the terrain favoured by the nature, located at the extremely ideal height, Da Lat city is surrounded by immense green pine forest, along with all year round cool temperate climate. The average temperature is not exceeding 20-21 degrees Celsius, even the hottest day. One more special thing is Da Lat is not too cold.
During winter months, the temperature is not less than 10 degrees Celsius. There are 2 seasons with the rainy and dry season. The dry season lasts from December till March while the other one lasts from April till October.
The Dalat flower gardens were established in 1966 by the South Vietnamese Agricultural Service and renovated in 1985. Flowers represent include hydrangeas, fuchsias and orchids. Most of latter are in special shaded buildings off to the right from the entrance. The orchids are grown in blocks of coconut palm trunk and in terra-cotta pots with lots of ventilations holes. The flower garden at 2 Tran Nhan Tong street is opposite Ho Xuan Huong lake.
Valley of Love
Being named the valley of Peace by Emperor Bao Dai, the valley of love had its name changed in 1972 by romatically minded students from Da Lat university. The place has taken on a carnival atmosphere , tourist buses line up to regurgitate visitors and boats line up to accommodate them. This is a good place to see the Da Lat cowboys. The cowboys are in fact Vietnamese guides dressed as American cowboys – come back in another year and they will have the Montagnards dressed up as Indians.
Da Lat Cathedral
Dalat Cathedral, which is on Tran Phu street , was built between 1931 and 1942 for use by French residents and holidaymakers. The cross on the spire is 47m above the ground. Inside, the stained – glass window bring a hint of medieval Europe to Da Lat. The first church built on this site ( in the 1920s) is to left of the cathedral, it has a light-blue arched door.
Da Lat Train Station
500 meters east of Ho Xuan Huong lake is Da Lat train station which is one of the oldest train stations in Vietnam. The cremaillere (cog railway) linked Da Lat and Thap Cham from 1928 to 1964 when it was closed. The line has been partially repaired and now operated as a tourist attraction. The train takes you down to Trai Mat village and back again.
The nice thing about Datanla Fall is the short but pleasant walk to get there. The cascade is 350m from highway 20 on the path that first passes through a forest of pines and continues steeply down the hill into a rainforest. The other good thing is the wildlife – lots of squirrels, birds and butterflies. This may have much to do with the fact that hunting is prohibited in the area so the creatures are less scared of humans. To get to Datanla Fall, turn off Highway 20 about 200m past the turn off to Quang Trung Reservoir. There is a second entrance to the fall several hundred meters further down road.
This village has become popular with tourists because it is conveniently on the Da Lat – Nha Trang highway, 17km from Da Lat. It is a home of Koho minority, to a certain extent the Koho have been assimilated into Vietnam society. This place takes its name from a huge concrete statue of a chicken which sits squarely in the center of the village. Nobody knows exactly why this village is called as Chicken village. It might derive from the legend or a story which are still in secrect until now.