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 Honeymooners
and romantics love Dalat found in the central highlands of Vietnam.
Dotted with lakes and waterfalls, and surrounded by evergreen forests,
temperate Dalat is nicknamed the City of Eternal Spring. At an
altitude of 1,475m above sea level, the days here are fine and nights
are cool. Wool hats and scarves abound in the market, because if you’re
caught unprepared for winter nights, they can get downright cold.
Dalat’s economy is based on tourism and agriculture, drawing domestic
and foreign visitors with its very agreeable climate, French colonial
architecture and carnival-like parks and flower gardens.
Perhaps it’s the cool mountain air that fosters the distinctly bohemian
vibe and artsy if sometimes kitsch romanticism in Dalat. Whatever the
reasons, Dalat has the unique aesthetic you can experience for yourself.
What to do / see
Cremaillere
This is a cog railway*, about 500m east of Xuan Huong Lake that has
linked Dalat and Yhap Cham Phan Rang from 1928 to 1964. The line has now
been partially repaired and is operated as a tourist attraction. You can
ride 8km down the tracks to Thai Mat Village, where you can visit the
ornate Linh Phuoc Pagoda.
*note: A cog railway or rack-and-pinion railway is a mountain railway
with a special center rack rail mounted in the middle of the sleepers
between the regular rails. The trains are fitted with one or more
cogwheels that mesh into this rack rail. This then allows the
locomotives to haul the train up steeply inclined slopes.
For reservations or further information you can call tel. 834 409. A
round trip ticket will cost around 75,000d. Departure times are at 8am,
9:30am, 2pm and 3:30pm.
Bao Dai’s Summer Palace No. 3
This is a sprawling villa constructed in 1933; the palace is surrounded
by landscape grounds and steeped in the royal color yellow.
Riding a bicycle is a pleasant way to get here, as you pass
French-colonial houses along the road that is shaded with pines. Shoes
must be removed at the door.
Admission will cost around 5000d. The villa is open from 7-11am &
1:30-4pm.
Lam Ty Ni Pagoda
 Founded
in 1961; this small pagoda is less famous than Mr. Thuc, the ‘Crazy
Monk’ who lives here.
He’s not so much crazy as artistic and in fact some call him the
Business Monk for the sales of his mind-boggling collection of
self-brushed artwork. It’s a place worth visiting, where you can walk
through a pathway walled in by hanging paintings on paper, within the
garden he created at the pagoda.
The pagoda is open from 8-11:30am & 1:30-5:30pm.
Hang Nga Guest House and Art Gallery
Southeast of central Dalat, this is a funky place and has been nicknamed
the ‘Crazy House’ by local residents. It’s notable for its Alice in
Wonderland architecture, where you can perch inside a giraffe or get
lost in a giant spider web.
For more information visitors may call Tel 822-070. Admission costs
around 5000d.
Valley of Love
Here you can pose for photos on a pony accompanied by a Vietnamese dude
dressed as a cowboy. It’s about 5km from Xuan Houng Lake, where you can
rent a paddleboat shaped like a giant swan.
Admission here is around 7000d. The place is open from 8am-8pm.
Lake of Sights
This lake was enlarged by a French-built dam. The natural lake lies 6km
northeast of Dalat. Horses at 80,000d per round can be hired near the
restaurants.
Admission here costs around 5000d. The lake is open from 8am-8pm.
Flower Gardens
Established in 1966 by the South Vietnamese Agriculture Service, the
garden grounds are filled with lovely blooming Dalat flora. It also
features a few caged monkeys.
Admission will cost around 4000d. The gardens are open from 7:30am-4pm
Waterfalls
Dalat’s waterfalls are obviously at their gushing best during the rainy
season but still run during summer, and are worth visiting anytime.
Visitors are advised to skip Prenn Falls, which is overdeveloped
and includes an appalling collection of caged animals on site.
Datanla Falls (admission 5000d) is southeast of Dalat off Highway
20, about 200m past the turn off to Quang Trung Resevoir. There are
number of little trails around the area, and it’s nice place to trek
around the rainforest for a picnic spot among the butterflies.
 The
largest waterfall in the Dalat area, Pongour Falls (admission
5000d) is about 55km in the direction of Ho Chi Minh City and 7km down a
dirt road off the highway. This stepped falls are lovely anytime, but
spectacular during the rainy seasons when they form a full semicircle.
Dambri Falls (admission 10,000d) are the tallest falls in the
area; walking down to feel the spray from the bottom is divine on a hot
day. You can take it a lift down and trek back up, but don’t wander too
far upstream if you don’t want to see the mini zoo of monkeys and
reindeer. There’s also a good restaurant with mimosa-framed views near
the parking lot.
For Vietnamese cowboys and stuffed jungle animals in your holiday
photos, look no further than Cam Ly Falls (admission 5000d). It’s
a popular sight for domestic visitors to Dalat and notable more for the
circus-style ambience that the waterfall itself.
Visit beautiful Vietnam today! |
