Da Lat

Originally the playground of the French who built villas in the clear mountain air to escape the heat and humidity of what was then Saigon is the beautiful hill town city of Da Lat. Many people call it “Le Petit Paris” and even features a small replica of the Eiffel Tower and is a cross between Vietnam and the French Alps because of its surrounding beauty – pine-covered hills, lakes, and higher peaks which makes for some fantastic scenery quite unlike any other in the country. The weather is pleasant throughout most of the year and getting here is via direct bus from Ho Chi Minh City or through the Lien Khuong Airport.

It is very much a tourist town and it does not hide that fact so expect a lot of local tourists especially during summer when the locals want to do as the French did and escape the heat. It’s also common to see honeymooners during your escape to Da Lat as the scenery is just absolutely romantic and don’t be surprised to see a lot of students in the area as the city prides itself on being an education center.

Nature is Da Lat’s best feature and it is famous for its wide variety of flowers, vegetables, and fruits with its richness in resources, some of the natural sites that visitors should see are the Lake Xuan Hong, the Elephant Falls and Pongour Falls, Datanla Waterfalls, the Valley of Love, and the Da Lat Flower Gardens. There’s no shortage of sites to see here and some of the notable ones are the Linh Phuoc Pagoda, Bao Dai Summer Palace, the Crazy House, or the Hang Nga Guest House and Art Gallery), and the St Nicholas Cathedral. Activities one can do are bike riding, canyoning, hiking, and whitewater rafting. If you have a little more time on your hands, you could easily spend a few more days visiting the surrounding areas visiting local ethnic villages, and taking in the scenic landscape.