Da Lat is located on the Lang Biang Plateau, southern area of the Central Highland of Vietnam. Da Lat is characterized by pine forests, lakes, waterfalls, beautiful flower fields and French architecture.
Da Lat City is 1475m in elevation and has a temperate climate. There are high mountains surrounding the city including the Lang Biang (2163m), the Elephant Range (1800m) and the Lapbe (1732m). The average temperature of Da Lat is around 18-21C and it's never more than 32C in the city. With the ideal climate and the ever blossom flower fields, Da Lat has earned the nickname "The City of Eternal Spring".
Da Lat was built into mountain resort area by the French and was planned to have been the capital city of former French Indochina replacing Ha Noi. Even though the plan didn't come true, Da Lat had been home to many VIPs in the French goverment, the Vietnamese King and the former President of South Vietnam Repulic.
Nowadays Da Lat is the top destinations for the Vietnamese artists and honeymooners. Maybe that's why it also earns the name "the Honeymoon City". Many travelers visiting Da Lat and want to spend extra time here for the fresh nature beauty, and many have come back many times.
Traveling in Da Lat you can not only adore the fresh nature beauty and the temperate climate, but also the colorful ethnic people full of legends. For those that seek adventures, you can climb the Lang Biang Mountains and get the reward of the stunning panoramic view of the surrounding from the top.
The History of Da Lat
Da Lat was discovered by a Swiss French bacteriologist named Alexandre John Emile Yersin on 21-June-1893. Yersin was a medical doctor working on board the Messageries Maritimes. From the telescope on board, Yersin built up a burning dream to discover the mysterious range of mountains of the Central Highland. In 1890 when the ship docked at Nha Trang Harbor, Yersin hired a local to guide him on his discovery trip to the Central Highland. It took him 2 days to come to Djiring (Di Linh district now). In 1893 while exploring the Dran area, Yersin was attacked by the local pirates called Thonk and was nearly killed by a herd of wild elephants. Undaunted by challenges, Yersin made more attempts and the last one he traveled from Nha Trang, through the Da Nhim River's Valleys, past Dran and Finnom area and arriving at Prenn Pass. At 15h on 21-June-1893, Yersin was stunned facing the heavenly beauty of Lang Biang Plateau with waves of green mountains and towering peaks in the horizon...
Da Lat got its name from the combination of "M’Lates" or usually known as "Lat" - the local ethnic group and Dak which means water or stream in local language. Da Lat means the streams/waters of the Lat People. Yersin found it very interesting as he found out that Da Lat also is the acronym for “Dat Aliis Laetitiam Aliis Temperriem” in Latin, or "Give Pleasure to Some and Freshness to Others". And indeed, Da Lat has been like this since it's known to the outside world.
After discovering Da Lat, Yersin suggested to the French Governor of Indochina, Paul Doumer, to built Da Lat into a sanatorium and resort area. In 1897 the first official inspection of site was made by the French Goverment. And in 1899 after the dirt road from Phan Rang to Da Lat was completed and Doumer's visit to Da Lat, the French Indochinese Goverment allocated a fund to the construction of the city.
The plan of Da Lat submitted by architect Hébrard was to built Da Lat into the capital city of Indochina and gradually different important governmental offices would be moved here. The plan was not completed due to all changes after the World War Two. After Geneva Accord in 1954, the French pulled out of Vietnam, there were flows of immigration into Da Lat from many areas of the country |