If you want to visit Vietnam without the rote tourism, overcrowded cities, and tropical humidity, Da Lat is your city. Situated in the 1,500 m above sea level on the Langbian Plateau, Da Lat (or Dalat) is a year-round temperate getaway for people looking to relax, take in the mountain air, and drink coffee. The primary tourism market here is domestic and the foreign tourists that do make it here are primarily Russian, so don’t expect many English speakers. But several places offer English menus, and paper, a pen, and a smile are all you need to barter in the city’s markets. So pull up a chair and order a coffee, visit the city’s flower garden, or explore Da Lat’s bizarre architectural wonderland.
A view of the city; red-roofed French villas from the colonial era sprawl across the countryside, a reminder that this was once a getaway for the French-colonial elite.
A rain-kissed flower grows in a planter in Da Lat. The city is also known as “the city of a thousand flowers” and its temperate climate produces flowers for export.
A man fishes in Xuan Huong Lake. I personally would not eat anything from this lake (see below).
A woman uses a net and pole to fish waste out of Xuan Huong Lake after a storm. Heavy rainfall washes everything from plant debris to plastic bottles to dead fish down into the lake, so people like the above keep Da Lat beautiful.
A military officer looks around at stalls in an indoor market.
Plastic tables double as chairs, set out in preparation for an evening concert.
Not someone’s home, but the interior of a local coffee shop. The city is filled with dozens of cozy cafes like this one.
The branch of a bonsai tree on the shore of Xuan Huong Lake.
A view over the night market in the city center.
Vendors display wares to potential customers in the night market.
Looking lost in the night market.
Toys posed (by someone else) in a mall in Da Lat.
A woman poses for a photo while riding as an advertisement for Yamaha motorbikes.
A woman takes a selfie (left) while tourists wander by below (lower center) in the confusing architecture of the Hang Nga Crazy House.
A bubbling cauldron of stew in the local market. IT WAS DELICIOUS.
An offerings table for deceased ancestors in front of a local business.
A truck-sized lotus lantern awaits deployment onto Xuan Huong Lake, part of a celebration of Buddha’s birthday.
The night skyline of Da Lat, reflected into the lake.
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