Vietnam's mountain town of Dalat

Dalat’s colonial history lingers far above sea level in the hills immersed in a swirling mist. Rob Woodburn discovers the romance of the hill town and enjoys the coolest place in Vietnam.

I wake to the pleasant warble of birdsong, a welcome contrast to the incessant buzz of Vietnamese city traffic. Flinging open my room’s tall shuttered windows the view is totally obscured by swirling mist. A crisp highland breeze fans my face. Welcome to Dalat!

The hill town of Dalat is definitely the coolest place to be in Vietnam, and has been for more than a century. French doctor Alexandre Yersin, a disciple of Louis Pasteur, thought so back in 1893 when he first visited the region.

Yersin was so impressed by the salubrious mountain climate he immediately recommended a sanatorium be built here for his fellow countrymen. A resort town sprung up in Vietnam’s central highlands offering respite for Europeans wilting in the unrelenting heat and humidity of the coast. Dalat’s average temperature is a mild 18degC.

By the time I’ve showered, the mist has been dispersed by the sun’s orange glow, revealing town, valley and surrounding hills. The nip in the air and the outlines of a former Franciscan monastery and Catholic spire add distinct European flourishes to the landscape.

I’m fortunate to be a guest of the Hotel Sofitel Dalat Palace, which is definitely the coolest address in town! This magnificent mansion with 43 rooms and suites occupies a splendid position overlooking the town. Its art deco profile is daubed an immaculate cream and the building is surrounded by a green sea of clipped lawn.

It was built in 1922 as the Langbien Palace, named after Dalat’s highest mountain, and belonged to the French administration of the time. Many wealthy foreigners subsequently built holiday villas in the surrounding area, giving rise to Dalat’s reputation as ‘le petit Paris’. By the late 1930s, when the railway station was finished, there were several hundred villas secluded among the forested hills.

Dalat was much loved by Vietnam’s last emperor Bao Dai. You can visit his former summer palace, a mansion in similar style to the Dalat Palace with flat roof and grand portico. It houses interesting artefacts and furniture. Bao Dai went into exile in France in 1954 and died there in 1997.

Many villas from the 1920s and 1930s have long since fallen into disrepair. But others have been restored for use as offices or rental apartments. A group of 17 villas now houses the 65 guestrooms of the luxurious Ana Mandara Dalat Resort & Spa.

Dalat’s central market is chockful of colour and local specialties, which include artichoke tea, fabulous strawberry jam and a dizzying selection of candied fruits. Go really early to enjoy the kaleidoscopic impact of the fresh flower vendors.

Jostling among the crowd are indigenous hill-tribe men and women called Montagnards (French for ‘mountain people’), easily identified by their distinctive woollen caps and padded jackets. These Montagnards generally keep to themselves but come to market to sell their woven cloth and other handicrafts.

The market hall stalls are laden with a cornucopia of foodstuffs, both fresh and preserved. The selection is repetitive yet fascinating all the same. Local Arabica coffee is a top buy but be wary of the local wine. It’s mostly a fruit juice-based concoction although I did see a pure cabernet sauvignon.

The market hall stalls are laden with a cornucopia of foodstuffs, both fresh and preserved. The selection is repetitive yet fascinating all the same. Local Arabica coffee is a top buy but be wary of the local wine. It’s mostly a fruit juice-based concoction although I did see a pure cabernet sauvignon.

The defunct local art deco railway station is a real style gem, long abandoned yet in its waiting room clocks still tick out the time in cities around the globe. A steam train occasionally puffs along 17km of track to Trai Mat and the Linh Phuoc Pagoda.

Dalat’s a romantic hot spot for Vietnamese newlyweds, hence attractions like the Lake of Sighs and the Valley of Love, a picnic park and lake where cuddling couples can paddle languidly in a pedalo, hop into old US Army jeeps for a ride and pose for photos beside garish plaster animals. This may seem odd to some but, in Vietnam, it’s regarded as real cool. The Dalat Flower Garden is another vivid visual setting.

Pagodas, temples, lakes, waterfalls and forests in the surrounding Lam Dong provide tranquil moments. Tuyen Nam Lake, on the town’s outskirts, offers peace and meditative solitude and the soft tinkling of wind chimes in a waterside Buddhist pagoda. Truc Lam Monastery overlooking the lake is the largest in the country.

The 90m Dam Ri waterfalls are the highest in the area and quite a sight in the rainy season. At Datania Falls you can ride a toboggan on rails down the mountainside, swishing around tight curves as you plunge through the forest. Having chilled by the falls you can then be hauled back up the slopes. Just how cool is that?

Getting there: Vietnam Airlines has five flights a week from Sydney and five from Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Contact the airline at tel:1300 888 028 and Visit: www.vietnamairlines.com
There are two daily flights between Dalat and Ho Chi Minh City. The 292km journey takes about seven hours by road or, from Nha Trang, about four to five hours.

Stay at: The Hotel Sofitel Dalat Palace. Email: Sofitel.Reservations@dalatresorts.com or visit:
www.sofitel.com/1744

Way to go: The Dalat’s Easy Riders are English-speaking local guides with motorbikes. They charge per day for whisking you around the region. Easy Rider Café, 70 Phan Dinh Phung Street. Email: dalateasyriders@yahoo.com or visit http://dalat-easyrider.com