Dalat (or Đà Lạt) is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province in Vietnam. The city is located 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level on the Langbian Plateau in the southern parts of the Central Highlands region, around 300-kilometer drive from Ho Chi Minh City. With the migration of people from north and central regions, Dalat has a population rise, counting approximately 250,000 people including urbans and highland minorities.
Blessed with its spring-like weather, Da Lat is a popular tourist destination in Vietnam, a respite from Southern Vietnam year-round tropical hot and humid climate for both locals and foreigners. The two main seasons are dry ( December-April) and rainy (May-November), with an average temperature of 20o C and a maximum of 30oC.
Dalat is dotted with elegant villas dominated by French colonial architecture style. The Railway Station (1938), Lycee Yersin (1927), The Dominion of Mary Church and Convent, home to Roman Catholic Nuns of the Mission of Charity, all incorporate the high, pointed-roof style by Art Deco.
Dalat is famous for its wide variety of flowers, vegetables, fruits (avocado, strawberries, banana) and industrial plants (coffee, tea) from its surrounding farmlands as well as countless nature sites (lakes, waterfalls), beautiful hills, evergreen forests that gain its nickname: The City of Whispering Pines.
The area’s main sources of income are from agriculture and tourism but the city is also very proud of being an education centre that produces multi-field professionals every year (Dalat University, Yersin University and several Colleges).
Although small, Dalat City has its own airport operating domestically and partially internationally.