ABOUT DA LAT
Da Lat, or Dalat, (pop. 256,600 as of 2007, spelled Đà Lạt in Vietnamese) Da Lat is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province in Vietnam. The town is located 1500 m (4,920 ft) above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau in the southern parts of the Central Highlands (in Vietnamese - Tây Nguyên). According to a myth from the French colonial era, the name derives from the acronym of the Latin phrase 'Dat Aliis Laetitiam Aliis Temperiem' ("Giving Pleasure to Some, Freshness to Others"), which the French colonial government used in their official emblem of Đà Lạt. In reality, the name derives from the language of the local ethnic group Lạt and its original meaning is "Stream of the Lạt," and the acronym above is in fact a backcronym. In Vietnam, Đà Lạt is a popular tourist destination. It is the location of the Novotel Dalat (formerly Dalat Hotel) and Sofitel Dalat Palace (formerly Dalat Palace built in 1922).
Da Lat's specific sights are pine wood (forming the name: "City of thousands of pine tree") with roads twists and turns and tree marigold (Vietnamese: dã quỳ) blossom in the winter. This city has a unique temperate weather in such a tropical country like Vietnam. Mist cover valleys almost the year leads to its name "City of eternal spring".
Da Lat is also known as an area for science research in the fields of biotechnology and nuclear physics.
With its cool climate the whole year over, Da Lat is the area that supplies temperate agriculture products for all over Vietnam, for example, cabbage and cauliflower. Its flower industry produces two typical flowers which are hydrangea (Vietnamese: cẩm tú cầu) and golden everlasting (Vietnamese: hoa bất tử). Confectionary industry also offer a wide range of mứt- a kind of fruit preserves made from strawberry, mulberry, sweet potato, rose.
With its perennial cool weather, pine-clad valleys and weathered but elegant French hilltop villas, Dalat is Vietnam’s premier hill station. Opportunities abound for meetings and incentives in boutique colonial hotels such as the Sofitel Dalat Palace, as well as mountain adventures of absailing, canyoning and even world-class golfing. For an opulent alpine retreat, Ana Mandara Villas Dalat is a good fit.
