In 1893, Dr. Alexandre Yersin, a protégé of Louis Pasteur, decided to leave his ship docked at Nha Trang to explore the central highlands of Vietnam. What he found was Dalat. Quickly he spread word about this evergreen-filled region dotted with lakes and waterfalls.

By the time the city established itself in 1912, Dalat was already popular with Europeans as a cool retreat from the sweltering heat of the coastal plains and the Mekong Delta.

Many of the cascading waterfalls for which the town is famed lie within easy reach of the golf course, with the enchanting “Valley of Love” nestled among tranquil hills a few kitometers away.

The Dalat Palace Hotel was constructed in 1922 and the recreation of the early tourists included boating, tennis, big-game hunting and, since the 1920’s, golf. Many of the French colonialists built vacation homes in Dalat, and these villas remain standing today in all their architectural splendour. It is these structures that give a distinct Mediterranean look to the city.

Dalat lies at a lofty elevation of 1,500 meters (a mile high) in Lam Dong Province located in the central highlands of Vietnam, 290 kilometres northwest of Ho Chi Minh City.

Known for decades as both ‘Le Petite Paris’ and the ‘City of Eternal Spring’, Dalat is blessed year round with favorable weather amidst crisp, cool mountain air.