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Currently, Da Lat is experiencing heavy rain, causing landslides on some key mountain passes such as Khanh Le Pass from Nha Trang or Prenn Pass from Duc Trong, making travel difficult. However, after overcoming these obstacles, the plateau still welcomes visitors with its gentle and delicate beauty, like a painting slowly drawn with subtle yet profound colors.
Pink grass and the dreamy cloak of Da Lat in early winter.
Around November, as the first chill of the season arrives in the city, the wild grasses on the plateau begin to turn pink, signaling the return of the pink grass season. This is known as the "pink snow season"—a moment when the pink grass blooms simultaneously, stretching across the hillsides like a soft pink mist.
A thin, silky layer of grass covered the entire hillside.
To see the most beautiful pink grass, tourists often flock to the Golden Valley – where pink hillsides are nestled amidst lush green pine forests, creating a wild yet gentle landscape. The Suoi Vang - Dankia area or Masara Hill are also ideal spots to experience this color, as the light of dawn or dusk makes the pink hue even more intense and widespread. Besides the low-growing, soft pink grass, Xuan Tho commune is also famous for its pink foxtail grass, soft as fur, adding a dreamy touch to Da Lat's autumn scenery.
Pink grass slopes in the Suoi Vang area
The maple forest changes color and the love song of late autumn.
As the first winds of winter begin to sweep through the city, the maple forests of Da Lat also enter their season of changing colors. The lush green foliage, which remains vibrant year-round, suddenly turns yellow, orange, and then deep red, creating a warm splash of color that stands out against the chilly air. Under the morning sun, each delicate leaf gleams with a clear red hue, gently swaying in the breeze as if autumn is continuing to write its own love song.
Right in the city center, the Da Lat Biological Research Institute boasts ancient maple trees with wide canopies that change color simultaneously every autumn. Several cafes, like the Maple Leaf House, have also become popular meeting places for those who love the autumn foliage. There, amidst the small garden, the falling maple leaves create a feeling of stepping into a romantic story.
Further afield, the Tuyen Lam Lake area features rows of Japanese maple trees interspersed among pine forests, creating a vibrant red-yellow strip along the roads around the lake when they change color. Truc Lam Monastery, the Clay Tunnel, and Da Phu Hill are also ideal spots to admire the large maple leaves – where the colors of nature change most dramatically and retain the rustic beauty of autumn in the highlands.
The maple garden in the center of Da Lat.
The golden color of wild sunflowers - the "golden time" of Da Lat.
As October arrives, Da Lat comes alive with the blooming of wild sunflowers. Without a strong fragrance or a proud appearance, wild sunflowers possess a powerful and vibrant beauty. They grow in clusters, stretching across hillsides, mountain passes, and village roads, creating a dazzling yellow contrast against the deep blue sky. At different times of the day, the sunflowers take on a different hue: pale yellow in the morning, brightest at noon, and a gentle honey-yellow in the evening.
Clusters of wild sunflowers blanket the roads in Da Lat in November.
The most beautiful routes for hunting for wild sunflowers include the Cam Ly - Van Thanh - Ta Nung route, where the flowers grow densely in two vibrant yellow strips on either side of the road. Cau Dat, Trai Mat, and Prenn Pass are also favorite photo spots for tourists, with patches of yellow flowers covering the hillsides. If you want to see vast, pristine, and endless carpets of flowers, the Suoi Vang - Dankia area and the area leading to Elephant Waterfall are ideal locations. There, wild sunflowers bloom into "seas of gold," looking from afar like waves of flowers spreading along the mountain slopes.
Wild sunflowers are in full bloom along Ankroet road in Da Lat.
The sweet, gentle orange hue of ripe persimmons and the exquisite flavor of sun-dried persimmons.
In another corner, Da Lat bursts with a new hue: the gentle orange of ripening persimmons, as beautiful as any other flower season of the year. The persimmon orchards in the suburbs become vibrant as the trees shed their leaves, leaving only plump, juicy fruits with their bright orange-red skins hanging from the branches like tiny flames in the cool weather.
The persimmon season is also the time for tourists to experience picking crunchy and egg-shaped persimmons themselves. And during this time, artisanal workshops throughout Da Lat begin the production of wind-dried persimmons - the most characteristic gift of winter. The persimmons are meticulously peeled and then hung in long strings in the cold wind, drying for many weeks to become chewy, sweet, and fragrant pieces of persimmon with a natural honey aroma.
Dried persimmons - a treat from Da Lat every late autumn and early winter.
Sea of clouds - a gift of the year-end mornings.
If there's one season that makes Da Lat so enchantingly surreal, it's the cloud-hunting season, lasting from October to December. At dawn, while the city is still asleep, thick layers of white clouds begin to slowly dissipate over the deep valleys, forming a sea of fluffy clouds like a soft ocean. The golden lights from the distant hills reflect off the clouds, making the scene look like something straight out of a dream.
Da Lat (Lam Dong province) has just been selected by the prestigious travel magazine National Geographic (USA) as one of the world's top ideal places to watch the sunrise.
Cau Dat is the most famous spot to witness this moment, thanks to its high elevation and expansive views. Thien Phuc Duc Hill, Hon Bo Peak, or Langbiang Mountain are also popular choices, where cool breezes carry the scent of young pine trees, and in front of you is a sea of clouds changing color from silvery white to orange-pink as the sun rises. Standing amidst this scenery, it's easy to understand why the cloud-hunting season makes so many tourists want to return to Da Lat every year-end: it's not just about the beautiful scenery, but also about the rare feeling of being in touch with nature's tranquility.
Sea of clouds over Cau Dat tea hills in November.
Despite the heavy rains making travel difficult, once the weather improves and roads are reopened, tourists will still have the opportunity to enjoy Da Lat in late autumn and early winter. The cool air, the hillsides ablaze with color, and the fluffy sea of clouds await those who wish to fully experience the gentle, dreamy beauty of the plateau.
