Da Lat readies for first Pink Grass Festival

The first-ever Pink Grass Festival will take place from November 24 to December 4 in the central highlands city of Da Lat.

The opening act of the Da Lat Flower Festival, the city’s largest, the event is being organized on a pink grass hill at Dankia Lake and Golden Stream.

It aims to introduce the beautiful nature of Da Lat, in particular its unique pink grass, which grows wildly only in Da Lat in late November and early December. Entry is free, so as to promote tourism in the city.

Highlights of the Pink Grass Festival include a pink grass photo club for provincial photography clubs and professional photographers, a “selfie moment” program for young people, a pink Sunday program for couples who married this year or those who are preparing to marry in 2018 and want a beautiful wedding photo album with shots of pink grass, and the “flower paradise” program for visitors, with ten major scenes and 20 minor scenes.

Other activities include horse racing, a festive night of the Lach ethnic minority people with performances on their traditional instrument, called goong, as well as dancing and drinking, a “moonlight on the pink grass” program for couples featuring romantic activities such as lantern parades and setting lanterns into the sky with wishes, making grass rings, artistic fireworks, yoga, a picnic night by a campfire in the meadow, and a local food party.

Local music and food will also be introduced at the event through the Central Highlands Food Gala and the Central Highlands Acoustic Festival night.

The event is expected to create a new tourism product in Da Lat that meets visitors’ needs for entertainment attached with nature.

The Da Lat Flower Festival has become a popular event, a national and international festival held every two years and a major opportunity to introduce the beauty and people of Da Lat to domestic and foreign tourists. With the theme “Flower Da Lat - Magic Crystallization from a Peaceful Land”, the Da Lat Flower Festival will be held this time around from December 23 to 27 in the city and surrounding areas.

Situated 1,500 meters above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau in the southern reaches of the central highlands, Da Lat is endowed by nature with an average annual temperature of 25C and beautiful landscapes surrounded by mountain ranges and forests, especially pine forests. It’s known as one of Vietnam’s most poetic spots and is charmingly described as the “City of Love”, the “City of Thousands of Pine Trees”, the “City of Mist”, and, most commonly, the “City of Flowers”.

It’s decorated with colorful carpets of flowers everywhere, from large fields in valleys to street footpaths. It’s home to over 40 different species of chrysanthemums, 15 species of roses, and about 300 varieties of orchids.

Da Lat is also sometimes called “Little Paris”, for its French villas and replica Eiffel Tower. Back in French colonial days, French officials planned to turn the city in a little Paris and also an ideal resort town; a center for their lives in Indochina that resembled their homeland.

The most popular natural sites in Da Lat include Xuan Huong Lake, a gem in the heart of the city with pine trees and beautiful views of the flower city, Tuyen Lam Lake, where springs, rivers and forests meet and which covers 350 ha and is ideal for different types of tourism, such as sightseeing, camping, trekking, mountain climbing, fishing, and other sports and recreation, especially eco-tourism, Cam Ly Waterfall, with charming and mysterious pine forests blanketed by mist, and the Valley of Love, long considered one of the most picturesque and romantic places in Da Lat with deep valleys, endless pine forests, and tranquil Da Thien Lake. Meanwhile, Bao Dai Summer Palace, Domaine de Marie Church, and Truc Lam Monastery are also treasures for history and culture buffs to explore around Da Lat and nearby.