Latest news with #DaLat
Condé Nast Traveler
23-05-2025
- Condé Nast Traveler
Da Lat–Vietnam's New Capital of Leisure and Legacy
Condé Nast Traveler editorial staff were not involved with the creation of this content. Known by many poetic names—City in the Forest, Asia's Little Paris, Highland Garden City, City of a Thousand Flowers —it is a place where nature and nostalgia move in harmony. Architecture That Listens to the Land Da Lat is the political and administrative center of Lam Dong province—the largest province in Vietnam by area. From its inception, Da Lat has been viewed as a museum of 20th-century French architecture in Vietnam. It is a resort-style eco-city shaped in the urban spatial structure of Europe, a unique blend of architecture and landscape that highly respects and incorporates the beauty of nature—in fact, nature becomes part of the architecture. This highland city is home to approximately 1,500 villas, mansions, and ancient churches, considered quintessential examples of late 19th– and early 20th–century French architecture. Remarkably, no two buildings are alike. Rather than using traditional or neoclassical styles to convey power, architects here selected regional French architectural styles or modern aesthetics to create a resort-style complex—peaceful, nostalgic villas with spacious views that blend into the surrounding scenery. *Pink grass hills paint a poetic scene. Photo Dang Van An Through different historical periods, Da Lat was shaped by consistent urban planning strategies and has acquired various poetic names—City in the Forest, Little Paris of Asia, Garden City on the Plateau, City of a Thousand Flowers, and so on. Weather and Natural Landscapes Are the True Treasures Located on the Lam Vien Plateau, Da Lat is known for its cool climate and misty atmosphere. The average temperature ranges from 18 to 21 degrees Celsius, with highs rarely exceeding 30 degrees and lows not falling below 5 degrees. The undulating hills, streams, lakes, and waterfalls form a picturesque natural setting. Each natural wonder in Da Lat holds its own unique charm, which is further enhanced by human creativity and craftsmanship.
Android Authority
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
Wallpaper Wednesday: More great phone wallpapers for all to share (May 7)
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Welcome to Wallpaper Wednesday! In this weekly roundup, we'll give you a handful of Android wallpapers you can download and use on your phone, tablet, or even your laptop/PC. The images will come from folks here at Android Authority as well as our readers. All are free to use and come without watermarks. File formats are JPG and PNG, and we'll provide images in both landscape and portrait modes, so they'll be optimized for various screens. For the newest walls as well as all the ones from previous weeks, check out this Drive link. Want to submit your own? Head to the bottom of this article. Wallpaper Wednesday: May 7, 2025 Another week, another set of awesome Android wallpapers for you to share! Remember that we are always looking for submissions from our readers. Head to the bottom of this article to find out how you could have one of your images featured in an upcoming Wallpaper Wednesday! With that in mind, we've got six awesome images from our readers that would look great on your phone, tablet, or PC. As usual, we also have three images from the Android Authority team. First, we have a fantastic photo of a cute little kitty. That comes from reader (and frequent contributor) Kedrig Koka, who used a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra for the shoot. Next, we have a beautiful photo of a sunset over the Vietnamese city of Da Lat. That comes from frequent contributor Han Le, who used a Google Pixel 6 Pro to capture it! After that, we have a great pic of South Korea at night from reader Shaurya Mehta, who used a Nothing Phone 2! Next, we have a creative shot of a fruit called kundang, also known as plum mango. That comes from frequent contributor Cipudul and was shot on a Google Pixel 7! After that, we have a collection of masks on a table from reader Kaustav Pramanik. Finally, we have a pretty purple flower covered in morning dew from reader Kevin Philip. Kevin shot that with a Samsung Galaxy S21 FE! Thanks so much for your submissions, all! From the Android Authority team, we have a soft pink flower from Adamya Sharma. We also have a gorgeous shot of the Château de Chambord in France from Rita El Khoury. Finally, we have a great photo of some classic Barcelona architecture from Hadlee Simons. Be sure to download these photos in their high resolutions from this Drive link! How to submit your own Android wallpapers We are very excited to see your own contributions to our Wallpaper Wednesdays project. Before submitting, here are the rules: Your submissions should be your own creation. That means photos you took, digital art you created, etc. Please don't submit other people's work — that's just not cool. Also, please don't send images purely created with AI . They will not be accepted. Images you created and then augmented with AI tools are OK. . They will not be accepted. Images you created and then augmented with AI tools are OK. You must agree to let Android Authority share your Android wallpapers for free with anyone who wants them. We will not accept watermarked images. You will, however, get a credit and a link in the article itself. We can link to your social media account only. Ready to submit? Fill out the form below. You'll need to include the highest-resolution version of the image you can provide, your name, and a brief description of what the image is. If you want us to link to a social media page you own in your credit, please provide that, too, but that's optional.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Trekking Vietnam: A Local's Guide to the 4 Best Hikes You've Never Heard Of
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Most travelers don't consider Vietnam a hiking destination, but take it from someone who lives there: The country has plenty of great treks if you know where to look. In the north, the Hoang Lien Mountains are the tapering, tail-end of the Himalaya; in the south, the Da Lat Plateau rises sharply from sea level to over 2,000m, and the underexplored Annamites line Vietnam's spine. We look at four accessible hikes for those looking to escape Saigon's eight million scooters. A map showing the location of the four hikes. From top to bottom: Fansipan, Son Doong, Bi Doup, Nui Chua. Photo: Google Maps Fansipan Mountain Let's start with the roof of Vietnam, 3,147m Mount Fansipan, the highest peak in the Hoang Lien Mountains. These run along Vietnam's rugged northern border with China. The summit has been extensively developed, with walkways and two pagodas at the top of an (admittedly beautiful) cable car ride that leaves from near the local town of Sapa. However, for those who'd like to summit on foot, this is a hard, no-frills two or three-day hike through dense jungle. The government has extensively developed Fansipan's summit. Photo: Martin Walsh Different routes The most direct route begins in the stepped rice paddies just outside Sapa. From the ethnic H'Mong village of Sin Chai at approximately 1,260m, the trail quickly disappears into the forest in Hoang Lien National Park. Though this is the shortest way to the summit (the ascent can be completed in a day), the trail is unclear, and it is easy to get lost. Instead, most independent hikers and guided groups do the Tram Tom Pass Trail. The summit can be reached in a day on the Tram Ton Pass route too, depending on the weather and your fitness. However, there are two camping areas en route for those who would prefer to take their time. The first is at roughly 2,200m, and the other is fairly near the summit, at 2,800m. The trail starts in dense forest before climbing to exposed, undulating ridgelines. The final section to the summit is very steep. Ridgelines high on Fansipan Mountain. Photo: Martin Walsh The longest route starts at Cat Cat Village and runs approximately 20km. This trail has the most altitude gain at around 1,900m, and it takes three or four days if you also descend on foot. Nui Chua (God Mountain) Perhaps the least-known hike on this list, Nui Chua Mountain is not very high, only 1,039m. Situated on Vietnam's south-central coast in Ninh Thuan, the hike still requires almost 1,000m of elevation gain. This region is extremely dry, and the heat makes what should be an easy two-day hike more challenging. Inside a national park, a guide is required for the hike to Nui Chua's summit. Most of the guides are Raglai -- one of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam -- and speak a different language from the majority Kinh. Part of this hike's appeal is the guides' knowledge of the forest here. They will stop to pick fruits you've never heard of and collect herbs that grow only at specific elevations to cook with dinner. Both times I've done this hike, the evening meal has been incredible, with chickens roasted over an open fire and the guides producing homemade rice wine. The campsite sits in a grassy clearing created by bombing during the American War. (The Western world tends to call it the Vietnam War, but the Vietnamese, understandably, do not.) Raglai guides and porters cooking chicken. Photo: Martin Walsh The next morning, you climb to the summit, passing through chunks of primary mixed forest interspersed with swaying grasslands. Then it's a unrelenting descent back down to a Rag Lai village on the edge of the park. This national park is rarely visited by tourists, so knowing some Vietnamese or traveling with a Viet would make organizing this hike much, much easier. Nui Chua summit. Photo: Martin Walsh Bi Doup Mountain At the southern end of Vietnam's Central Highlands, Bi Doup Nui Ba National Park is an enormous sweep of forest and mountains just north of the city of Da Lat. There are plenty of good hikes possible in Bi Doup Nui Ba, including to 2,287m Bi Doup Mountain, the highest point in southern Vietnam. Bi Doup Nui Ba. Photo: Martin Walsh The trail starts from a forest ranger station near Da Chais, about 40km from Da Lat. It's a relatively easy two-day hike covering around 26km, first through pine forest and then through mixed broadleaf forest as you get deeper into the park. Getting to Bi Doup's summit requires some scrambling for the steep final ascent. The overnight campsite is at 2,000m. The area around the mountain is particularly good for several rare bird species endemic to the Da Lat Plateau, such as collared laughingthrushes, white-cheeked laughingthrushes, and Vietnamese cutia. An endemic white-cheeked laughingthrush. Photo: Martin Walsh After the peak, most hikers head out through coffee plantations to emerge back in Da Chais near the village of K'long K'lanh. Son Doong and Phong Nha-Ke Bang Discovered in 1990 and first surveyed in 2009, Son Doong is the largest cave in the world by volume (38.5 million cubic meters). It's an expedition to get there, requiring a huge team of porters and guides, and only one company is currently allowed to take tourists: Oxalis Adventure. As a result, it's extremely hard to get a place on an expedition (only 1,000 places are available per year, and they book up far in advance) and expensive for Vietnam ($3,000). But for those with the money -- and who are prepared to wait -- it's one of the world's best adventure treks. Hang En cave is part of the expedition to Son Doong. Photo: Shutterstock The expedition begins from Phong Nha in central Vietnam and takes four days through the jungle of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Hikers cover 25km (with 8km inside caves), and the trip requires some basic climbing and rappelling with safety equipment, including climbing a massive rock wall inside Son Doong, nicknamed The Great Wall of Vietnam. Along with the great wall and an underground river, collapsed ceilings have created unique jungle ecosystems inside the cave, inspiring the first cavers to name the area "Watch out for Dinosaurs." If your budget doesn't stretch to Son Doong, there are over 400 more caves to explore in Phong Nha-Ke Bang.
