Da Lat

Municipality, southern Vietnam, northeast of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). On a lake on the Lam Vien Plateau at 4,920 feet (1,500 m) above sea level, it sits among pine-covered hills with picturesque waterfalls nearby. Founded in the 19th century and named for the Da (now Cam Ly) River, which traverses the town, and the Lat population, it was developed by the French as a hill station (resort),