(TITC) - Located north of Phuong Hoang Mountain, the national scenic spot of Tuyen Lam Lake, along with Truc Lam Zen Monastery (Lam Dong), has created a famous beautiful scenic complex - one of the attractive destinations when coming to the land of thousands of flowers.
Morning sunshine on Tuyen Lam Lake. Photo: Vo Trang/Lamdong Online
Tuyen Lam Lake is about 6 km south of the centre of Da Lat City (Lam Dong), to the right of Prenn Pass along Highway 20, towards Da Lat - Ho Chi Minh City. The lake was formerly Suoi Tia (Tia Stream), the upstream of Da Tam River originating from the majestic Voi (Elephant) Mountain. Tuyen Lam Lake is created by a dam blocking the Tia Stream, invested and completed by the Lam Dong Irrigation Department in 1987, to serve the irrigation of rice fields and crops in the downstream area of Duc Trong District.
Also from here, under the influence of human hands, the harmonious combination between the upstream water stream and the forest has created a wonderful natural picture with strangely attractive beauty. Probably for that reason, the lake was named "Tuyen Lam", a quite romantic name suitable for this cooperation ("Tuyen" means "stream" and "Lam" means "forest"). A vast lake, clear blue all year round; The basin is over 32 km², the lake has many oases, and many branches go deep into the mainland, some places are more than 30 m deep, surrounded by a majestic mountain area. The landscape is also diverse, this place is a pine hill, that place is a deep green jungle with towering peaks; where the hills gently slope with grasslands running gently down to the edge of the lake. All blend together with the clouds and sky reflecting on the calm lake surface, creating a magical scene that makes us feel lightheaded, our soul wandering like we are lost in a heavenly place in a fairy tale.
When lounging under the green pine trees blowing in the wind, or sitting and admiring the lake's changing colours like a picturesque painting. In the morning, mist covered the lake surface, the space was quiet with a pure and fresh atmosphere. At noon, the lake's surface sparkled like glass with rolling waves when a gentle wind blew enough to tremble the pine trees. In the afternoon, the lake surface gradually turns blue, the wind is chilly and when the sunset falls, the scene here becomes hazy, mysterious, unreal, extremely romantic. Moonlit nights shine like silver on the surface of the water and the surrounding landscape. There is nothing better than sitting by the lake admiring the scenery, fishing or walking with your lover.
On the hills and mountains in the scenic area of Tuyen Lam Lake and surrounding areas such as Elephant Mountain and Hon Bu, almost all of the trenches were units of the Party Committee of Region 6 and Da Lat City Party Committee.
In the Gia Lam old forest area along the banks of Dau Voi stream in Hiep Thanh Commune, Duc Trong District, there are also traces of a prehistoric archaeological site from the Palaeolithic period to 30 - 40 thousand years. This area has many rock holes and large rocks with many mysterious shapes, stretching hundreds of metres upstream where it is adjacent to the revolutionary base area. “Here there are pebble beaches running along the stream, which must have been a rich source of raw materials for ancient people to make tools. Along the stream there are massive rocky rapids and deep, large niches, which could also be temporary residences for the ancients during the day when it rains" (according to the comments of archeology doctors Nguyen Khac Su and Vo Quy - Vietnam Institute of Archeology). Through explorations by archaeologists, Lam Dong Museum and Da Lat University have obtained many relics showing signs of the Stone Age. These relics are currently being kept for research to accurately determine their cultural historical value.
Deep in the central area of the revolutionary base (Gia Lam old forest), the rocky mountain area (Elephant Mountain) there are also primaeval forest glades, clear water streams, pebble beaches, waterfalls with diverse biodiversity of tropical forests with many rare species of animals and plants, especially red pine and some birds, animals, wild orchids,... In particular, the road up the mountain has many very dangerous cliffs between the canopy of primaeval forest trees, vines, and many species of wild orchids, the scenery is wild and very romantic. The top of Elephant Mountain is 1,814.5 m high above sea level, here we can observe the entire East of Da Lat City and part of Duc Trong and Don Duong districts. Living around this area, there are also villages of K'Ho ethnic people with very unique customs and festivals.
It is rare to see a natural cultural heritage that meets ecological, environmental, and historical cultural values like Tuyen Lam. Tuyen Lam Lake (including Truc Lam Zen Monastery) has been recognized as a national historical and cultural relic (type of scenic spot) according to Decision No. 1811 of the Ministry of Culture dated August 30, 1998.
Recently, Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourist Area was honoured as "Typical Asia-Pacific Tourist Area" on 3rd August 2023 in the capital New Delhi, India in the forum programme "Vietnam - India cultural and economic exchange". This is an honour, pride and also an opportunity for the national scenic spot of Tuyen Lam Lake - Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourist Area to promote its image, tourism brand, and high-quality tourism services with friends, domestic and international tourists.
Tourism Information Technology Center