Da Lat, also spelled Dalat, city in Lam Dong Province, southeastern Vietnam, in the Lang Bian Mountains. Linked by road and rail with the coast at Phan Rang, the city is a market center for locally grown vegetables and for nearby coffee, tea, and rubber plantations. It is an upland resort founded in 1920 by a French physician as a therapeutic retreat from the tropical heat of the lowlands. There are pine forests, lakes, and waterfalls on the plateau and a 2135-m (7000-ft) mountain north of the city. Da Lat was once the summer capital and there are many villas in the city, including those of the former Emperor Bao Dai, and the governors of Cochin China and Annam. The city has a university and a sanatorium. The city has grown rapidly in recent years since the government began encouraging people to move out of overcrowded areas and into new economic zones. Population 600,000 (1990 estimate).
