Enraptured atop Thiên Phúc Đức Hill – Da Lat

For some dear ones (both from Vietnam and abroad) visiting Da Lat for the first time, I revisited this city as a tourist rather than for work.

Enraptured atop Thiên Phúc Đức Hill – Da Lat

While unable to overlook the overly familiar spots like the chicken church, Pedagogical College, taking a train to Trại Mát to visit the miểng sành pagoda…, I still strived to seek out something new for myself and for first-time visitors to this dreamy land.

The first novel experience on the trip was a rubber boat tour on Tuyền Lâm lake, followed by a visit to a self-dug potato farm, strawberry picking, experiencing the forest… after reading two articles “In search of panoramic views” on Tuổi Trẻ newspaper and “Venturing into the heart of Da Lat”.

However, this is still not what made me and the whole group enraptured.

During the 'Journey through the Heart of Da Lat' tour, young guide Lại Thế Anh truly delighted the entire group with his profound understanding of Da Lat. Especially, Thế Anh captures exceptionally beautiful photos. He showcases landscape photos of Da Lat that leave everyone in awe.

When we asked if he could take us to a unique photography spot in Da Lat, Thế Anh eagerly replied: Ready, but everyone must wake up very early, 4:30 AM tomorrow.

10 minutes to capture beautiful photos

Right on time, early the next morning, our group of six and Thế Anh took a taxi. “Today I will take you all to a hill opposite Lang Biang, hoping to capture beautiful photos,” Thế Anh said.

That hill is only about 6km from downtown Da Lat, but there is a rough section, so it takes about 20 minutes to get there.

The taxi stopped at the foot of the hill. In the mild cold of an early morning in Da Lat in January 2016, we slowly climbed up the hill. Everything was still shrouded in darkness. The Lang Biang range was barely visible. In the valley, a few dim yellow lights emanated from the farms.

Upon hearing Thế Anh's instructions to 'everyone grab your cameras, and if you have a super wide lens, bring it out,' we hesitated a bit because usually, when we go out for photography, there are at least some lights around, not this pitch-black darkness!

But Thế Anh kept urging: “We only have about 10 minutes to capture this moment. Focus on the solitary pine tree (it took me a few seconds to realize there was a lone pine tree, standing gracefully), with Lang Biang range in the background.

Aperture set to 4, shutter speed 10 seconds, ISO pushed to 2,500 for full-frame cameras, 3,200 for crop cameras. Let me know when you're done…,” Thế Anh instructed.

Astonishing Beauty

After I completed the tasks, Thế Anh eagerly rushed over and said, 'Press the shutter and hand me the flashlight.'

Without saying a word, he took my flashlight, quickly illuminated the lone pine tree, then turned it off. After 10 seconds, the screen of my camera displayed a breathtakingly beautiful image.

The foreground presents a stunning silhouette of a lone pine tree, with its vivid azure leaves shining brightly. In the middle ground, a soft, white mist blankets the low hills scattered across the valley.

Here and there, a few warm golden lights glow, while in the distance, the majestic Lang Biang range stands tall, resembling a maiden gazing at the sky. And above, the sky is dotted with countless stars.

Thế Anh exclaimed, “Beautiful. But unfortunately, the light from my flashlight is a bit too strong. If it were a bit weaker, it would be even more beautiful.” Saying so, he rushed over to assist someone else.

True to the warning, we had just under 10 minutes to capture this scene, as afterward the sky began to lighten, and the stars disappeared! However, the allure now shifted to another emotion, that of witnessing the sunrise.

Everyone diligently adjusted their technical settings, clicked their shutters, then marveled, “It's perfect… it's perfect…” as the sparklingly beautiful photos appeared one by one with various shades.

As the sunlight grew stronger, the photos remained astonishing due to the lingering mist, the Lang Biang range becoming clearer… and now with the addition of vibrant golden hues from the burnt grass on the hills.

We prepared our equipment at 7 AM. At this moment, through Thế Anh's words, we just discovered the name of this hill, Thiên Phúc Đức.

“We've collected more than a dozen beautiful and unique photography spots in Đà Lạt. However, it's impossible to visit them all at once because each place is perfect for only a short period during the year. For example, Thiên Phúc Đức hill is truly stunning during this season, with just the right chill in the air, thin mist, clear skies, and vibrant golden grass…” – Thế Anh remarked.

This Tet holiday, I've made plans with Thế Anh to return to Đà Lạt in the last days of the year.

Now, Đà Lạt is far from dull for me, thanks to the young people who cherish this land and are incredibly romantic as they forsake everything to hunt for the homeland's beautiful scenes to introduce to distant guests (Thế Anh graduated from university with a major in industrial fine arts, but decided to leave his primary profession to pursue the path of developing Đà Lạt tourism through unique destinations).

Source: Tuổi Trẻ (Youth)

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