Story: Chi Mai
Photos: Minh Tuu
Discover Ta Dung Lake, where emerald islands, misty mountains, and quiet waters create one of the Central Highlands’ most striking landscapes.
Lam Dong is often associated with the misty charm of Dalat, the majestic silhouette of Mount Langbiang, coffee-scented valleys, and pine-covered hills. Yet beyond these familiar landscapes lies another side of the province. Our journey took us northwest to Ta Dung Lake, a serene world of mountains and water nestled in the heart of the Central Highlands.
From above, the lake unfolds like a vast emerald tapestry, dotted with nearly 50 islands and peninsulas rising from its waters. Each has its own shape, softened by a lush tree cover. It is a breathtaking sight that makes Ta Dung’s nickname, “Ha Long Bay of the Central Highlands,” seem entirely fitting.
The beauty of Ta Dung changes with the seasons. In the dry season, the water recedes, revealing the islands’ contours against the lake’s calm surface. From July to December, the rains replenish the lake, bringing deeper greens to the surrounding hills. Throughout the day, shifting light lends the landscape an ever-changing palette.
But Ta Dung reveals its quietest charms to those who take their time. At dawn, wisps of cloud drift among the islands as the first light spreads over the water. By late afternoon, the colors soften, and a profound stillness settles over the lake and mountains, capturing the gentle rhythm of life in the highlands.
Our most memorable moments came during a boat ride through the islands. From the water, the mountains seemed taller and the sky more expansive. We passed small fishing settlements and floating fish farms, glimpsing a way of life shaped by the lake’s seasonal rhythms. Occasionally, we reached down to trail our fingers through the cool water, feeling, for a fleeting moment, entirely at one with the landscape.
As our boat drifted back toward the shore, its gentle wake faded into the stillness. Beyond us, mountains, forests, and clouds stretched into the distance, while emerald islands emerged through the mist like fragments of a dream woven from the wilderness of the Central Highlands.
