Mai anh đào, or wild Himalayan cherry flower trees, blooms the brightest and most intensely in Lâm Đồng Province for a few short weeks from the end of January until mid February.
There are more than 3,000 such trees around the hilly province's suburban Lạc Dương District, mostly along downtown street. Just a few kilometers from the city center, one can find the pink tapestry along the whole of National Road 20 to Đức Trọng District, or along National Road 27C to Lạc Dương.
The presence of "pink hills" are thanks to members of the K'Ho ethnic community, who have planted the trees over the past years. In recent years, tourists flock to this area every spring to find the pink petals among the coffee hills, traversing hundreds of meters of bumpy roads frequently used by local farmers to travel to their plantations.
Be it due to a desire to marvel at pink flowers, the thirst for some good pictures for their social media, or just simply the lure of spring, more and more people visit Đà Lạt these days. Perhaps watching mai anh đào bloom is on its way to become a new custom like Japan's famous hanami.
Wild Himalayan cherry blossoms on the hills in Lạc Dương District, Lâm Đồng Province.
Only discovered in recent years, the mai anh đào "forest" here has become a popular destination for flower-watchers.
A bungalow among the blossoms.
A couple takes a "we-fie" under the cherry blossoms. Mai anh đào season is among the favorite periods for couples to travel to Đà Lạt.
Like the sakura season in Japan, Vietnamese people seem to be gradually developing a "sakura" season of their own.
To get to the hills of cherry blossoms, motorbikes are the only choice due to the bumpy, steep dirt roads.
Resting time for the puppy.
Kids from the K'Ho ethnic group enjoy their time with the flowers.
Tourists stop along National Road 20 on the way to Đà Lạt to get their photos with the blossoms.
Early blossoms on Dã Quỳ Road in Da Lat.
The pink hue to mai anh đào is a background of choice for many amateur photographers.
Wild Himalayan cherry flowers along National Road 20 from Đà Lạt to Cầu Đất.
