Da Lat wild sunflowers: when to go and five routes to explore

Da Lat wild sunflowers usually peak from late October to late November, but timing shifts by a few weeks between years and routes. For a half-day outing, consider Cam Ly and Van Thanh. With a full day, you can explore toward Cau Dat and D’Ran. Bloom conditions and access to each spot still need checking before you go.

By Da Lat LoversPublished Oct 14, 2026Updated Oct 15, 2026How we review

A close-up of a yellow wild sunflower with an orange center, a slope of wild sunflowers and distant hills behind under a blue sky in Bao Loc, Lam Dong — Photo: Yensaolocoi

Wild sunflowers in Bao Loc, November 2023. Illustrative photo, not a record of this year’s bloom in Da Lat. Photo: Yensaolocoi / CC0.

Videos posted between October 10 and 14, 2026 show wild sunflowers (dã quỳ) at several spots around town and in the Cam Ly area. If you are going in mid-October, look up recent images of the exact spot you plan to visit; whether the old Cam Ly airfield is admitting visitors still needs confirming.

Where and when: the short version

What you need to know	Our suggestion
Usual season	Late October to late November; can shift by a few weeks between years and areas
This year (as of October 14, 2026)	Videos posted October 10-14 show flowers at a few spots around town and Cam Ly (details in the next section)
Close to the center	The old Cam Ly airfield (if the manager lets you in), around Da Lat University
Half a day	Cam Ly - Van Thanh; if you are used to hill roads, add Ta Nung, or take Prenn - Highway 20 - Voi Mountain
A full day	Trai Mat - Cau Dat - D’Ran - Don Duong
Best light	Early morning or late afternoon
Check before you go	Prenn and Mimosa passes, Highway 28B at Dai Ninh Pass; the drone zone around Lien Khuong Airport

Bloom and road conditions are dated in the sections below.

How far along is this year’s bloom?

The four videos below were posted between October 10 and 14, 2026. The footage covers only the locations shown, and the upload date may differ from the filming date.

Posted October 10: first-of-season flowers on the outskirts (Lê la Đà Lạt channel).
Posted October 11: buds just opening along Hai Ba Trung Street toward Thi Sach and Cam Do streets (Cuộc sống Đà Lạt channel).
Posted October 13: the season getting under way, alongside a road lined with cogon grass (Ống kính TV channel).
Posted October 14: wild sunflowers at the old Cam Ly airfield (Ống kính TV channel).

Bloom conditions along the longer routes, including Trai Mat - Cau Dat and Voi Mountain, still need checking. Before a long ride, find recent, dated images of that exact spot.

Where to see Da Lat wild sunflowers: 5 routes

The five routes below are suggestions based on past seasons; locations and bloom density may change.

1. In town: the old Cam Ly airfield and Da Lat University

The old Cam Ly airfield (sân bay Cam Ly) lies west of the center, next to Van Thanh flower village. In past seasons flowers lined the entrance and the old runway. The site is managed, so only go in if the manager agrees; whether visitors are let in this year, and for what fee, needs checking on the spot.

Da Lat University on Phu Dong Thien Vuong Street usually has plenty, especially behind the campus; ask the security guard before going in. Hai Ba Trung, Thi Sach and Cam Do streets also have a few roadside bushes.

A bush of wild sunflowers (Tithonia diversifolia) in full yellow bloom with orange centers among green leaves in Da Lat — Photo: Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên

2. Cam Ly - Van Thanh - Ta Nung - Elephant Falls

From the Cam Ly airfield area, head through Van Thanh flower village, down to Ta Nung and on to Elephant Falls (thác Voi). In past seasons, wild sunflowers were reported along the road and on some hillsides; check this year’s bloom at the spots you plan to visit. The route avoids the Prenn and Mimosa passes but is still hill country, so only ride yourself if you are used to it.

Elephant Falls pouring a wide white curtain of water onto moss-covered boulders under a clear blue sky — Photo: Ian Armstrong (Flickr)

3. Bao Dai’s Palace III - Tuyen Lam Lake - Clay Tunnel

Start at Bao Dai’s Palace III (Dinh 3) on Trieu Viet Vuong Street. For the Dinh 3 - Tuyen Lam side, pick specific flower spots on a map before you set off; this description is not enough to pin down the turnoff and where to stop. Blooms here tend to come later than in town. If you only have a morning or an afternoon, add either the Clay Tunnel or Truc Lam Zen Monastery, so you still have time to stop for the flowers.

4. Toward Prenn - Highway 20 - Voi Mountain area

Prenn Pass is about 10 km from the center. Beyond it, Highway 20 leads to the Voi Mountain area in the former Hiep An and Hiep Thanh communes (now Hiep Thanh commune), where in season a whole hillside can turn yellow. Along the Lien Khuong - Prenn Expressway, wild sunflowers grow around vegetable plots.

On a motorbike, use the roads open to you along Highway 20 and follow local signs; do not enter the Lien Khuong - Prenn Expressway. Riding a motorbike onto an expressway carries a fine of VND4-6 million (Government portal (in Vietnamese), January 9, 2025). The flowers along the expressway are a view for people in cars, not a place to pull over for photos.

Heavy trucks use this route, so slow down on the bends and read the mountain passes this season first. Side lanes usually lead to homes and farms; ask before heading in. On the way back you can stop at Datanla Waterfall.

The Lien Khuong - Prenn Expressway running straight toward the hills, lined with green shrubs and street lights under a cloudy sky — Photo: Bem photography (Flickr)

5. Trai Mat - Cau Dat - D’Ran - Don Duong

The road from Trai Mat up to the Cau Dat tea hills (about 25 km from the center) has frequent stretches of flowers. Carry on down D’Ran Pass, through the former D’Ran town and to the area below the Da Nhim hydropower dam. Around Tu Tra in Don Duong, the flowers grow between vegetable fields outside the greenhouses.

Combine this route with cloud hunting or a visit to the Cau Dat tea hills. A 500 m flower-lined road in Da Ron (now Don Duong commune) was reported in November 2024 to be shrinking as greenhouses went up, so check recent photos first.

The Cau Dat tea hill outside Da Lat wrapped in morning fog in November, a line of sparse trees fading into the mist along the slope — Photo: Khánh Hmoong (ℍmoong)

Coming up by road from Ho Chi Minh City: Highway 20

Phu Hiep Pass into Di Linh and the Bao Loc area also have wild sunflowers along the road and on the hills. Bus companies and routes are in Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat.

When the flowers usually bloom, and why timing varies

Wild sunflowers usually bloom as the rainy season ends, but peak timing varies from year to year and between areas. In 2024 they lasted until the year-end Flower Festival, while some years papers reported the peak from late September. They flower in two or three waves, areas can be weeks apart, and last year’s yellow hillside may since have been cleared for crops or greenhouses. If you have only one weekend available, consider late October to mid-November, then check recent bloom reports before booking. Week-by-week weather is in Da Lat weather in November; coming earlier, see Da Lat weather in October.

Half a day or a full day: how to plan it

Half a day, no mountain passes: consider Cam Ly and Van Thanh. Enter the old airfield only with permission; skip it if visitors are not being admitted. If you want to carry on to Ta Nung, treat it as a separate plan for people used to hill roads.

Half a day, comfortable on mountain roads: leave early, go down Prenn Pass and follow Highway 20 to the Voi Mountain area, then come back the same way. Follow any diversion signs or barriers on Prenn.

A full day: start with clouds or the Cau Dat tea hills via Trai Mat, continue toward D’Ran and Don Duong, stop for lunch, then come back the same way in the afternoon light. This is a long out-and-back trip over mountain passes, so allow enough time to return before dark.

Not riding? Hire a car with a driver or a taxi by the hour and agree on the stops. Riding? See licence rules in renting a motorbike in Da Lat.

When is the light best, and what should you wear?

On a clear day, early morning or late afternoon is usually easier to shoot in than midday. How crowded it gets depends on the spot and the day. You can look up sunrise and golden hour by date and spot with the golden hour tool in our flower calendar.

White, denim and brown stand out against yellow; yellow tops blend in. Wear long trousers and shoes with grip for the banks and field edges. Layering by temperature is in what to wear in Da Lat.

What do you need to know about the passes this season?

Road conditions per reports from September 25 to October 13, 2026 (check again before you go)

Prenn Pass: on September 25, traffic was using 3 of the 4 lanes at the landslide. On October 9, the province said a 120 m cut slope near Datanla Waterfall was unstable; repairs are expected to take 4 months.
Mimosa Pass: on September 26, a crack about 50 m long appeared at Km227+100 on the Duc Trong to Da Lat side. A report that day said all vehicles were still using the pass, with diversions and warnings. Check for newer notices before your trip.
Highway 28B, Dai Ninh Pass: on October 13, nearly half the road had sunk at elevated bridge No. 4; a temporary road was being cut and the section fenced off.

Drive these sections in daylight and follow the traffic marshals. Bus routes are in Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat.

Stopping for photos: do not stop mid-pass, on a bend or next to a landslide. Pull right off onto a wide shoulder and stay off the road while shooting.

Can you fly a drone over the sunflower routes?

A report published on October 14, 2026 identifies communes and wards containing restricted airspace around Lien Khuong Airport (Tuoi Tre (in Vietnamese)): 10 km from both ends of the runway and 8 km either side of the flight path. The 15 listed include familiar sunflower spots:

Hiep Thanh (including former Hiep An): Voi Mountain and the stretch of the Lien Khuong - Prenn Expressway there.
Nam Ban Lam Ha: Elephant Falls, at the end of the Ta Nung route.
D’Ran and Don Duong (including former Da Ron and Tu Tra): the D’Ran - Don Duong route.
Xuan Truong - Da Lat ward (including former Ward 11 and Xuan Truong commune): Trai Mat and Cau Dat.

The list is not enough to tell where the boundary runs at any given photo spot. A map is due on Google Maps and Google Earth; until then, do not fly on these routes. Outside the zone you still need permission before every flight, and flying without it carries a fine of VND20-30 million for individuals plus possible confiscation (Lam Dong Provincial Police, February 25, 2026).

Farms and fields: how to behave

The flowers grow wild, but the land usually belongs to someone: vegetable plots, coffee farms, or a managed site like the old Cam Ly airfield.

Ask the owner or the person on duty before you walk in. If they refuse access, or you would rather not pay the entrance fee, choose another spot.
Do not snap branches, pick flowers or shake the shrubs for petals; take your rubbish with you.
Keep to field edges and paths; do not step on crop beds or climb through fences.
Do not block farm gates or tracks when you park.

General flower-viewing etiquette for Da Lat is in our flower calendar.

A tall, leafy thicket of wild sunflowers dotted with yellow flowers and green buds under an overcast sky — Photo: DXLINH (vi.wikipedia)

Other blooms through the year are in the Da Lat flower season calendar; for the end of the year, see the Da Lat Flower Festival 2026.

FAQ

When do wild sunflowers bloom in Da Lat?

Usually from late October to late November, though peak timing varies by year and area; in some years the peak came from late September. Check recent photos of the spot before you go.

Are the wild sunflowers out in mid-October 2026?

Videos posted between October 10 and 14, 2026 show first blooms at the old Cam Ly airfield, along Hai Ba Trung, Thi Sach and Cam Do streets, and in a few places on the outskirts; the posting date is not necessarily the filming date. Bloom conditions along the longer routes, including Trai Mat - Cau Dat and Voi Mountain, still need checking.

Where can I see wild sunflowers close to the center of Da Lat?

The old Cam Ly airfield next to Van Thanh flower village (enter only with permission; skip it if visitors are not being admitted) and the area behind Da Lat University on Phu Dong Thien Vuong Street (ask the security guard before entering the campus).

Do I need a motorbike to see them?

Not in town, where a taxi works. For the longer routes, use a motorbike, a car with a driver or a taxi by the hour. Only ride yourself if you are used to mountain passes, stay on Highway 20 rather than the Lien Khuong - Prenn Expressway, and check Prenn and Mimosa first.

Are wild sunflowers real sunflowers?

No. Dã quỳ is Tithonia diversifolia, a daisy-family shrub also called Mexican sunflower or tree marigold. It usually grows 2-3 m tall. Vietnamese also calls it hướng dương dại, cúc quỳ or sơn quỳ.

Can I fly a drone to photograph the sunflowers?

Several communes and wards on the sunflower routes are listed as containing restricted airspace around Lien Khuong Airport (report of October 14, 2026). Until the official map is published, do not fly on these routes; outside the zone you still need permission before every flight.

Sources

These are the sources used for this article. It was last updated on Oct 15, 2026; prices and opening hours may have changed since, so please double-check before you go.