The old railway station and the mosaic pagoda of Trai Mat

A ride on a short heritage train from Vietnam’s loveliest Art Deco station to a village pagoda covered in shards of pottery and glass.

Area

Dalat & highlands

Start from

Dalat railway station

Distance

about 7 km by train

Time needed

half a day

Best season

All year

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Heritage train; taxi back if you prefer

Tickets & rules

Small ticket for the station and the train

Why go

Dalat railway station is one of the most beautiful buildings in Vietnam. Its three tall, pointed gables echo the peaks of Langbiang, its windows are coloured glass, and its yellow façade glows in the afternoon light. Inside, old carriages and a steam locomotive stand on the tracks, and there’s a café in a wooden car.

From here a short tourist train runs about 7 km downhill through gardens and greenhouses to the village of Trai Mat. The ride is gentle and slow, which is perfect: you look into backyards, past vegetable plots and flower farms, while the train rattles through the hills.

At Trai Mat, a short walk from the station, the Linh Phuoc pagoda is a riot of colour, with dragons, towers and walls covered in mosaics of broken porcelain, glass and pottery.

The story

The railway to Dalat was one of the most ambitious projects of French Indochina. Built in stages and finished in the 1930s, the line climbed from Thap Cham near Phan Rang up to the plateau, around 84 km, using rack-and-pinion sections to tackle the steepest grades. The station building was completed in the late 1930s.

The line was damaged in the wars of the following decades and fell out of service. Much of the track was dismantled, and only the stretch to Trai Mat survives, restored for tourist trains. Every few years there is talk of rebuilding the entire line, which would make it one of the great mountain railways of Asia.

Linh Phuoc pagoda was built from the 1950s onwards and became famous for its mosaics. Its great dragon is made from many thousands of beer bottles, and there is a tall bell tower and a huge bronze bell. Inside, the halls are full of statues and lanterns, and local families come to pray and light incense, so it is a working temple as well as a spectacle.

Trai Mat itself was once a farming village where many families came from the north; its vegetable farms still supply the markets of Dalat and further afield.

Getting there

The station is a short walk or taxi ride east of Xuan Huong Lake. Trains run several times a day, but schedules and minimum passenger numbers vary; check at the station.

The round trip takes about two hours, including time at Trai Mat. You can take a taxi back if you prefer.

A suggested plan

1. 8:30Explore the station building and old carriages.
2. 9:30Train down to Trai Mat.
3. 10:00Linh Phuoc pagoda: the mosaics, the dragon and the bell tower.
4. 11:15Train back up to Dalat.
5. 12:00Lunch near the lake.

Where to stay

Any base in Dalat works; the station is a short ride from the centre.

Good to know

• Sit on the right going down for the best views.
• Bring a small amount of cash for the pagoda and the café.
• The station is lovely in late afternoon light for photographs.
• Combine with a flower farm visit near Trai Mat.