Cau Dat Tea Hills

The tea at Cau Dat was planted from 1927 by the French administration, which was looking for crops that would work at altitude on the Lang Bian plateau, and at about 1,600 metres it is among the highest tea in Vietnam - cool, misty and slow-growing, which is what the industry values. Some of the original bushes remain in production. The estate still processes tea in machinery of considerable age, and it has added a visitor operation: a cafe, paths through the rows and viewpoints that fill with photographers when mist sits in the valleys at dawn. Oolong is now grown alongside the older green varieties.

What you actually see

• Tea planted from 1927 - by the French, at about 1,600 metres.
• Old bushes still producing - among the original plantings.
• Working processing machinery - of considerable age.
• Mist in the valleys at dawn - what the photographers come for.

When to go

Year round; before sunrise for the mist. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The visitor side is commercialised, with charged entry, a cafe and photo props among the rows. Dawn brings crowds. It is a working farm and picking areas are restricted. The road from Da Lat is winding.

Nearby

Da Lat is west; the Bidoup-Nui Ba park is north-east.