As a popular flower in Da Lat, the beauty of the Immortetle flower only becomes more splendid and attractive by the unique idea of ​​a young man.

"Immortetle flower forest" located next to National Highway 20 in Xuan Tho commune, Da Lat city, Lam Dong province, is a tourist destination attracting a large number of tourists recently. Between the pine forest and the immense coffee hill, the Immortetle flower beds are winding along the hillside like countless waves of flowers overflowing from the valley. The house on high overlooking the flower hill looks so peaceful. In the distance, Elephant Mountain is towering, hidden behind the clouds. The space is filled with the smell of herbs, coffee along with the chirping sound of forest birds that make visitors feel like they are lost in a fairyland.

The birth of this tourist destination is also quite random. Mr. Vo Ngoc Dung is a 54 year old farmer who lives on Dao Duy Tu Street, Ward 4, Da Lat City. In 2020, he leased 6 hr of garden from a landowner in Xuan Tho commune to grow Immortetle flowers and sell them to flower and bonsai shops in Da Lat to make flower baskets as a special souvenir for tourists. At that time, his son, a 22 year old young man Vo Ngoc Minh Nhat, just graduated from an art school in Ho Chi Minh City, once went down to visit the garden with him and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Immortetle flower garden. So he advised his father not to collect flowers anymore, but to leave the entire flower garden to welcome visitors.

Immortetle flower, also known as Immortetle chrysanthemum and scientific name Xerochrysum bracteatum, is a species of plant in the daisy family. Immortetle flowers are often given by young people to each other to express their love. The flowers are small but meaningful. A special feature, the Immortetle flowers alway retain their original color even when they are faded and dried. Therefore, Immortetle is exchanged by young lovers to prove their eternal love.

In Da Lat, Immortetle flowers have been planted for a long time, but the colors are quite monotonous, mainly yellow and orange. Meanwhile, the Immortetle flower garden of Mr. Vo Ngoc Dung's family has extremely diverse in colors such as white, yellow, orange, purple, red, pink ... due to varieties imported from abroad. This flower is resistant to pests and diseases, requires little care, and takes about 5 months from sowing to flowering and the plant will bloom continuously for about 2 years.

Mr. Vo Ngoc Dung said that in the past, the economic efficiency from growing Immortetle flowers was quite precarious because each kilogram of flowers could sell for about only 50,000 VND. Immortetle flower weight is quite light, one person can only cut 5-6 kg of flowers daily while the average labor cost per person is 200,000 VND/day, the flower sales are only enough to pay for the labor. However, since switching to tourism, the economic efficiency is much higher. The tourist destination "Immortal Flower Forest" is completely free for visitors, his family only sell soft drinks and coffee at the price of 20,000-40,000 VND/cup. “We usually welcome about 50 guests on weekdays, on weekends and holidays we welcome 200-300 guests. Income from teh coffee shop is much higher than cutting flowers and selling them by weight," said Mr. Vo Ngoc Dung.

Highway 20 from the center of Da Lat city to Xuan Tho and Xuan Truong communes (Da Lat) has now become a tourist route with many famous "chek-in" spots and "Immortal flower forest" with rustic beautiful and romantic. This is a special highlight, contributing to making this road even more attractive to tourists from near and far.

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