Prenn Waterfall

Da Lat greets travelers from the south with a waterfall. Anyone driving up from Ho Chi Minh City on National Route 20 crosses the Prenn Pass, and this is the first place on the way where the mountain town shows itself. It feels like a hello from Da Lat. The falls lie at the foot of the pass, right beside the highway, about 10 kilometers from the center of Da Lat.

Prenn Waterfall is a national scenic site, listed in 1998. The name Prenn Waterfall belongs to the natural site that the state has recognized. Tea Resort Prenn is the brand of the operator that runs the tourist area today.

Prenn is not one of those waterfalls that crash down with a roar, as many do in the Central Highlands. What sets it apart is a sheet of water falling about 10 meters, light and soft, like a curtain hung between the pine forest and a small valley. Visitors can stand on a bridge close to the curtain of water and hear it murmur. Then a path leads down into the valley, where the cool mist and the scent of pine resin blend together.

The name Prenn has at least two explanations in circulation. The national tourism authority links it to the old Cham language, and to territorial disputes of centuries past. Another explanation, quoted by the VnExpress news site and many travel papers, says the name comes from the K'Ho language. The word Prềnh means bitter eggplant, a plant that grows thickly along the streams of this region. Since the explanations differ, it is best to hear the name as layers of memory held in language, not as one answer that settles the matter.

Beyond the falls, the tourist area holds a cultural layer that many people overlook. It is the Âu Lạc Temple complex on Phượng Hoàng Mountain, built in 2002. The temple is dedicated to the eighteen Hùng Kings, whom Vietnamese people honor as their ancestors. It also honors famous figures of the country.

Each year, Lâm Đồng province chooses this place for the incense ceremony of thanks to the Hùng Kings. It is held on their day of remembrance, the tenth day of the third lunar month. In the mountains of Da Lat, ceremonial drums sound and incense smoke hangs in the cold air. Even high in the highlands, gratitude to the ancestors is never far away.

So Prenn holds two rare things in one place. One is the soft natural beauty of a curtain of water among pines. The other is the cultural depth of a temple that keeps the fire of history alive on the high plateau. On the bridge, the pale white curtain of water hangs ahead, the stream runs below, and the pines sigh all around. That is why people say Prenn is the first greeting Da Lat gives to those who come to the mountain town.