2 days amid the mist and clouds of Bao Loc

Rising more than 1,000 meters above sea level, the mountain in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands beckons travelers beating a retreat from city life.

Known across the Di Linh Plateau as a spot for cloud hunting, Dai Binh has an untouched terrain of slopes and valleys. Accommodation is in the form of homestays and small lodges where mobile and Internet signals often fade in and out.

The best time to see the clouds is from late September through December. Early risers are rewarded with clouds cascading over the hillsides, sometimes drifting right up to the rooms perched on the slopes. As dawn breaks the sky shifts from pink to gold.

Ha Thai, a visitor from Ho Chi Minh City, spent two days with friends in a lodge about 15 kilometers from downtown Bao Loc. This place is surrounded by coffee groves, tea hills and durian orchards. The site backs onto Dai Binh Mountain and overlooks Loc Thanh Valley.

"Unlike in Da Lat, where you often have to travel far to see clouds, here we could watch them right from our room," Thai said.

Their four-bedroom lodge, featuring a window opening to a valley blanketed in mist, cost VND11 million ($416) a day. During the two-day trip they spent their time trekking up the mountain and learning about local culture. A highlight was exploring the stilt houses of the Cao Lan ethnic people.

The wooden homes were built in the 1980s by the Cao Lan community, who migrated from Vietnam's northeast.

Van Huu Triem, founder of the Cao Lan Hamlet project, said he purchased and relocated five stilt houses from Binh Phuoc Province to Bao Loc, restoring them for visitors to stay in.

Evenings on Dai Binh are equally captivating. When the weather is clear, travelers can witness the blue hour - the time just after sunset when the sky glows cobalt.

"As mist rolled over the valley, we had dinner outdoors, enjoying the mountain view in the cool air," Thai said.