Visiting the Crazy House in Da Lat
When looking up things to do in Da Lat, visiting the Crazy House was something that kept appearing on all the lists. They mentioned it being a weirdly designed house, but nothing could prepare me for quite how “crazy” this house was.
The official name of the Crazy House is Hằng Nga guesthouse, as it’s actually a working hotel. Each room is themed after a different animal or plant, representing different countries. The Bamboo Room represents Vietnam, while the Bear room represents Russia.
Visiting the Crazy House
Getting to the Crazy House was very easy. We took a Grab taxi, which drops you off right outside the ticket entrance. It is possible to walk, however you’ll be doing a lot of climbing once you’re there: so best to save your energy unless you’re staying nearby. If you’ve just arrived to Da Lat, I would also make sure to drop your luggage off at your accommodation first. You don’t want to drag it around the Crazy House!
The ticket itself cost 60,000 VND (Correct price as of January 2024) which is around £2/$2.50. You can check the official website for up to date prices and opening times.
If you want to stay in the one of the rooms, the prices are quite reasonable. If I ever come back to Da Lat, I’d definitely love to try staying in one of them!
The Crazy House Exterior
When you first arrive, the ticket office looks like it’s being absorbed by giant roots. This is a good indication of what’s to come! The entire place has a very natural feel, and is almost like a giant tree with many different branches that you can follow. If you’ve ever read Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree books, it is what I imagine the tree would be like if it really existed.
There are endless steps leading up and down, so we picked one direction and let the path lead us. The architect tried to avoid rectangular shapes as much as possible, so everything is curved and smooth with no sharp angles.
The steps themselves are like tree stumps and very narrow, so only one person can move through at a time. Several times we would have to stop and let others pass us. Many of the paths interlink and double back on themselves, so it felt like a video game where you keep trying every path to make sure you haven’t missed anything.
The paths not only take you through the house, but over it too. One path leads outside, and up past the roof which is decorated with mosaic tiles. Another path leads to a second roof which is decorated as the top of a tree stump.
There are a lot of steps, so unfortunately it is not accessible to people with mobility issues.
Inside the crazy house
Just as the outside is spectacularly weird, the inside is just as strange. I particularly loved the room themed around the ocean and the pink flowery tree.
As it’s a hotel, most of the guest rooms weren’t available to see. You could peek into the unoccupied ones, which will vary depending on when you visit. The ocean section was really cool, though, as it felt like you were slowly descending into the depths. There was a gift shop in one section too, for those that would like to get a souvenir.
One section of the inside was dedicated to various newspaper articles and photographs. I think they are telling you more about the construction of the house. They were all in Vietnamese when I visited. Make sure you have a translation app with you if you want to be able to understand what they’re saying!
What do you think of the Crazy House in Da Lat? Is it somewhere you’d like to visit, or even stay?
