The houses in the area are around 100–130 years old. Before the houses were built the area of Darranlas was Glyngwyn Farm. Darrenlas primary school was built in 1907 and is located in Kingcraft Street, the school is a feeder to Mountain Ash Comprehensive School. There was another primary school in the area known as Cynon Infants but it has now closed. The localpublic house in the area is the Napiers arms, named after General Charles James Napier. The pub is shaped like a coffin and the reason is believed that it was once owned by an undertaker. It is also believed that the street behind the pub is called Dover Street because a number of people came to the area in the 1800s from Dover to build the streets. There are also other streets that are named after the Bruce family which is the family of Lord Aberdare such as Eva Street, Knight Street, Pamela Street, Pryce Street and Clarence Street.
There is a bus service that runs through Darranlas via Perthcelyn coming down the valley and also comes back up via the town centre. Mountain ash railway station is also located in the town centre.