Located in Lac Duong District, Lang Biang, the tallest of the three peaks in Da Lat offers sweeping panoramic views across the highlands. But hiking Lang Biang peak in Da Lat can be slightly challenging.
The 4 km vertical climb will leave you out of breath but the trek is worth the challenge. In this quick guide, we’ll tell you where to start the hike, what to expect and how to get there.
[Updated: January 2020 | Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links, we may receive a small commission for any purchases at no extra cost to you. Lovely.]How to Get to Lang Biang Mountain
Located 12 km from Da Lat centre, Lang Biang mountain can be reached easily by bike, motorbike, local bus, or a taxi.
If you are planning to travel the base of the mountain on a bike or scooter, you can leave your transportation parked at one of the stalls just outside the park. The friendly locals will look after them for a small fee.
Reach Lang Biang on a Local Bus
For 12,000V VND, you can take the local bus #5 (look for Lang Biang written on the bus windows). It leaves from Da Lat bus station near the central market every hour from 6 am – 5pm. The ticket lady might also give you a piece of paper with the bus return hours which is handy.
After around 45 minutes up to an hour, you’ll conveniently be dropped off by the main entrance to the national park.
Locate the Lang Biang Hiking Path
For the western travellers, Da Lat is all about nature, the hills, the national park and trekking. And as independent as we are, we decided to find our own way up to the tallest peak in the area.
If you, however, opt for the visit to the old radar station (1,950 m), you can take one of the old Russian jeeps violently whizzing the tourists up and down the paved path. At the top, there’s a coffee and crafts shop, and more silly photo opportunities.
Do you need to buy a ticket for visiting Lang Biang mountain?
It’s not really clear whether you need to buy a ticket or not if you are going to hike the peak. Most likely, the pass is needed only if you are going to see the Holywood-style Lang Biang sign in the park. And take pictures with horses painted to look like zebras. Don’t ask!
But we bought ours anyway (20,000 VND) at the ticket booth on the left-hand side by the main entrance. Further down the path, there’s another checkpoint so beware that in high season, someone might demand to show the ticket.
Where does the Lang Biang peak hike start?
To avoid being run over by the touristy jeeps, take the quiet and picturesque path through the beautiful pine-tree forest.
At the entrance, DON’T go through the main gate. Instead, take the narrow path to your right-hand side right outside of the main entrance (as shown in the photo above).
The path, depending on the time of year, can be muddy and may not look like a path, but it is. It will lead you into the national park through the strawberry fields, veg greenhouses and a coffee plantation.
If in doubt, ask the locals. They are used to people hiking up this way. It’s safer than the main road and more peaceful too.
Once in the forest, follow the steep path up until you see the main road. The up-hill trek, depending on your fitness level, takes approximately 2-3 hours.
Unfortunately, you will have to step onto the main road for around 50 m or so to reach the base of the mountain. Once you see a large map in a wooden frame and a small wooden ticket booth, you know you are on the right path.
TOP TIP: Be sure to have some cash with you on the Lang Bang peak hike. During the high season, you might need to pay a small additional fee (20,000 VND) to access the path to the tallest peak in the area.
Lang Biang Mountain Trail Map
Below is a Google map of the Lang Biang walking trail to the summit. The start point pinned here is a small restaurant right next to the entrance gate.
Ignore the time stated, it’s a pretty steep climb in places and is likely to take longer than this so allow plenty of time.
Prepare for the Lang Biang Peak Hike
First things first have a good breakfast. The hike will take at least half of your day so you’ll want to make sure you have a hearty breakfast before leaving.
Alternatively, you can buy some food at the entrance to the park. There are a few places in the car park or just outside the gate to buy coffee, water and Bánh mì (baguette sandwich).
Wear comfortable footwear and take a rain jacket or a jumper. The weather can change quickly as you hike. It’s also windy and cold at 2,167 m above sea level.
Be sure to pack snacks, but nothing too salty and plenty of water. The climb is steep and sweaty so you will want at least a 1l bottle if not more per person.
Read more: our full guide to visiting Vietnam
What’s it Like to Climb the Tallest Peak in Da Lat
If you are not used to hiking, the Lang Biang peak hike can be a little challenging. But at the same time, the national park is beautiful full of greenery and panoramic views when the skies are clear.
As you progress climbing the mountain, it gets darker and the trek gets narrower leading you up through the jungle. The forest suddenly sinks into the soft fog. Luckily, it also gets cooler.
There are signs along the way to tell you how much you’ve got left to climb, but at times, we preferred not to know as the trek seemed never-ending. We were tired, sweaty and thirsty.
The most challenging bit is the last 360 m. At this point, the climb seems to take forever. But it’s not the steep climb that’s the most challenging here. It’s the large steps that require a lot of effort and energy to move upward.
You are nearly at the top, just a few more steps…
Enjoy Langbiang at 2,167 Meters Above Sea Level
At the summit, if you are lucky, you’ll see panoramic views across the Vietnamese highlights. But don’t be disheartened to find the mountain covered in fog. It happens a lot.
Sit on the grass, catch your breath, relax. The fog will shift eventually.
The panoramic views of Da Lat might not be the most spectacular from the peak, but it’s the challenge itself that’s worth achieving.
TOP TIP: Be mindful when climbing down the mountain. These big steps can be hard on your knees so don’t run or jump. Take it easy and enjoy the greenery.
Getting to Da Lat
As with many destinations in Vietnam, getting to Da Lat is pretty easy. One way to get there is to catch a local bus at HCMC, Bien Hoa, Nam Cat Tien, Phan Rang, Nha Trang or Buon Ma Thuot.
Alternatively, to save time, you can book a flight from Da Nang, Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. We enjoyed our experience flying from Da Nang to Da Lat. The views from the plane were lovely.
During our Vietnam travels, we used the reliable 12Go Asia site extensively to book bus, train and flight tickets and always had the best experience. Plus, you don’t need to print your tickets, you show them on your mobile. Convenient!
Have you trekked Lang Biang? Was it hard or easy for you? Let us know in the comments below…
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The last bus was at 17 and not at 16, I can’t edit my previous comment.
I used Mike location to start the hike, indeed it’s out of the main gate. The hike begins calm in a forest area and then continues to a jungle with quite steep climbs. There was not another check point and we only met one hiker along the climb. Near the peak we met two hikers which hiked from the easier path. To get down we chose the same hard trail, which requires some sliding on your butt since it’s steep. We missed the last bus since it left at 16 instead of at 16.10 as was written in the paper we received on our way there.
Hey Aviv, sorry to hear you missed the bus. Hope you still had a great time though. Cheers K&C
First of all, thanks for the detailled explanations, it really helped us to plan the journey 🙂 We did it today and there are quite some changes to your post (2.5 years back).
Just to keep an update:
It is still bus #5. the busstop was slighlty moved, on google maps you can enter (11.9441993, 108.4363064) to find the current position. The number of the buses are quite small and lies on the top left corner, just keep an eye on it. The color of the local buses is red-orange and the touristic buses are green.
We have been at 8:30 at the busstop, and the bus arrived at 9:15, so it could be you wait up to an hour. The lady in the bus gave me a ticket for 16‘000 dong and a paper with the return times from Lang Biang:
10:00, 11:00, 1:30pm, 2:50, 4:10 and 5:10.
To find the way walk up can be started here: (12.0282399, 108.4296258) and the path is really easy to find after.
I hope it helps to plan your journey!
Hey Mike, thanks for the update in times and prices, these things are always changing! Did you get a good view from the top or was it foggy like when we were there?
Yes, we were lucky to get up early, the view was clear and overall we could see far 🙂 sky color was blue!
Today me and my girlfriend went to the Tallest peak of Da Lat on our own, so without a guide. We started as you said next to the main entrance. It was hard to find the right path, so we went wrong the first time. After 1 hour walking we went back to the main entrance, because we had not a good feeling about the current trek. That saved our day, because a few minutes from the start you have to climb a small – kinda hidden – hill on the right side of a bricked house. We passed that small hill before, so to the people that want to climb this mountain the same way, pay attention to small hill. It does not look like a path, but it is. You have to walk along the horses and plantations before you see the view of the photo placed under the header ‘Climbing the Tallest Peak in Da Lat’ of this article.
Enjoy your trek! And do not forget to bring enough water, fruit or some other energetic food with you.
Greetzz
Hey Dennis, thanks for the pointers. We climbed up the main road for a while and nearly got run over by the bloody jeeps that hurtle along that way. It was so much easier to climb down when we found the right way to do it. Did you get a clear view from the top or end up shrouded in a mist like us?