Truc Lam & Lakeshore Pine Walk
A cable car, a monastery and six and a half quiet kilometres
About this trail
Most visitors see Truc Lam for twenty minutes and get back on the bus. This walk gives the place the morning it deserves. We ride the cable car down from Robin Hill — 2.4 kilometres over the pine canopy — spend time in the monastery gardens above the water, then take the steps down to the lake and walk the shoreline to the Đá Tiên landing. Flat, shaded, and genuinely beautiful, with somewhere to sit and drink coffee halfway.
Highlights
- The 2.4 km cable car over the pine forest
- Truc Lam Zen Monastery and its gardens, free to enter
- Shoreline walking under mature pines
- Coffee by the water at the halfway point
Route
The line on the map is drawn through the real features of the route, not recorded with a GPS. It is right about where the route goes and how steep it is; the exact GPX comes from your own day and is sent to you afterwards.
Cable car from Robin Hill to the monastery, then the garden terraces and the steps down to the lake at 2.1 km. From there the path follows the north-west shore, passing a lakeside café at 3.4 km, and finishes at the Đá Tiên boat landing.
Along the way
- km 0.0Robin Hill cable car stationStart1540 m
- km 2.1Truc Lam Zen MonasteryViewpoint1515 m
- km 3.4Lakeside caféFood1485 m
- km 6.5Đá Tiên boat landingFinish1420 m
Who is it for?
Everyone. Families, people who do not think of themselves as hikers, anyone acclimatising or recovering. If you can walk for two and a half hours with stops, you can do this.
What to bring
- Comfortable shoes — trainers are plenty
- A light layer for the cable car
- Sun protection for the open sections
- Modest clothing for the monastery: shoulders and knees covered
What's included
- Your guide, with the history and the botany if you want it
- Pick-up and drop-off in central Da Lat
- Water
- Photographs from the walk
- The cable car ticket, 70,000 ₫ return — we can walk instead if you prefer
- Coffee at the lakeside café
- Travel insurance
Price
| People | Per person | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,300,000 VND≈ $50.00 | 1,300,000 VND |
| 2 | 850,000 VND≈ $32.69 | 1,700,000 VND |
| 3–4 | 730,000 VND≈ $28.08 | 2,190,000 VND |
| 5–6 | 640,000 VND≈ $24.62 | 3,200,000 VND |
Prices are per person in Vietnamese đồng. The US dollar figure is indicative and follows the rate set in the site's settings.
Payable on the day
- Robin Hill cable car, return70,000 VND / per person
Safety
The monastery steps are steep and can be slippery when wet. Nothing else on this route is exposed, mobile coverage is good throughout, and we are never more than twenty minutes from a road.
No age limit. The cable car is optional — say so when you book and we will start from the monastery gate instead.
Meeting point
Hotel pick-up in central Da Lat, or meet at the Robin Hill cable car station. Any start time between 07:00 and 14:00 works.
Your guide
Ivan Grigorev
I am Ivan. I have been running for twenty years and coaching runners since 2011, and I have been in the mountains since 2009 and guiding in them since 2015. Ten marathons, five ultras over 100 km, Elbrus twice. I live in Da Lat and I have spent my mornings learning where its trails actually go.
Meet your guide
