Tuyen Lam Shakeout
Eight soft kilometres under the pines, before the coffee
About this trail
This is the loop Da Lat runners do on an easy day, and the first one I take visitors on. It starts at the Đá Tiên boat landing on the south shore of Tuyen Lam and follows the water on singletrack cushioned with pine needles. Nothing about it is steep — the rollers are twenty to forty metres at a time — so you can talk the whole way. At 1,420 metres, on a dry morning at 14 °C, it is the best introduction to running at altitude that this city has.
Highlights
- Pine-needle singletrack, soft enough to run in road shoes
- The lake in view for most of the loop, mist on it until about 7:30
- A lakeside café at the five-kilometre mark
- Close enough to town to be back before breakfast
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.
Clockwise from the Đá Tiên landing along the south shore, climbing gently onto a pine hill at 2.4 km for the first open view of the water. The trail drops back to the shoreline, passes the cafés at 5.1 km, then rolls through open forest to close the loop. Two short sections cross tarmac.
Along the way
- km 0.0Đá Tiên boat landing, Tuyen Lam LakeStart1420 m
- km 2.4Pine hill lake viewViewpoint1465 m
- km 5.1Lakeside caféWater1435 m
- km 8.4Đá Tiên boat landing, Tuyen Lam LakeFinish1420 m
Who is it for?
Anyone who runs, at any speed. Also the right first outing if you have just arrived and want to feel what 1,500 metres does to your breathing before committing to a bigger day.
What to bring
- Trail or road shoes — the surface is forgiving
- A thin long-sleeve for the first twenty minutes
- Sunglasses; the light comes through the pines flat and hard
- A phone for photographs, if you want them
What's included
- Your guide, running with you at your pace
- Pick-up and drop-off in central Da Lat
- Water
- Photographs from the run, sent the same day
- The recorded GPX afterwards
- Breakfast or coffee at the lakeside café
- Travel insurance
Price
| People | Per person | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,400,000 VND≈ $53.85 | 1,400,000 VND |
| 2 | 900,000 VND≈ $34.62 | 1,800,000 VND |
| 3–4 | 780,000 VND≈ $30.00 | 2,340,000 VND |
| 5–6 | 690,000 VND≈ $26.54 | 3,450,000 VND |
Prices are per person in Vietnamese đồng. The US dollar figure is indicative and follows the rate set in the site's settings.
Safety
Two asphalt crossings where motorbikes come through faster than you expect — we regroup at both. Mobile coverage is good the whole way. In the wet season the red earth is slick on the short descents, and we slow down for them rather than skipping them.
Not suitable for children under twelve running the full loop. Cancelled and rescheduled free if there is heavy rain at the start time.
Meeting point
I collect you from your hotel in central Da Lat, or we meet at the Đá Tiên boat landing if you are already out at the lake. Standard start is 06:00 in the dry season, when the mist is still on the water.
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
