HikingHard
Full dayLang Biang Summit — Núi Bà
2,167 metres, the long way, on the trail rather than the road
- Distance
- 16.0 km
- Elevation
- +900 m
- Time
- 7–8 h
from
1,450,000 VND
≈ $55.77 · per person
Da Lat · Lam Dong
Dalat Trail Running & Hiking
Da Lat has two trail ultras a year, a network of pine singletrack, and nobody selling guided running on it. I live here and I do. Eight routes from an easy eight kilometres to the roof of the province — with a guide who runs at your pace, not a bus with a flag.
8Guided routes
1,500 mCity altitude
XI–IVDry season
Find your route
1 route Reset
Type
Distance
Difficulty
Time
Hiking & trekking
Walk the mountains behind the city
Four routes, from a flat morning by the monastery to two days across the highest ground in the province. Transfers, tickets and permits handled; you walk.
Max 6
Custom trail
Custom trail with a local guide
You came to Da Lat with a training plan and no idea where the trails go. Pick the shape of the session and I will build it on the ground — the right surface, the right climbing, the right length, and somebody who knows where the branch trails end up.
Running or hiking
Trail runningHiking
Distance
5 km10 km15 km20 km30+ km
Difficulty
EasyModerateHardExpert
Time
2–3 hoursHalf dayFull day
Most useful for runners in the middle of a block: tell me the session — long run, hill reps, easy shakeout, race recce — and I will find the terrain for it.
From 690,000 VND per person≈ $26.54
Meet your guide
Explore Da Lat through running and mountains, not through a tour bus
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.
20years of running
10marathons
5ultras over 100 km
2011coaching runners since
- Mountaineering since 2009
- Guiding in the mountains since 2015
- Two Elbrus ascents
For a strong runner I can be a running guide and a pacer. For anyone else I am a hiking guide who happens to know the fast lines. Either way you get somebody who has done the distance you are about to do.
Why Da Lat
The best running city in Vietnam, and almost nobody uses it that way
1,500 metres, and 15 °C at dawn
The city sits on a plateau at about 1,500 m. Mornings in the dry season start around 14 °C with mist on the lakes — the only place in Vietnam where you can run hard in the middle of the day and not regret it.
Pine singletrack, not jungle mud
Three-needle pine forest means a soft, well-drained surface and a trail that stays runnable. Red earth, roots on the steep ground, and tracks that connect for tens of kilometres.
Two trail ultras a year
Dalat Ultra Trail in March and the UTMB World Series race in January both use this ground, which is the strongest proof anyone could ask for that the trails are real and runnable.
Everything starts fifteen minutes from your hotel
Tuyen Lam is six kilometres from the centre, Lang Biang twelve. You can run a serious route and still be at breakfast by nine.
Before you book
Questions people actually ask
I run, but I have never run on trails. Is that a problem?
No. Start with the Tuyen Lam Shakeout or the Pine Forest Loop — both are soft, well-graded and forgiving, and running on trails is mostly a matter of looking further ahead than you do on the road. I will tell you where to look.
What if I am slower than you?
That is the normal case and it changes nothing. I run at your pace; the route is chosen so that your pace makes it a good morning rather than a survival exercise. If you would rather have somebody pushing you, say so and I will pace you properly.
Do I need to be a runner at all?
No. Four of the eight routes are walking routes, and the Truc Lam pine walk needs nothing more than the ability to walk for two and a half hours.
When is the best time of year?
December to March is the dry core: 10–50 mm of rain a month, cold clear mornings. November and April work well. May to October is the wet season — the short routes still run, the long ones and Bidoup do not.
What about leeches?
Real, and worst from June to October in the forest routes, particularly around Bidoup. Long socks over your trouser cuffs and repellent deal with them; I carry spare socks and repellent for anyone who arrives without.
Are the entrance fees included?
Each route page lists exactly what is included and what is not. Where a gate ticket or a park permit is payable, the amount is on the page in advance — the Lang Biang ticket is 50,000 ₫, and the Bidoup permit and package are already inside that route's price.
How do I pay?
You do not pay through this page. Send an enquiry, I answer with a plan and a price, and we settle in cash or by transfer on the day. Nothing is charged until we have agreed what we are doing.
What happens if the weather is bad?
I check the forecast the evening before and call you. Heavy rain at the start time means we move the day or you get your money back — I will not take a group onto a slick descent to save a booking.
Book
Book your trail
Tell me what you are after and when. I read every message myself and answer with a route, a time and a price — usually the same day.