Elephant Falls near Dalat in Vietnam is a beautiful waterfall with minimal tourist development. Many tour providers offer packages which include a visit here, at considerable cost. We went to Elephant Falls independently for 70k VND total per person, including entrance fee, and I think we enjoyed it just as much as anyone on a tour. Read on if you’d like to know how to do it yourself.
At the bottom of the page we share links to a few places we found helpful.
Background
Elephant Falls, known locally as Thác Voi is set about 30km outside of the lovely town of Da Lat. At 30m high and 15m wide it is an impressive sight, and easily reached from the town centre.
The map below shows the Dalat bus station, the bus stop off point and the falls themselves. Use 2 fingers to move the map, and you can use the button above it and to the right to open it in Google Maps.
A visit can be done in a few hours including travelling time, or you can take longer to linger and have your lunch there.
Transport Options
A taxi using the Grab app would cost about 300-400k VND. This is an easy option, but expensive.
A public bus fare is 25k VND per person each way, much more affordable and it doesn’t need to be much more difficult.
Before You Go
You will be walking on slippery rocks so good shoes will be helpful, though people do it in flip flops.
There are shops near the falls, but the selection is limited, so you may want to take food and drinks, especially if you want to enjoy lunch there. We liked the Lien Hoa bakery near the bus station, HERE.
Getting The Bus
The bus starts at the main ‘station’ (see map above), and then takes a route down through town onto Duong Hoang Van Thu, where you can also get on.
If you go from the station then don’t expect it to look particularly like a bus station. It seems to move fairly regularly but as of July 2019, the station shown above is just a wide bit of road where buses gather.
Get on the light green bus shown with destination Phi Lieng. On the side it will show a stop of Nam Ban, the town in which Elephant Falls is located.
Don’t expect a timetable. The bus seems to go roughly every 15 minutes.
You can always check with the driver / conductor that the bus goes to ‘Thac Voi’, they will be expecting you to go there.
The bus ticket will cost 25k VND, as always take cash.
The journey will take a bit under an hour.
You should be shown off the bus at the right stop. This will be by a junction on your side of the road. Walk down it about 100m and on your left you will see an arch and signs for Khu Du Lịch Thác Voi. This is where you want to go.
At The Falls
Enter and there will be a discrete ticket office on your left, entrance tickets are 20k VND per person. There are some shops on your right.
You’ll easily find the steps down to the falls. Some websites had warned us that these were really sketchy, that it was practically climbing; they were a bit slippery but we found them fine, there are good handrails and no able bodied person should be put off.
Half way down there is a split in the path. I’d suggest going right to the bottom first.
You will pass a few pretty little falls on the way down, then you will reach the river. A few steps up on the left take you to the main viewpoint on some rocks. Enjoy!
We had read that you can rock-hop around, this may be possible in the dry season but we went in July and the waterflow was too high. The water was also too fast and far too dirty to want to swim anywhere.
Once you have appreciated the power and beauty of the falls from here, go back up the path and take the other split, now on your right.
The main path will take you up and rightwards to a viewing platform, which is nice.
Before the platform, a smaller track goes left, down to nothing. Before it ends you will see this sign on your left:
If you are feeling nimble and confident in your feet then head down this alley. Climbing through vines between the rocks, you will come find yourself in an opening behind the waterfall. This is a great place to get soaked, and to enjoy the power of the falls.
You have now basically done the falls, so you can either linger or head back.
Getting Back
Getting back is very easy, just return to where you were dropped off, cross the road and flag down the bus as it comes by. Another 25k VND per person.
Conclusion
Visiting Elephant Falls in Dalat is a very worthwhile trip, we hope this helps you do it in the best way for you.
If you found this guide useful then please check out our other guides here
We found these sites useful in planning our trip:
- Bitten Escapes guide to Elephant Falls
- Vietnam Oracle guide to Elephant Falls
- Vietnam Oracle guide to waterfalls around Dalat
Thank you for reading how to visit Elephant Falls independently.
How to Visit Elephant Falls in Dalat Independently
