Canyoning in Da Lat, Vietnam: All You Need To Know

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In this ultimate guide to canyoning in Da Lat, Vietnam, we will give you all you need to know about having fun while rappelling, sliding, jumping, and even ziplining down amazing waterfalls.

►About canyoning
- Canyoning (also known as canyoneering) is an adventurous sport of descending narrow canyons and overcoming nature’s obstacles by using various techniques such as rope techniques and rappelling or abseiling (the highlight of canyoning), and swimming or jumping into water pools.
A canyon’s difficulty is determined by its length, the obstacles to overcome to get through, and the verticality.

►Why is canyoning so popular in Da Lat?
Da Lat, Vietnam’s city of eternal spring, is a top-rated destination for canyoning because of the various obstacles you must overcome.

Canyoning in Da Lat involves rappelling down waterfalls, jumping into the water, sliding down waterfalls, and even ziplining, so that’s why it’s such an excellent location for this activity

►Canyoning in Da Lat details
Canyoning in Da Lat is usually done in the valley where the 20-meter-high Datanla Waterfall is located.

A day before our canyoning in Da Lat, we were actually at the Datanla Waterfall, observing a few groups of people rappelling down the waterfall.

We sincerely thought that the rappel down Datanla waterfall was the highlight of their tour. But it wasn’t! That’s only the beginning!

►Canyoning in Da Lat itinerary

-Meet at the meeting point or get picked up (check this beforehand)
-Change into the canyoning gear
-Get briefed about rope techniques and safety protocols
-Descend into the canyon
-Have fun while swimming, jumping, rappelling, and walking through the canyon
-After a few hours of fun, exit the canyon and change
-Say goodbye

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►Our full canyoning experience
1. Gearing up at base camp
The Da Lat canyoning tour starts at the “base camp,” near the Datanla Waterfall and adventure park parking lot, where you put your helmet and suit on.

You can put all your valuables into the dry bag kept safe by the guides. So we all put our phones and wallets there.

And the guides also take care of the rest of the stuff, which you can put into a bigger bag. So, for example, we put our daypack with our motorbike key and dry clothes there.

2. Learning the basics of canyoning
You get to learn the basic rope skills not far from the base camp to rappel down waterfalls successfully.

This part is super fun, as you can quickly see that once the rope is holding you, all you need to do is slowly control the descent, and that’s it.

You are also encouraged to do a few jumps backward, which you can do later on while going down waterfalls (where it’s safe).

3. Datanla waterfall rappel
After finishing your lesson about rappelling down waterfalls, you walk downhill toward the Datanla Waterfall for about 10 minutes.

At the Datanla waterfall, you rappel for about 18 meters up to about 1-2 meters above the pool of water, where you need to let go of the rope so you fall safely in the water.
We were super worried because you must let go of the rope you know is keeping you safe. But don’t worry, the water below is deep enough to cushion your fall, and you will be just fine!

And after all, you should always listen to what the guides tell you! If they say jump – you need to jump! Don’t worry. You’re in good hands!

Once you’ve successfully rappelled down the Datanla Waterfall, you arrive at the viewpoint and park area, which is also the stop of the Datanla Alpine Coaster that zips through the forest.

Group photo at Datanla Waterfall, Da Lat canyoning, Vietnam
You then walk through the tourist area and re-enter the area that’s off-bounds for regular tourists and only allowed for canyoning tours.

4. 7-meter abseil and zipline
The most exciting part of our Canyoning in Da Lat tour was definitely the combination of first abseiling down a cliff for a few meters and then ziplining down into the water.
5. Lazy River
After the zipline, we walked to a part where you float down the river for about 100 meters, like a lazy river experience.

Make sure to float almost at the surface because there could be rocks in the water. But you are going very slow, so it shouldn’t be a problem even if you hit any.

It was nice to catch a little break like this. 

6. Waterfall sliding
After Datanla Waterfall, you come to the beautiful waterfall perfectly shaped for safe sliding.

We absolutely loved sliding down the waterfall!

Sliding down waterfalls, canyoning in Da Lat, Vietnam
7.  Lunch
After a short trek through the forest, you come to the spot where the guides prepare a rich lunch, complete with a banh mi sandwich and fresh-cut fruit like mango, pineapple, and longan. 

Lunch break during canyoning in Da Lat, Vietnam
And the most surprising part of the breakfast was that they also had some delicious tofu with them so that we could make ourselves a proper vegetarian Banh Mi.

8. 25-meter waterfall
The most challenging task while canyoning in Da Lat is the slippery 25-meter waterfall, where you must remove your shoes and slowly slide your feet down in socks.

We were super confused when our guides told us to take our shoes off, but it made sense very soon.

This waterfall is extremely slippery, so socks are the best option for having the best grip. And you’re not supposed to walk down this waterfall as you usually would, but instead, you had to slide one foot after another without losing the connection.
And when you’re down to the last 4 meters of the waterfall, you have to bounce backward and jump on your back into the water. But, again, don’t worry about it too much, as the water is deep enough for you to land safely. It’s important to jump at this part as the rest of the cliff is too slippery. And not to mention that water is spraying directly into your face the whole time.

Rapelling down a huge waterfall while canyoning in Da Lat, Vietnam
BTW: This was the HARDEST part of the canyoning in Da Lat. Not only for us but for others as well. And we were all very skeptical of bouncing off onto our backs. But looking back, it makes so much sense! And this excitement and challenging ourselves is why we love canyoning.

9. 7-meter free jump
Another great activity of the Da Lat canyoning was the free jump, where we could practice our jumping skills from a 7-meter-high ledge. You don’t have to jump in the distance much, which was great for us, as we’re not that skilled at jumping.

Depending on the group size, you may repeat the jump a few times. Unfortunately, we only managed to squeeze in 2 jumps, as everyone wanted to do it again. And, of course, if you’re not comfortable jumping, you can easily skip this part and walk down.

10. 14-meter abseil into the so-called Washing Machine
To finish off the eventful day, the canyoning in Da Lat serves you with the last activity, abseiling 14 meters down the cliff into a waterfall, where you get washed by the strong current of the waterfall. It can spin you around nicely, as you’re basically hanging on the rope at this point.
And then you end up in the water, which spits you out after a few seconds.

It was super confusing, as you have to lower yourself into the water that’s blasting into you. And everyone’s face when they popped out of the water was priceless. Everyone was super confused.

But it was great fun, and we all laughed at each other afterward.

Note: Oh, and the whole time you’re moving from one waterfall to another, you also pass through some breathtaking and lush Da Lat nature.

11. Climb of death out of the canyon
After finishing all the activities inside the canyon, it was time to complete the Da Lat canyoning experience by a 15-minute hike up a steep uphill path that we will give the justified name “The climb of death.”

We were all quite tired after canyoning for the last few hours, so hiking uphill that steep, almost vertical path for 15 minutes killed us. It’s likely because we’re not that fit, but it was pure torture nonetheless.