There are a few tour operators who offer organized trips to Lang Biang Mountain. However, renting a scooter in Dalat and going there by yourself is super easy, more exciting and definitely the cheaper option. This is your in-depth guide for a DIY trip to Mount Lang Biang.

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Why you should definitely visit Lang Biang

If you’re still hesitating whether Lang Biang should become part of your trip to Dalat then I have the answer for you: Do it! With 2,167 metres, Lang Biang is the highest mountain near Dalat. Temperatures in Dalat are pleasant all year round. I did the trek in March 2023. During that time we had sunny days with up to 25 degrees during the day, and 12 degrees at night. These are the perfect conditions for an active day out in the nature!

There are two hiking trails:

• The shorter one is a paved road leading up to Radar base at 1,950 metres. The total trail length is 5.5 kilometres (both ways) and estimated walking time is two hours.

• The challenging and more beautiful one is 10.6 kilometres long and leads to Lang Biang peak at 2,157 metres. The estimated walking time is four hours.

What makes the hike to Lang Biang peak so challenging is the vertical climb at the end. It’s quite steep and you might get to your limits, but its doable! I’m not a regular hiker and managed to do it. It’s the nicer hike of the two as you won’t walk up the paved road but through the nature instead. The vegetation changes the higher you get to the mountain, from pine trees to a jungle forest. It’s beautiful. Sometimes I forgot that I’m in Vietnam.

The walking time depends on your pace and how many stops you would like to take for rest and photos. It took me around 2.5 hours to get up and 1.5 hours to go back down. Start and ending point of the hike is the Lang Biang visitor centre at the bottom of the mountain.

How to enjoy the views without hiking

If you are keen on hiking then I would definitely recommend to go to the Lang Biang Peak. But even if you are not planning to do a hike, you still get the chance to enjoy the breath taking views. The alternative to hiking is to take a jeep tour up to Radar base. The tickets can be purchased at the visitor centre at the bottom of Lang Biang. A private jeep costs 300,000 VND (12 Euros) including return. Otherwise you could join a group for 50,000 VND (2 Euros). With the group version you might have to wait until there are enough people.

How much time to plan for the hike

You should plan at least half a day for this adventure. The more the better. You really don’t want to feel stressed when going up the mountain. We left Dalat after a wholesome breakfast at 11 am and started our hike at 11.45 am. We arrived back at the visitor centre at 3.30 pm. There was enough time to fill up our bodies with energy first and even have some rewarding coffee & cake in Dalat after the hike.

You don’t want to do the hike alone? How about this guided trip!

Getting to Lang Biang mountain from Dalat

To do this trip on your own you should rent a scooter in Dalat first. I can recommend getting your scooter with Coffee & Motorbike for Rent. The quality of the scooters is really good, the owner super friendly and the whole process of renting the scooter was very easy. The cost per day was 120,000 VND (4,75 Euros).

If you don’t have internet I recommend to download Google offline maps for navigation. Put in ‘Khu Du Lịch Lang Biang’ as the destination. This is the Lang Biang visitor centre. It’s located around 12 kilometres from Dalat. It will take you 25 minutes to get there.

The trail to Lang Biang mountain

The Lang Biang Peak can be reached via a hiking trail which starts outside the visitor centre. At the time we didn’t know and therefore drove into the visitor centre. We paid a 40,000 VND entrance fee per person as well as a 10,000 VND parking fee for our scooter. However, you don’t really need to buy entrance tickets.

The start of the trail

You can park your scooter outside the main entrance and begin your hike from there. If you look towards the main entrance, there is a soil road on the right side. There are no signs, it looks a bit like an abandoned road. This is your way up to Lang Biang mountain!

You will first walk past some houses and vegetable gardens on a long soil road which eventually gets steeper. You can soon see and hear the pine tree forest. There might be a few wild horses around the area as well. They were very calm and not interested in us when we did the hike. So rare and cool to see!

Pine trees & fresh air

The first leg of the hike is very nice. I loved the smell of the pine trees and hearing the soft breeze of the wind blowing through the tree tops. There was no noise apart from nature sounds. And due to the breeze the temperature was very pleasant despite being so active.

After maybe 30 minutes you will reach the paved road. You should then see two signs – one leading to Radar peak and the other one to the Lang Biang peak (3 km). Follow the nature trail leading towards the Lang Biang peak.

To Lang Biang peak

On the next kilometres the vegetation and trail will change a bit. First, the path is still quite wide and leads through pine forest. The more closer you get to the peak, the more narrow the path gets. Also the trees changes – you’re arriving in ‘the jungle’. This part of the trail is very easy to follow and there are a few signs and marks along the way.

With time the trail gets more challenging and steeper. The last bit is the hardest. What seems to be only ‘300 metres’ feels so much longer as the path transforms into stairs. This is also where your free butt workout starts.

With each step you can now tell that you’re going higher, and that the forest becomes lighter. This is what motivated me to continue. The peak is so close and the reward so big! Arriving at Lang Biang peak is an incredible feeling. Not only will you be rewarded with breath taking views but can also be so proud of yourself.

The way back

After enjoying the views and having a lunch break it’s time to get back to the visitor centre. The way back is basically the same. I recommend to go down the paved road though. Some bits through the pine forest are quite steep and slippery due to the pine needles. Also there are signs saying that you shouldn’t go off the paved road after 3 pm (not sure what the reason for this is exactly).

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What to bring

What to bring on the hike very much depends on the weather. Definitely bring enough water, meaning at least 2 litres. Hiking for 2-3 hours is a long time and you want to keep some water for the way back.

Also bring:

• Sneakers
  Other posts suggest hiking boots but I don’t travel with that and was fine with my sneakers.
• Jacket
  Even if it is sunny and warm I recommend having a jacket or sweater with you. There is a strong breeze at the peak and especially if you’re sweating you can cool down really quickly.
• Snacks
  Definitely bring some lunch and snacks! I swear, a Banh Mi and Banh Tieu taste so much better at this altitude. Or how about some strawberries from the market?
• Sunscreen and sunglasses
  Depending on the weather I also recommend to bring sunglasses and sunscreen. At the peak the sun can be strong and bright.
• Download Guru maps
  The reception is not the best at Lang Biang mountain. Therefore I recommend to download Guru maps to have some offline navigation available. You can see the trail on the maps. Google Maps is not really helpful for this hike.

What to consider

Before doing the hike make sure you’ve had enough food and therefore energy. It’s not recommended to do the hike when it’s raining as the path can be very slippery. Also don’t go down the natural road after 3 pm (this is what the park recommends).

Other than that it’s super easy and affordable doing the Lang Biang hike on your own! Just rent a scooter, drive through Dalat region for 30 minutes and then start the hike. It’s a lovely day out and you won’t get these views anywhere else. Enjoy your day!