Dalat Canyoning Guide: Experience The Adrenaline Rush

Dalat also known as the “City of Eternal Spring” is situated in the central highlands of Vietnam. Dalat is a charming hill station with natural beauty and a pleasant climate. This mountainous paradise allures adventurers and nature lovers with its misty peaks, serene lakes, and breathtaking waterfalls.

I was visiting this place for two main reasons: the alpine coaster and the adventurous canyoning Dalat is famous for. 

This guide will take you along my canyoning experience and why one should not miss this adventurous activity when in Dalat.

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What is Canyoning?

For those of you who don’t know what Canyoning is, it is an adrenaline-fueled activity that involves navigating through narrow canyons by abseiling, ziplining past waterfalls, jumping into pools, and sliding down natural water slides. 

With the guidance of experienced guides, you can safely challenge yourself, conquer fears, and experience an exhilarating rush as you navigate through the twists and turns of the canyon’s obstacles.

And that was my main aim, of getting over the fear of cliff jumping!

What is the price of Canyoning in Dalat?

There are a lot of tour operators who provide Canyoning in Dalat. The price for this activity is fixed at 82$ which includes the pickup, the safety equipment, entrance fee, wet suits, drinks, lunch, insurance, etc.

One can book the tour at their respective hostels or directly at the agencies that more or less provide the same package. I decided to do this tour with Adventure Dalat.

Canyoning Trip Begins

The trip started at 8 am when I was picked up by Adventure Dalat from my hostel. It was a very small group of 2 which made me a little nervous at the beginning but I discovered all the pros later on.

Our guides Tim and Long gave us a briefing while we were on the way to reach the DatanLa Waterfalls which is the starting point of the canyoning trip. 

To my surprise when we reached the waterfalls there were no other tour companies there. Later Tim informed me that each tour company had their slots and they were the first ones to start the activity every day.

We were given our wetsuits and aqua shoes, and after changing we assembled for a quick briefing on the safety and the trip schedule.

We then had to practice getting down the walls with the help of the ropes. This helped us get accustomed to it and made us a little comfortable with abseiling.

We then put our gadgets in the dry bag which was being carried by our guides.

Note: There are 8-9 km of trekking during the entire activity.

Plunge into adventure with an 18m Dry cliff

After a few practice runs getting down the walls, we head towards the real adventure. We trek down for 5 min and reach our first spot at the 18m dry cliff. The DatanLa waterfall is just beside the cliff which makes it even more picturesque. 

We were roped and then started abseiling, meanwhile Long(our guide) helped take some amazing pictures from a platform nearby. At the bottom, you drop into the cold waters. At first, you do feel a little chill but later you get accustomed to it. 

We then trek further down to reach the next spot.

Ziplining through the waterfalls

While we are reaching the spot, our guide Tim wraps up the ropes from the cliff and joins us at the spot. The Zipline seems to be a little easier because we abseil for a few meters and then hold on to the zip line rope to reach the bottom in a snap. Wish we had the chance to do this twice!

Sliding through the natural water slides

While as exciting as it sounds at first look, it does look scary. The water gushes so fast and the rocks are so visible I did wonder if it’s possible to do this. But when Tim told me to just wrap my arms around and not do anything, I slid down into freezing waters real quick.

Well now the not-so-comfortable part was staying in the freezing water, but we ended up sliding 3 times. On the last attempt, I also got stuck in the water on the other side and eventually, Richard(The other traveler) came and helped me. 

We then also floated into the water to reach the next spot, it was something similar to a lazy river. 

Abseiling down the 25m waterfall

This 25m waterfall is the reason why it’s called extreme canyoning in Dalat and it did make my throat dry. Just looking down at the waterfall was so thrilling. So we started abseiling down and our guide kept giving us instructions from the top as to which direction we had to keep going. 

After a while we had to look at the other guide and follow his instructions to get down, by this time the water was already hitting hard on my legs. Then comes a spot when Long said to us to hold our ropes and pose for a photo after which the real thrill starts. At this point, we are supposed to let go of our ropes and fall into the water from a height of more than 4ft. When I let go of the ropes it felt like an eternity to reach the water.

The heart just kept pounding faster even though it was done, but then we had the chance to do it twice(how cool). The second time, you know how it feels but it’s still very thrilling.

This has to be one of the best highlights of the canyoning trip.

Conquering fear at the cliff jump

While I was still thrilled from abseiling the 25m waterfall, the next stop was the cliff jump. Was I scared? Very much! I have done cliff jumps a few times earlier but I always had the fear. 

This time I wanted to get over that fear, so you can jump from 7m, 9m, and 11m. The first jump from 7m was a little easy and I was able to do it very quickly. When I reached the top again for my second jump Tim asked me If I was ready for the 9m and I was not sure. So then I jumped again from the 7m. 

By this time the sun had already come out and we were also accompanied by 2 other girls with another company. They were already done with their jumps from 9m and were relaxing in the water.

Meanwhile, Richard had finished jumping from 11m. I reached the 9m spot and froze for a good time. Tim came and said you either do it now or we go down and you can do the 7m again, but I wanted to try the 9m. At that moment Richard and the others started to cheer for me from the bottom and I finally did jump from the 9m. 

At that moment I somewhat did fight my fear of jumping from the cliffs. After this, we were headed to our last spot, “The Washing Machine”.

Ever Been in a Washing Machine?

If you’ve surfed previously you might have experienced a washing machine but this was even more extreme. We start to abseil and the water keeps hitting you from everywhere. The only solution is to keep loosening your ropes but the best part is once you leave the ropes you’ll drop in water and be under it for 3-4 seconds (so hold your breath for longer..). One can do this as well twice, how cool is that!

We then trek back to the pick-up cars which takes around 20 – 25 mins. It was quite impressive to learn about Tim and Long, their families, and what their goals are in life. Once we reach back to the pick-up van they take us back to the starting point so we can take a quick shower, after which we head to have a delicious lunch.

After lunch, the team drops us at our accommodation and the trip ends!

This was such an unforgettable experience and is one of the best things to do in Vietnam.

Tour Operators and Companies Offering Canyoning Trips in Dalat

The tour can be booked at your accommodation or directly contacting the tour operators. I would highly recommend Adventure Dalat for the canyoning trip and here are the reasons why

• They are punctual about their timings
• They are the first to start the tour in the morning which lets you do some of the activities 2-3 times
• Safety is their utmost priority, thus they always have 2 guides for every 5 travelers
• They are not associated with any hostels, thus you don’t see a crowd that is compelled to do the activity.

You can book the tour by directly contacting them on their website or here on this WhatsApp number(+84 98 483 71 28).

Everything you need to know about Canyoning in Dalat

• The canyoning trip can be done in two slots Morning 8 AM – 1 PM and Evening 1 PM – 6 PM
• The best time to do canyoning in Dalat would be from September to April when there is not too little rain. I would want to try this in the monsoon as well.
• The cost of this adventurous canyoning trip is 82$
• The wetsuit, aqua shoes, drinking water, safety gear, and insurance are all provided by the tour operators.
• The trip includes abseiling down one dry cliff of 18m, a waterfall of 25m, and a washing machine. It also includes 100m ziplining, sliding down natural water slides, and cliff jumping from 7m and 9m.
• The pickup, drop, and lunch are included in the tour cost.
• The complete trip also includes 8-9 km of trekking.

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