Dalat: Pinhatt Trek & Tuyen Lam Lake SUP with Lunch

4.98

(129 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I forgot my rain jacket in the hotel lobby — classic me — but our guide Minh just grinned and said, “Don’t worry, Dalat weather changes every hour.” The van ride out of town was quiet except for a rooster crowing somewhere behind a row of greenhouses. When we got to the start of the Pinhatt trek, the air smelled like pine needles and something sweet I couldn’t place. Minh handed out trekking poles and showed us how to spot wild orchids along the trail. I tried to say one of their names in Vietnamese; Minh laughed and gently corrected me (I still can’t pronounce it). The climb isn’t easy but not brutal either — just enough to make your legs tingle.

At the top, there’s this hush you don’t expect. You can see Tuyen Lam Lake far below, all glassy blue with little boats drifting near the edge. We sat on some rocks and ate lunch—rice rolls, fresh fruit, even coffee from a thermos. Someone joked that it tasted better because we’d earned it. I think that’s true. My shirt was damp from the hike but the breeze felt good up there.

After lunch we headed down through bamboo groves until suddenly you’re right at the lake’s edge. Minh showed us how to balance on the stand-up paddleboards—I fell off once (cold shock!) but honestly didn’t care. The water is clean and cool, and paddling out gives you this weirdly peaceful feeling, like you’re floating inside a painting. There were dragonflies everywhere, landing on our paddles like they owned the place. After about an hour or so—maybe more?—we drifted back in for pickup and drove back into Dalat city with muddy shoes and sun-warmed faces.