Elephant Falls (Thac Voi) near Da Lat: Closed, Linh An Pagoda, Route

Elephant Falls (Thac Voi, also called Elephant Waterfall) is closed. The waterfall, about 28 km by road southwest of Da Lat in Nam Ban, has been fully closed since 2021, and in September 2026 the iron gate to the falls was still shut, according to the Lam Dong provincial newspaper. There is no official ticket and no official way down to the base. What you can still do is see the falls from a distance, visit Linh An Pagoda next door with its 71 m statue of Quan Am, and combine both with a silk workshop and coffee farms on the same road.

Is Elephant Waterfall in Vietnam open in 2026?

No. Every dated report from 2026 says the site is closed:

• January 2026: Nguoi Lao Dong found the gate at the old ticket office locked, as it had been for years, with two large signs saying activities were suspended until further notice. Staff inside only guard the site and look after the plants.
• April 2026: Bao Van Hoa described the national scenic site as “fully closed” since 2021.
• July 2026: the Nam Ban Lam Ha commune ordered a local business to stop selling sightseeing tickets to the falls (more on that below).
• September 2026: Bao Lam Dong reported that the iron gate to the falls was still shut and the falls could only be seen from a distance; a resident told the paper that people now watch from the road or from cafés up to a kilometre away.

Many travel sites still list a ticket price and 8 am to 5 pm opening hours. Those figures date from before 2021. Ignore them.

Why is Elephant Falls closed?

The falls closed because of a long legal dispute over who runs the site. Thac Voi was listed as a national scenic site in 2001. In 2005 the provincial government approved a conservation and tourism project and gave it to a private company; that project was withdrawn in 2008 because the company lacked the capacity and had passed it on to someone else. A second investor received a licence for an eco-tourism area in 2011. According to the Lam Dong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, quoted by Nguoi Lao Dong and Bao Van Hoa, that investor did not meet the legal requirements on investment, land, construction and forestry, and allowed unpermitted building inside the protected zone. Following a Government Inspectorate conclusion, the project was revoked, and the site has had no operator since.

When will Elephant Falls reopen?

Nobody has given a date. The department says it and the commune are reviewing the legal files, the land and forest status and the existing buildings, so they can draw up a management plan and bring in a new investor. The department says the province is “step by step” preparing to reopen it, and Bao Lam Dong reports that the province is carefully choosing a capable investor so the site can reopen safely and lawfully. The commune’s tourism plan to 2030 also lists Thac Voi and Linh An Pagoda among the places to upgrade and link up. There has been no news of a new walkway, an elevator or any renovation work under way. Check the provincial news before you go; this page was checked in November 2026.

What is Elephant Falls like?

The falls sit on the Cam Ly river and drop more than 30 m into a gorge (the provincial paper gives about 35 m). The local K’ho people call them Lieng Rowoa. Their legend tells of a chief’s daughter who sang every day for her lover after he went to war and never came back; she sang until she died, and the elephants that had knelt to listen turned to stone. Large rocks at the foot of the falls and in the forest around it are said to look like elephants.

Before 2021 the visit meant going down to the bottom. The Lam Dong provincial portal counts 145 steps; recent press reports say nearly 150 or more than 150. They wind down the side of the gorge, partly cut into the rock and partly on wooden boards, and the spray from the falls keeps them wet and slippery. Behind the curtain of water are two caves, which the portal calls Bat Cave and Wind Cave. None of this is officially open now, and press reports describe the site’s facilities as run down since the closure.

Can you still get to the bottom of Elephant Falls?

Not legally, and we advise against it. While the official site has been closed, cafés beside the falls have filled the gap. Nguoi Lao Dong reported in January 2026 that one café had a sign charging 60,000 VND per person to visit the falls, with only very basic barriers to stop guests going down on their own, and offered overnight camping at the base for about 100,000 VND. In July 2026 the commune told a household business, registered only to sell drinks, to stop selling sightseeing tickets “in any form” at once; it had been charging visitors 60,000 VND to take them down to the foot of the falls. If the owner did not comply, the commune said it could fine her and revoke her business registration.

So any money you hand over at a café is not an entrance ticket, and the way down is not an official, maintained path. The provincial newspaper warned in September 2026 that the long closure risked encouraging unofficial visits, and that the rough, slippery ground could become a safety hazard.

Is Elephant Falls dangerous?

Yes, near the water. On the morning of 14 October 2025 a 40-year-old woman from a neighbouring commune was at a café beside the falls. According to VTV and SGGP, security camera footage showed her moving from her seat towards the stream just above the falls, and then what appeared to be a person being swept over the falls by the current, which VTV said was running very fast. Rescuers found her body about 2 km downstream three days later; the authorities said the cause was under investigation.

If you stop at one of the cafés near the falls, keep well back from the stream and the edge of the gorge, whatever barriers are there, and do not climb down. Looking from a distance is the only way we suggest seeing the falls now.

Linh An Pagoda next to Elephant Falls

The pagoda is the reason to make the trip now. Linh An Pagoda (Linh An Tu) stands on a hill directly facing the falls, and the provincial portal describes its setting as mountain behind, water in front. By road its gate is about 300 m from the falls. The provincial portal says it opens to visitors from 5 am; go early for quiet and the morning light. No official source gives an entry fee, so we don’t quote one.

Linh An was founded in 1993 by the monk Thich Tam Vi as a small prayer hall for families who had moved from Hanoi to settle a new economic zone in Lam Ha. In 1999 it was renovated and renamed Linh An Tu. What to look for:

• The Quan Am statue. The white statue of Quan Am, the bodhisattva of compassion, is 71 m tall (the provincial portal says over 70 m). Work began in 2017 and it was enthroned on 10 July 2019, according to Giac Ngo, the Buddhist newspaper. You can see it from the centre of Nam Ban.
• The Maitreya Buddha. A 12.5 m laughing Buddha stands in the Lumbini (Ti Ni) garden.
• The garden of 500 statues. Nearly 500 identical white Quan Am statues, each about 3 m tall, stand in long rows on stone bases in the Tinh Thanh garden.
• The main hall. Built in 1999 and covering more than 1,400 m², it has a two-tier red-tiled roof and a pair of concrete dragons over 20 m long in the courtyard.

It is a working pagoda, so dress as you would for any temple in Vietnam: shoulders and knees covered, and keep your voice down.

How far is Elephant Falls from Da Lat, and how do you get there?

From Da Lat market it is about 28 km by road, measured on OpenStreetMap. The route leaves the city westwards on the DT725 and runs through Ta Nung down to Nam Ban; routing software puts it at roughly 50 minutes without traffic, and the road is hilly and winding, so allow more on a motorbike or in rain. From Lien Khuong airport it is about 21 km.

There are three ways to do it:

• Motorbike. Only if you are used to hill roads: the route runs over the Ta Nung pass on the DT725.
• Car with driver or taxi. Book it for a half day with the pagoda, the silk workshop and a coffee farm as named stops, so the price covers the waiting time.
• Easy Rider tour. You ride pillion behind a local guide who knows the road.

Datanla is a different trip: it lies on the other side of Da Lat, 33–37 km from Elephant Falls by road. If you want a waterfall you can walk down to, see our Datanla Falls guide.

What else is on the road to Nam Ban?

The provincial paper describes the falls as a stop on the Da Lat to Ta Nung to Nam Ban route. Other stops along it:

• Cuong Hoan silk workshop in Nam Ban, where you can watch silk being reeled from cocoons and woven. The owner, Pham Van Cuong, has received visitors since 2000 and now gets about 20,000 a year, mostly from abroad, according to Bao Lam Dong in October 2026. The province has recognised it as an agricultural tourism site.
• Tam Trinh Coffee Experiences, the other recognised agricultural tourism site in the commune, according to a 2025 provincial report carried by the national tourism administration.
• Me Linh Coffee Garden, a coffee farm and café known for civet coffee, on the DT725 about 10 km before the falls on the way from Da Lat.

A half-day loop from Da Lat could be: coffee farm on the way out, Linh An Pagoda and the view over the falls, the silk workshop, then back. If you have a full day, finish at Tuyen Lam Lake on the south side of Da Lat. For more ideas, see our guide to Da Lat attractions.

Is Elephant Falls worth visiting now?

Only as part of the Nam Ban loop. On its own, a 56 km round trip to look at a closed gate is a poor use of a morning. Combined with Linh An Pagoda, which is open and right beside it, plus a coffee farm and the silk workshop, the trip makes sense, and you can still see the falls from a distance. If the site does reopen with a maintained path, it will be worth a visit again; we will update this page when there is official news.

If you would rather have a guide handle the riding, our Dalat Easy Rider tour on motorbike lists Elephant Waterfall and Linh An Pagoda in its itinerary, along with farms, a silk village and a K’ho village. Because the falls are closed, ask us what the stop at the waterfall involves when you book.

Dalat Easy Rider Tour on Motorbike

1 day

Start from:  $51 /person

FAQ

Sources: Lam Dong provincial portal on Thac Voi and on Linh An Pagoda; Resolution 1671/NQ-UBTVQH15 on the new Nam Ban Lam Ha commune; Nguoi Lao Dong (January 2026); Bao Van Hoa (April 2026) and on the July 2026 order to stop ticket sales; Bao Lam Dong (September 2026); VTV, SGGP and Dan Tri on the October 2025 accident; Giac Ngo on the Quan Am statue (2020); Bao Du Lich on Linh An Pagoda, via the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (2021); Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, reposting Bao Lam Dong on Nam Ban tourism (October 2025); Bao Lam Dong on the Cuong Hoan silk workshop (October 2026); distances measured on OpenStreetMap. Banner photo: Anne and David / Wikimedia Commons, public domain, cropped.