Clay Tunnel Dalat — open-air sculptures on the edge of the lake
What it is
Clay Tunnel Dalat — officially called the Sculpture Tunnel — is an open-air art park built into a long, sunken path near Tuyen Lam Lake, about 13 kilometers south of the city center. Despite the name, it is not a tunnel in the traditional sense. The path is open to the sky, lined on both sides with sculptures made primarily from the red basalt clay that is native to the Central Highlands, mixed with concrete.
The project was conceived by Trinh Ba Dung, a businessman from Ho Chi Minh City, and construction began in 2010. The scale of the undertaking earned it a place in Vietnam’s Book of Records as the largest structure built from unbaked clay in the country. The park has continued to expand since it first opened, with new zones added over the years — including a COVID-themed section added in 2024.
The layout and route
The park follows a loose chronological sequence, taking visitors from the natural landscape of the Da Lat Plateau through the French colonial era, into the development of modern Dalat, and ending near the lake. A dragon sculpture greets visitors at the entrance before the path opens into the first sculpture zones.
One practical note: enter and follow the path to the left first, working through to the end, then return along the other side. Going the wrong way around disrupts the sequence and makes the visit feel less coherent — something easy to get wrong without knowing in advance.
The full route is just over a kilometer, but with stops for photos and a rest at the lakeside café at the end, most visitors spend around two hours here.
What to see at Clay Tunnel Dalat
1. The sculpture zones
The path opens with oversized depictions of the plateau’s natural world — elephants, snakes, tortoises, beetles, and monkeys, many of them exaggerated in scale to give the impression of walking through a landscape where nature dwarfs everything else. The three wise monkeys appear early on, a recurring motif in Vietnamese public art.
From there, the sculptures shift into the French colonial period. This is one of the more detailed sections, with clay versions of Dalat landmarks including the railway station, the Chicken Church, Bao Dai Palace, and the old pedagogy college, alongside period vehicles — carriages, early cars, planes, and trains. It gives a compressed visual history of how the city developed under French influence, which is interesting even if the execution is uneven in places.
Later sections depict modern Dalat, with recognizable landmarks and urban scenes. The overall sequence is clear enough to follow without a guide, though having one does add context to specific sculptures.
2. The Faces of Love
This is the main draw and the reason most people make the trip. Two giant faces — a man and a woman — rise out of a shallow pond, looking toward each other. The scale is impressive and the setting, with water in the foreground and greenery behind, makes for a strong photograph.
Expect a queue. Groups are given around three minutes at the spot, which is enough time for photos. A camera positioned across the water photographs everyone automatically, and printed copies are available for purchase nearby — a practical option for solo travelers who want a shot of themselves at the site.
3. The COVID zone
Added in 2024, this section is genuinely strange. Oversized virus creatures populate the area, alongside boxing gloves, a courtroom setup, and vaccine imagery. Visitors can put on the gloves and interact with the installations. Reactions are mixed — some find it fun and absurd, others find it jarring. Either way, it is unlike anything else in the park and worth seeing once, if only because nothing quite prepares you for it.
4. The lake area and café
The path ends at Tuyen Lam Lake, where the atmosphere shifts completely. There is a small café with outdoor seating, lake views, soft music, and a noticeably slower pace than the busy sculpture sections earlier. For many visitors, this turns out to be the quiet highlight of the visit — a good place to sit, have a coffee, and decompress before heading back.
5. Other activities
The park also has an archery and shooting range, both cheap and worth a try if traveling with kids or just looking to add something different to the visit. Food and drink stalls are scattered throughout the park at reasonable prices, so there is no need to bring supplies.
Location & getting there
Where is Clay Tunnel Dalat
Clay Tunnel Dalat sits around 13 to 15 kilometers south of the city center, near Tuyen Lam Lake in the southern outskirts of Dalat. The drive takes roughly 30 minutes and runs through a scenic stretch of mountain road — the journey itself is part of the appeal, particularly on a motorbike.
How to get there
Motorbike is the most practical option. Rental costs around 120,000 to 150,000 VND per day, and the freedom to stop along the road makes it the most enjoyable way to get here. The route south toward Tuyen Lam Lake is one of the more scenic drives in the Dalat area.
Grab bike is a cheaper alternative if renting a motorbike is not an option — expect to pay around 70,000 VND one way.
Grab car is available for around 180,000 VND one way, and is the most comfortable option for groups or families.
One important note regardless of how you arrive: getting a taxi or Grab back to the city can be difficult. Drivers are often reluctant to travel this far out for a pickup. If coming by Grab, book the return ride before leaving the park, or arrange for a driver to wait.
Nearby attractions to combine
Tuyen Lam Lake is right at the end of the park. The lake itself is large and peaceful, and the drive along its shoreline is worth doing if time allows. Most visitors see it from the café at the end of the sculpture path, but circling part of the lake by motorbike adds another 20 to 30 minutes and is genuinely scenic.
Truc Lam Zen Monastery sits on a hill above Tuyen Lam Lake, a short distance from Clay Tunnel. It is one of the more respected active monasteries in southern Vietnam — quiet, well-maintained, and a strong contrast to the busy sculpture park. The two pair well together as a half-day trip.
Datanla Waterfalls lie on the road back toward the city center, making them an easy addition on the return journey. The waterfalls themselves are accessible via a short hike or alpine coaster, and the site is well set up for visitors.
Practical tips & visiting information
Opening hours & entrance fee
Clay Tunnel Dalat is open daily from 7 AM to 5 PM. Entrance costs 120,000 VND for adults and 30,000 VND for children under 1.3 meters. Children under 1 meter enter free. Prices are subject to change, so it is worth checking before visiting. Bring cash — card payment is not reliably available on-site.
Best time to visit
Early morning is the best time to visit. Tour buses begin arriving in numbers from around 8 to 9 AM, and by mid-morning the most popular spots — particularly the Faces of Love — can get crowded. Arriving at opening, around 7 to 8 AM, gives a noticeably quieter experience. By 10 to 11 AM the organized tour groups tend to thin out, so late morning is also manageable. Mid-day and afternoon visits are the busiest.
Rainy days are not a problem. The path is not particularly slippery, and overcast conditions can actually make the atmosphere more interesting. That said, the route is largely exposed, so on sunny days sun protection is worth bringing.
How long to spend
Two hours is a comfortable amount of time to walk the full route, stop for photos, and spend a few minutes at the lakeside café. One hour is enough if moving at a steady pace without lingering. Travelers with children or those who want to try the archery or shooting range should budget closer to two and a half to three hours.
What to bring
Comfortable walking shoes are important — the path is long, with some slopes and uneven sections. There are no significant accessibility challenges, but it is not a flat stroll either. Bring cash for the entrance fee and any food or drinks inside the park. Sun protection is worth packing on clear days, as much of the route is open to the sky.
Photography
The Faces of Love is the most in-demand photo spot and operates on a queue system, with roughly three minutes allocated per group. A fixed camera across the pond photographs everyone automatically, and printed copies are sold nearby — useful for solo travelers who want a photo at the main spot without relying on strangers. For the rest of the park, early morning offers the cleanest shots with the fewest people in the background.
Is Clay Tunnel Dalat worth visiting?
Yes, but with realistic expectations.
Clay Tunnel Dalat is a genuinely one-of-a-kind place. There is nothing quite like it elsewhere in Vietnam — a kilometer-long open-air sculpture park that walks visitors through the history of the Da Lat Plateau using oversized clay and concrete figures. The scale is impressive, the setting near Tuyen Lam Lake is pleasant, and the Faces of Love is a legitimately striking installation. The lakeside café at the end is a bonus that many visitors end up enjoying as much as the sculptures themselves.
That said, it is not for everyone. The sculptures vary considerably in quality — some sections are detailed and well-executed, others feel rough. Much of the work is concrete as much as clay, which undercuts the craftsmanship angle slightly. The COVID zone is polarizing. And on busy days, particularly around the Faces of Love, the queuing and crowds take some of the charm away.
It is also unambiguously a tourist attraction. Visitors who arrive expecting something raw or off-the-beaten-path will be disappointed. The painted horse that has been made to look like a zebra is a reasonable symbol for the park as a whole — creative in intention, a little odd in execution, but hard not to smile at.
For families with children, it is one of the better half-day options in Dalat. For couples, the Faces of Love alone is worth the drive. For solo travelers or those interested in art and local history, it offers more than a quick look around suggests. For visitors who are short on time or unmoved by sculpture parks, there are better ways to spend a morning in Dalat.
Go early, wear comfortable shoes, and treat it as a pleasant walk through an unusual open-air museum rather than a polished cultural landmark — and it delivers.
