The Elephant Springs is a perfect stopover in your journey from Hue to Da Nang or vice versa, while driving over the Hai Van Pass. This place is 60 km from Hue and 50 km from the city of Da Nang. The area consists of various natural swimming pools with clear and cool water. You will find small and large rocks scattered across the stream. There is a rock that looks like an elephant that owes its name to the source. Also be careful because the rocks can get slippery.
It is located in the jungle of Bach Ma National Park, making this place a little cooler. During the weekend it can be full of Vietnamese who escape from the big city of Hue and Da Nang.
Note: there are no admission fees, but you have to pay 5,000 VND to park your motorbike.
Swimming and relaxing
Elephant Springs is approximately 500 meters in size, including several small swimming pools. You can swim and cool off in the water or relax on the flat rocks and enjoy the sun and listen to the sound of the water flowing down.
The large bath is called Elephant Pool. It lies between two waterfalls and is cool and clear enough to see the bottom. Here you can climb on one of the large rocks to jump off. At the deepest point it is about 3 meters, so you don’t have to worry about hitting the bottom.
If you walk a little more into the stream, you can find a few baths that are less deep. If you walk down the stream, you will probably find a number of private places where you can swim or relax. You can easily spend a few hours here.
There are a few places where you can change clothes. Locals also offer changing booths in exchange for a small fee. They also sell some food such as chicken and rice.
During the week the Elephant Springs can be quite deserted, which is nice if you don’t like to swim in a crowded place, but also keep in mind that some food and drink stalls around the falls may not be open on the most quiet days. During the weekend it can be a lot more busy with locals spending there their time off school and work.
How to get to the Elephant Springs
If you are looking for a day out from Hue, we do not recommend going here just for the Elephant Stream. It is a great stop if you combine it with the Hai Van Pass. It is also a popular spot for all the Easy Rider tours between Hoi An or Da Nang and Hue.
Take Highway One (QL1A) south of Hue and keep an eye on the roadside kilometer markers. When you come to the Da Nang 52km (or coming from the other direction, P.Bai 44km), you have to go right. It is a small road, easy to miss. Then you just have to follow the road for about 4 km to get to the Elephant Stream.
