Sapa
Known as a old French hill station, Sapa, a small town in the northwest Vietnam, offers fantastic scenery and unique cultures of many ethnic minority groups. It is also particularly rich in opportunities for treks with many valleys, mountains and villages. Let’s discover the beauty of Sapa now.
Located in Lao Cai province, Sapa is characterized by gorgeous mountains, covered in rice terraces. It boasts the panoramic views, fresh climate and the highest peak found in Vietnam, Fansipan. Sapa is really a tranquil land for people escape from the bustling city, enjoy the peaceful nature and get to the unforgettable memories.
A lovely feature in Sapa is countless rice terraces. It is voted to be one of the seven most incredible and impressive terrace fields of the world. In this area, locals grow rice by constructing terraces from foot to top of the mountains. The scenery here is especially charming during the harvest seasons when these mountains are glowing with bright yellow color. All of them make a outstanding Sapa and attract a lot of tourists.
Sapa is an ideal place for trekking with scenic mountains, beautiful valleys and many rugged trails. There are various options for organizing a trekking tour, based on your length of stay. If the time permits, 2 day - 3 nights tour will be comfortable for a perfect trip to fully explore this area. The private tour guide is high recommended for a better experience.
There are a lot of trekking trails and spots in Sapa villages for adventure travelers to discover. The trekking tour offers the opportunity to meet hospitality minorities, talk to them and visit their house. There are five ethnic groups in Sapa including the H'mong are the largest, followed by red Dao, Giay, Tay and Xa Pho. They are actually the small communities with friendly people living together at peace. Trekking in Sapa is a great way to genuinely learn about their lifestyle. Just walk to see the scenery along the road and feel the cultural value of the villages!
Homestay is a extremely popular cultural travel activity in Sapa. This concept has grown for many years. This activity will give the guests a chance to reside along with a local family and get a taste of real Sapa. Tourists will live with the locals, share meals and participate in different activities. Sapa has hundreds homestays and their prices for each night are varied. When joinning this activity, travelers should respect the houses’ rules and some tribal etiquettes.
In recent years, with the development of tourism, Sapa town had many changes to make it convenience for travellers. In addition to homestay, travel to this area you have many choices of accommodations in the town with different views from budget to luxury. At night, all of these hotels glow with colorful lights and make Sapa is very lively.
If you’re planning your trip and worried about where to eat in Sapa, don't worry because there are plenty options, even for vegetarians. The main town has numerous restaurants, bars or coffee shops line both sides of the narrow streets. Hotpot or grilled food might be the most popular dishes you should try in Sapa.
Sapa hosts two well-known weekend markets - Bac Ha market on Sunday and Can Cau market on Saturday. The market only opens on the weekend, selling all kinds of groceries. However, you should notice that Bac Ha market usually takes 3 hours to get to so if your trip is tight, you can take a look into vendors in Cau May area. They often have open stalls for tourists to shop, from food to herbs and souvenirs. Locals from different villages will come and bring their goods to sell for tourists or other locals. There will be many delicious food stalls so do brace yourself for it!
With 2km in length, Muong Hoa is one of the longest mountainous rail route in Vietnam. The mountain train will take tourists from Sun Plaza at Sapa town, through two tunnels and across four viaducts to the Fansipan cable car station. The train takes four minutes to complete its journey and offers the chance to enjoy panoramic views of the paddy fields in Muong Hoa valley through cabin windows.
Fansipan peak, the highest mountain in Vietnam, is a must-see in Sapa. There are two ways to go to Fansipan, by express cable car or by hard trekking. Both ways have its uniqueness. On foot, this journey will take a few days and you will have a adventurous experience. However, if you go for cable car option, it allows visitors reach to the top in just 25 minutes and you can admire the huge rice fields below.
Ham Rong mountain is an attractive tourists area in the centre of Sapa town. It is a long cobblestone walkway to the top of Ham Rong Mountain. Taking about 2 hours, visitors to Ham Rong mountain have chance to enjoy breathtaking view from the top and various of colorful flowers . In winter, the weather is so cold and foggy, but Ham Rong moutain is still a nice place, very romantic for couples.
Sapa has many waterfalls, ones of the most famous are Love waterfall and Silve waterfall. The Silver waterfall is a 30-minute drive north from Sapa town. Here travelers can take in the impressive views with the water gushes from Ham Rong mountain peak. No far from the Silve waterfall, the Love waterfall, with 2 km walk through the forest along the river, is also a nice stop. The views and the sound of the thundering waterfalls are absolutely worth the climb. Take your time and enjoy the view of natural beauty in Sapa.
After a long trekking day, what can be better than having a chilled day in coffee shop? There are many coffee shops that has mountain view in Sapa. We strongly recommend tourists to spend the afternoon here to view the sunset in Sapa. It is the best time to relax and take some of nice shots. Plus, some coffee shops even offer homestay so you can stay there. Come check it out!
Today, Sapa has become a big tourism destination in Vietnam. Although the main town had many changes but Sapa villages still keep their authentic local life and culture. An exciting Sapa is always welcomes you and will be rewarding you an unforgettable experience!
Sapa known as old French hill station is breathtaking landscapes with amazing experiences for both domestic and oversea visitors. Coming to Sapa, tourist can enjoy pristine beauty, cultural heritage and local life.
From exploring the world's largest cave to sipping 'weasel coffee', Vietnam has a new adventure at every turn. These are our favourite things to do in Halong Bag, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City and beyond...