sapa-point to explore exciting!
Take an overnight train ride from bustling
Hanoi and you will arrive in the remote mountainous
region of Sapa Valley, home to beautiful mountains and valleys, many minority
hill-tribes and fascinating street markets. By escaping to Sapa you will find
here real life and culture and pure relaxation.
Sapa is an old French Colonial Hill station nestled amongst the highest mountain
range in Vietnam, Hoang Lien Son which is close to the Chinese border. Sapa is
well known for its outstanding natural beauty and the variety of hill-tribes
people that live in the area. As a destination it offers many adventure outdoor
activities, cycling and trekking are the most popular of these.
The best trek in the area takes three days to the summit of Fansipan, standing
at 3143 meters, it is the highest peak in Vietnam, affording breathtaking
panoramic views into neighboring China. Travelling to the summit, is not the
hardest trek in the world, so if you are fit and healthy and have plenty of
energy, you should consider making this trek to the roof of Vietnam, where
you'll be amongst the clouds.
Sapa is home to many minority Hill-tribe, visits and home-stays are a very
popular activity in the Sapa region. One of the most well known hill-tribes in
the area is the Black Hmong Hill-tribe, who frequent the villages throughout the
area. They have their own culture and customs and many tourists enjoying
visiting and learning about their ways of life, by taking a tour or even
arranging an overnight home-stay. By visiting the tribes people you will learn
about farming techniques, how their wonderful garments are made and be treated
to traditional hill-tribe fare and music, a fascinating experience, which will
allow you to immerse yourself in how simple life can be!
Home-stays are an ideal choice if you wish to have a real life experience of how
these people live and work their daily lives and the people of the Hmong tribe
and other minority groups are very welcoming to foreigners visiting them.
Another aspect of local culture not to be missed is a visit to one of the
numerous, hill-tribe markets. Each market has its own unique feel and is
generally a place for the locals to get together to sell their wares and to
socialize with friends and family, perhaps even meet a partner!
The largest of these markets in Bac Ha market, 80 Kilometres from downtown Sapa
in the Lao Cai region, this market takes place every Sunday under the gaze of
the nearby mountains and the border with China. Here you will see tribes people
from all over the region and even from over the chinese border who come here to
barter and trade. This is a very common sight at all of the markets in the Sapa
region, a real cultural experience, where horseback is the mode of
transportation of goods for sale.
A Hmong culinary specialty you may wish to try is Thang Co Blood Porridge, made
from a mixture of pony and goats meat, slow cooked to produce a fine 'blood
soup' served in a large hot-pot. This dish is a popular staple of the
hill-tribes people in the region and is shared by everyone, using chopsticks to
dip the succulently cooked meat into a spicy dip and then eaten, normally
accompanied with bread, instant noodles, vegetables and herbs.
It is best to try this dish at one of the
restaurants in the Sapa area, as opposed to experiencing it at one of the
markets, like Bac Ha, here you will see the locals socialize, eat and wash the
soup down with wine! Thang Co is very popular among the locals and warms the
body in a region where temperatures and plummet dramatically in the evenings.
Other activities you would be able to arrange are Cycling, camping and trekking
and even traveling by motorcycle are all very popular ways to explore the Sapa
Region. To get to Sapa you need to travel by train from Hanoi, overnight to Lao
Cai, the main town in the region and then take a 90 minute journey by road and
dirt track to get to Sapa itself.
For a short break to visit hill-tribes and trek, 3 to 4 days is the recommended
amount of time for a tour here, for the more adventurous there are various
treks, cycling routes and home-stays that can be arranged for those wishing to
spend longer, and a perfect combination with the Sapa Region would be Hanoi and
a cruise around stunning Ha-long Bay, well known for its limestone cliffs,
commonly referred to as the Gullin of Vietnam!
So consider visiting the Sapa region as
part of a tour to Vietnam and indeed Indochina, Vietnam offers a fantastic mix
of history, culture, outstanding natural beauty and stunning beaches, more than
comparable to other Asian destinations such as Thailand and Malaysia. You would
also be supporting Responsible and Sustainable tourism and growth throughout the
region as a whole.
Sapa Budget Tours
- Sapa Day Tours - Sapa Day Excursions - Day Trips Sapa Vietnam
- Sapa Walk and Bac ha Market
- Sapa Hard Trekking Two
- Sapa Hard Trekking One
- Sapa Medium Trek Two
- Sapa Medium Trek
Sapa Trekking and Adventures
- Fansipan peak conquering VIP tour (3 days - 2 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering VIP tour (2 days - 1 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Deluxe tour (4 days - 3 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Deluxe tour (3 days - 2 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Deluxe tour (2 days - 1 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Standard tour (4 days - 3 nights)
Sapa Cycling Options
- Sapa - Binh Lu - Lai Chau(with biking)
- Sapa - Lao Chai - Ta Van - Ban Ho
- Sapa Biking Tour - Ban Ho Village
- Sapa Biking Tour - Binh Lu - Lai Chau
- SaPa - Bac Ha Market with biking
- Pedalling The Remote Sapa\'s Northwest
Sapa Luxury Holidays
Traditional Minority Discovery Packages
- Green Sapa bus (Hanoi – Sapa)
- Eco Sapa Limousine Van (Hanoi – Sapa)
- Private car Hanoi Sapa
- Hanoi Sapa Private Cabin bus
- Coc Ly market with boat trip
- Cao Son market -boat trip on Chay river- Sapa Tours
Sapa Classic Trips
Northern Mountain Discovery Packages
Topas Ecolodge Sapa tours
- Topas Ecolodge and Market Package 3D/4N
- Topas Ecolodge and Market Package-2D/3N
- Topas Ecolodge and Victoria Sapa Package – 4D/5N
- Topas Ecolodge and Victoria Sapa Package – 3D/4N
- Topas Ecolodge Package – 3D/4N
- Topas Ecolodge Package 2D/3N
Top hotels in Sapa
Vietnam Top Hotel
