A FEW WORDS ABOUT SAPA:
Sapa is a tourist destination located about 30 km from the center of Lao Cai city. Situated at an average altitude of 1500 – 1800 m above sea level, Sapa Town is always immersed in mystical clouds, creating a strangely beautiful landscape. Tourists come to Sapa not only to enjoy the fresh air and the peaceful simplicity of a Northwest region but also to admire the wild beauty of terraced fields, waterfalls, majestic mountains, and explore the customs and cultural beauty of the ethnic groups in the mountains.
TRAVELING TO SAPA BY WHAT MEANS?
The means to travel to Sapa are very diverse, depending on the departure point, such as:
Traveling by train:
Train is the choice of the majority of people traveling to Sapa. However, if you travel by train, you will only reach Lao Cai and need to take an additional bus ride from Lao Cai station to Sapa (ticket price 50,000 VND/trip) or ride a motorbike for about 40km to reach the center of Sapa town.
Traveling to Sapa by car (bus):
- Sleeper bus:
Traveling by sleeper bus is the most common way. Currently, there are many bus companies serving the Hanoi – Sapa route with various departure times for you to arrange the most suitable schedule.
- Seated bus:
Seated buses are no longer popular because, in reality, the ticket price is not much different from sleeper buses. Moreover, the Hanoi – Sapa route is quite long, and a sleeper bus will help you maintain your health to enjoy Sapa right away.
If you are traveling with family or a group of friends and want a private space, the 9-seater Limousine buses will meet your needs.
WHEN TO TRAVEL TO SAPA?
The suitable time to travel to Sapa is from September to November or from March to May. During this time, the weather in Sapa is stable, with sunny days and cold nights.
February-March: Spring in Sapa. This season, Sapa is blooming with peach and plum blossoms with a cool atmosphere all day. If you're lucky on clear days, the midday light piercing through the mist will give you a Sapa radiant with flowers. Traveling to Sapa at the beginning of 2025, let's bring back the most poetic and magical photos.
May-June: Rice planting season. The whole valley is bustling with planting activities. And this is also the time when peaches and plums start to ripen. The peach and plum season in Sapa lasts until the end of July.
September – October is the ripe rice season, when every corner of Sapa is golden. When you come to Sapa at this time, you won't believe it; Sapa seems to wear a new coat – a golden yellow across the hills. But you should go in mid or late September; by October, many places have already harvested.
December to February the weather is very cold, with possible frost and occasional snowfall. This is also the blooming season of peach blossoms. This time is chosen by many young couples to travel to Sapa, to experience snowfall in their homeland of Vietnam and admire the blooming wild peach blossoms, which is a wonderful experience!
ACCOMMODATION WHEN TRAVELING TO SAPA:
Sapa is a famous tourist destination, so it's not difficult to find accommodation with many different types of hotels from 5-star to 2-star, homestays, guesthouses, etc.
Fansipan Peak is 3,143 m high, 280 km long, located in the center of the Hoang Lien Son mountain range. It is 9 km southwest of Sapa town; if you walk or climb, it will take tourists 6 to 7 days to conquer this peak. Fansipan Mountain attracts many mountaineers and tourists who want to conquer and explore. Currently, there are two ways to reach the peak: walking or taking the cable car.
2. Ham Rong Mountain:
Ham Rong Mountain is located right next to Sapa town, 3 km away, and tourists can walk there. Standing on the top of Ham Rong Mountain, you can admire the panoramic view of Sapa, Muong Hoa Valley, Sa Pa, Ta Phin hidden in the mist. Currently, with human intervention, Ham Rong has truly become a scenic spot full of fruits and flowers in Sapa. Visiting Ham Rong, tourists feel like they are lost in a fairyland, with clouds enveloping them and flowers covering the ground.
3. Cat Cat Village
This is an ancient village of the H'Mong people, 2 km from the center of Sapa town. It still preserves many traditional handicrafts such as growing cotton, linen, weaving, etc. Cat Cat Village is close to Sapa town, so it attracts a lot of tourists.
4. The symbol of Sapa – The Stone Church:
This tourist spot is located right in the center of the town. The Stone Church was built by the French in 1895; the front is where cultural performances are held, called the square. Behind it is the Ham Rong Mountain tourist area. It is considered the symbol of Sapa due to its history, location, and beautiful architecture.
5. Visiting the highest waterfall in Sapa – Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall)
Thac Bac is about 15 km from Sapa town towards Lai Chau and Dien Bien; it takes about 30 minutes by motorbike or bus to visit one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Vietnam.
6. Heaven's Gate
Leaving Sapa town, going north for 18 km, the road to Heaven's Gate winds through the mid-mountain range. This pass is called Tram Ton, winding through the majestic Hoang Lien Son mountain range. And Heaven's Gate is the top of this pass. Standing at Sapa's Heaven's Gate, you can overlook the vast valley below with green terraced fields.
WHAT TO EAT WHEN TRAVELING TO SAPA?
Sapa is not only famous for its many beautiful landscapes but also for its delicious dishes, full of the flavors of the forest, carrying the soul of the Northwest mountainous region.
1. Thang Co
It is called Thang Co because the main ingredients of the dish are meat, bones, blood, and horse offal cooked with nearly 30 types of herbs and spices typical of the H'Mong people. But nowadays, the ingredients have been adapted; people often use buffalo or beef instead of horse. According to the experience of the H'Mong people, Thang Co is best eaten at the market on cold rainy days or in winter. Because in cold weather, sitting around a large pot of Thang Co, steaming hot, with a little apple wine or corn wine, and forest vegetables, there is nothing happier.
2. Lam rice, seven-color sticky rice
This is a specialty of the Northwest people, but in Sapa, lam rice has its own characteristic flavor, especially when eaten with grilled pork and forest vegetables, there is nothing better. Glutinous rice is placed in young bamboo tubes with a little spring water, sealed with banana leaves, and grilled until cooked, creating a rich, sweet, and gently fragrant flavor that is unforgettable.
3. Smoked meat
If you have the opportunity to come to Sapa, you must try the smoked meat dish; the main ingredient for smoked pork is shoulder or butt meat, along with some spices like ginger, chili, pepper, garlic, all of which must be from the highland area. Then blanch the meat with boiling water along with a little salt and spices, then marinate the meat for a day, string it up, and put it on the kitchen rack; under the heat of the fire and smoke, and the dew here will make the meat firm and cooked by heat in more than a week. The Northwest people often use this dish to treat precious guests and relatives during festivals.
