SaPa Travel

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Travel Vietnam

    Sapa is an old French hill station, nestled among the Hoang Lien Son Mountains near the Chinese border. Because of its situation near the tallest mountain range in Vietnam, it is possibly the most scenic mountain location in Vietnam. It is most likely that Sa Pa was first inhabited by highland minorities of the Hmong and Yao groups, as well as by smaller numbers of Tày and Giay, these being the four main minority groups still present in Sa Pa district today.

   The pace of change in this tiny mountain hamlet is roughly equivalent to free crack for a budding sociologist researching her doctoral thesis! Visitors have increased 10-fold since the turn of the century, inevitably leaving their imprint on the fabric of the place. You'll still see minorities decked out in traditional garb in town, just not in the setting you expect: Red Dao girls play hacky sack in the park, Hmong women attired in traditional indigo tunics and leggings shoot billiards in a bar, and teens crowd the Internet cafes like Saturday afternoon at the mall.

    Despite its commercialization over the last decade, Sapa is still a must-see on any northern Vietnam itinerary. On a clear day you will be treated to views of steeply terraced rice fields, towering verdant ridgelines, primitive mud-thatched villages, raging rivers and astounding waterfalls. Of course the real draw is the minority hill tribes who call the surrounding valley home. Some eight ethnic groups inhabit Lao Cai province: Hmong, Dao, White Thai, Giay, Tay, Muong, Hao and Xa Pho. You don't have to travel far to meet them. Most prominent in town are the Hmong, easily identified by their embroidered, indigo attire and the Red Dao, distinguished by the coin-dangling red headdresses and intricately embroidered waistcoats worn by the women.

    Deep in the valleys surrounding Sapa, the Muong Hoa River sluices a wild, jagged course among Hmong, Giay, Red Dao and White Thai settlements, their tiny dwellings poking out of the neon rice fields like diamonds on a putting green. Hire a local to accompany you on a hike down into the valley or sign up for one- to four-day treks offered by an ever increasing number of outfitters. Guests sleep in tents or in the homes of villagers, their gear hauled by Hmong porters. Of course if you want to catch a glimpse of authentic village life unadulterated by Nikon-toting tourists, you'll have to venture further afield. Adventurous travelers with time on their hands use Sapa as a jumping off point, hiring a guide and a driver for multi-day journeys, taking in any number of villages and local markets held throughout the week, such as Can Cau (Saturday), Bac Ha (Sunday), Coc Ly (Tuesday).

    Sapa is famed for its "Love Market" – sort of a cross between a peacock mating ritual, a Middle Eastern arms bazaar, an Amish square dance, a bad Pavarotti concert and Bangkok's Patpong (except here the people wear clothes). On Saturday nights, hill tribe youths of both sexes congregate in a weekly courting rite, singing tribal versions of Loretta Lynn love songs to woo the opposite sex. Sadly this ritual is dying out. While foreign tourists search in vain for a snapshot and hawkers sell them trinkets and trash, the teenagers slip out to neck on a bench around the lake.

    Topping out at 3,143 meters, Fan Si Pan has become the Mount Everest of Vietnam. Queues of yuppie trekkers in their latest TravelSmith "totally-packable" rainwear form mountaineering traffic jams at base camps.

Highlights of Sapa

Ethnic Villages: Cat Cat, Y LInh Ho, Lao Chai, Tavan, Giang Ta Chai, Ban Ho, Ta Phin...
Sapa Love Market
Sapa Ancient rock field
Pansipan Mountain
Ethnic Market-day: Bac Ha, Coc Ly...
Ham Rong Moutain
Silver Water fall

Top Packages Travel In SaPa


Hanoi - Sapa - North west - Halong kayaking The highlight of this tour is discovering the daily lives of the ethnic group in the mountainous areas of Vietnam North west, also enjoying your biking trip to this villages... detail
Sapa - Bac Ha Sunday Market Sapa is one of the most wonderful places in Asia and is a magical combination of landscapes, ethnic cultures and bracing mountain air. There are excellent areas for hiking through lush mountain valleys to the remote villages of diffirent minorities, including the Black H'mong and the Red Dzao ... detail
Sapa adventure - 1 night Homestay 1 night Hotel A former French hill station, located in the middle of the breaktaking landscapes in the north of Vietnam, Sapa is one of the most wonderful places in Asia ... detail

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Top Resort In SaPa


Victoria Sapa Resort Victoria Sapa Resort, the only luxury hotel in the area, opened in March 1998. Built as a traditional mountain ... detail

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Hotel Speacial Offers In SaPa


Victoria Sapa Hotel Located above the town centre with views of the surrounding mountains, the Victoria’s alpine chalet-style architecture blends perfectly ... detail
Chau Long hotel Ideally located on a quiet street perched on a hill in Sapa, the Chau Long Sapa Hotel is within easy walking distance ... detail
Sapa Gold Sea Hotel The three-star Sapa Gold Sea Hotel overlooks the Muong Hoa valley and is only 5 minutes away from the central market, the Church, ... detail

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Top cuisine In SaPa


Banh beo xu Hue (Hue bloating fren-shaped cake) Banh beo is a specialty and indispensable in Hue City. Banh beo is delicious with its core stuffed with small shrimps and sauce made from a mixture of ... detail
Banh tom Ho Tay (Ho Tay fried shirmp cake) All people who used to live in Hanoi are familiar with Banh tom Ho Tay Restaurant on the Thanh Nien (Young) Street. ... detail
Cao lau Hoi An (Hoi An vermicelli) Cao lau as a dish has its "own kingdom", therefore, customers are likely to be served with it only in Hoi An. ... detail