Vietnam sapa discovery

Rice Fields Sapa Valley


Taking advantage of the recent heavy rainfalls, locals in the Sapa Highlands (Lao Cai Province) are hard at work to prepare for a new rice season.

Unlike other places, this is the only rice growing season for the northwestern highland's in general and Sapa in particular, so it is very important for the local farmers to do all the proper preparations following the traditions and instructions from the agricultural expansion encouragement staff in order to achieve the highest rice yield.
Rice cultivating season is also the most beautiful season in the Sapa Highland's and because of this, Sapa has always attracted a large number of photographers and young tourists from other cities to visit the region and take pictures of it during this time of year, especially since these terrace rice fields have been voted as one of the 7 most beautiful rice terraces in Asia and in the world by a U.S. travel magazine.

When visiting the Sapa Valley in North Vietnam, the rice fields stretch across the landscape to the horizon with people scattered around wearing their hats and working hard each day in the fields. The fields are divided into sections, some areas remain dry while others are filled with water, all requiring hours of tedious work.
Since the twentieth century, a majority of the rice grown is on the flooded sections of land, also known as paddy fields. Constructed next to rivers/marshes or on steep hillsides, these fields require large amounts of water for irrigation.

While looking across these rice fields in the Sapa Valley, one would think there would be enough rice for years to come, but in reality, each plant only produces an average of 20 or less grains. Twenty years ago, rice was imported from Vietnam, but today, Vietnam is an exporter of the rice.

Rice is served with many meals in North Vietnam, used in a variety of ways such as rice noodle, white rice, rice liquor, rice salads and rice desserts. A favorite food for the majority of the people living in North Vietnam.

Bars in Sapa


Considering the number of travellers to Sapa, organised entertainment is relatively scarce and the bar scene slow. For most, an evening out is the guesthouse balcony, particularly if the fog rolls in.

Bamboo Bar (Green Bamboo Hotel; Cau May street)

The first Western-style watering hole to open in Sapa and it's still going strong in the basement of a grand building. The biggest bar in Sapa, offering traditional minority music, dancing and festivals from 5 different ethnic groups in Sapa. The very hill tribal boys & girls from villages throughout Sapa perform all shows. That's why Bamboo Bar is the only place where you can have chance to enjoy the real minority cultural colors.
- Opening: on every Friday and Saturday night from 8:30 PM to 10:00 PM
(on other days if there is a request)
- Free entrance fee.
- You can take part in traditional dancing (in Bamboo dancing) with young minority people

Red Dragon Pub (Tel: 872 085; 23 Muong Hoa street)

They knock out a serious range of beers, as any good pub should, including ginseng flavour. Don't be put off by the quaint tearoom downstairs, as upstairs is a little drinking den of a Brit-style pub that fills up most evenings. Befitting a respectable pub, there is a serious range of beers and some good pub grub. The tearoom downstairs is a good stop for bangers and mash or herbal teas during the day.

Tau Bar (Tel: 871 322; 42 Cau May street)

Claiming to be 'slightly lounge', Tau brings a different kind of cool to the mountains of the north. A lengthy bar to lean on, great tunes and a pool table suggest this place will prosper.Tau Bar is the great place to hang out with friends and have some drinks while travelling to Sapa in Vietnam. There is a game corner where you can have fun. Customers also can enjoy playing pool for free. Tau Ba is a great place to chat with local people as well as enjoy local beer, wine, fruit juice. Tau Bar offer wide range of drinks for your choice. 

Victoria Sapa Hotel (Tel: 871 522)

Offers two bars or a terrace for a sundowner in style. Drinks cost more than elsewhere in town, but the ambience is alluring on a cold night.
Ta Fin bar: This bar is open in the evening, enjoy a glass of hot red wine by the fireplace. In here you can relax and unwind with a fine drink after a tiring day.
Cat Cat pool bar: enjoy refreshing drinks and light snacks by the swimming pool or savour barbecued dishes in our gardens all while taking in the magnificent panoramic views of Sapa and of its surrounding mountains.

Homestay in Sapa


Sapa sceneries are very spectacular, with hill tribe villages are scattered among the mountains and forests. Most travellers visiting Sapa would take long walk (trekking or hiking) to surrounding villages. One of the highlights of Sapa is homestay where local Montagnards host foreign tourists.

Homestay in Sapa is very basic, there are some villages offer homestay service, Ta Van, Ban Ho village, Su Pan...Ta Van village is best for guests, Ta Van belongs to Dzay people, how have pretty more civilized lives than other ethnic groups, the village is not too far from Sapa, about 20 km. Dzay people are very friendly, guests stay overnight in the villages are provided with food, drinks, bedding facilities are basic, but clean and comfortable, some host even have western toilets
To stay overnight at homestay in the villages, travellers must have permit from local authorities, which can be arranged in Sapa.
To enjoy the best of homestay, travellers are recommended to be escorted by a local ethnic guide, there are many of them in Sapa, most speak excellent English, picked from foreign tourists, at homestay guests are told about daily life of local people, join some activities....

Bike for rent in Sapa

For the people want to travel by themselves in Sapa and surounding areas, the best way to do it is renting a motorbike. These are the prices for motorbike and bicyle with good quality.  

We offers a number of affordable biking tours with great service, and fantastic routes. We are proud to be the biggest provider for biking equipments in Sapa. As a local tour operator, we fully understand the local minority and geography to make your trips fun, exciting, challenging and rewarding for experienced touring cyclists.

We generally use LA and TREK 4500 mountain bikes as they have high quality, durable pieces of equipment. However, we also use others kind of bike depending on the grade of the tours and places. Please be advised that a certain frame model is not guaranteed.

We prefer the Trek mountain bike as it has been special designed to deal with different types of road and riding. Even on a our road trips, the asphalt can often be broken or potholed, and there are usually unsurpassed sections included, so mountain bikes are the most suitable. The bike has 24 and 27 gears, which you can change easily when padding up hill or down trails.

As the case of soft cycling in the country side, where the road is paved and flat, we general use simple Japanese pushed bikes

Bike Sizes
We provide mountain bikes on all our tours (except Tibet). Available sizes are 15"(38cm), 17"(43cm), 19"(48cm), and 21"(53cm). If you normally ride a mountain bike you simply need to tell us its size. If you are not sure, have a look at the table below for our suggestions. If in doubt it may be a good idea to visit a bike shop and try a few mountain bikes to find a comfortable size.

 Height Bike Size

Height
Bike Sizes
Less than 1.62m (5'4")
15"
1.62m (5'4") - 1.80m (5'11")
17"
1.80m (5'11") - 1.88m (6'2")
19"
Over 1.88m (6'2")
21"
 Price List
Period of time
Prices
1 day
US$ 12
A half day
US$7

Cooking class in Sapa

Many people who visit Vietnam quickly learn to enjoy the delicious food. With our cooking classes, you’ll learn how to make it yourself as well as learn more about the ingredients and the traditions of Vietnamese cuisine.

Every day at 10:00am we start our cooking class with a tour to the local Sapa fruit and vegetable market located 10 meters from the front door of our cooking school. The Sapa fruit and vegetable market is very colourful with many wonderful organic fruits and vegetables to select from. The market is also frequented by the Ethnic Minority population in Sapa giving you a sense of being transported back to the 18th century as you mingle with the Ethnic minority people, purchasing some of the freshest vegetables you have ever seen. Sapa’s fresh mountain air, fertile soils and clean water make for some beautiful produce. As you walk through the market your chef will explain the ingredients you will be using in your cooking lesson. Once you have purchased your ingredients we take our transport 6km outside of Sapa to our beautiful Hmong Mountain Retreat where our cooking school is located, overlooking the beautiful Muong Hoa Valley and the terraced rice fields.

After looking about and conferring with your guide, you choose will choose what you want to cook. Then we return to our teaching kitchen to guide you through the steps of cooking your food. The lesson is very practical. By the time we’re finished cooking, you’ll be plenty hungry, so enjoy the fruits of your labor as you sit in our retreat surrounded by nature marvelling at what you have just managed to cook.

 As you leave, don’t forget to take the recipe with you. You can thrill your friends back home with your new cooking skills!
 
What’s included in the cooking class:
• Welcome drink
• English speaking
• Vietnamese Chef
• Tour of Sapa’s market
• All cooking ingredients
• Lunch
• Cooking demonstration
• Transport to retreat
• All recipes and notes

Minimum of 2 persons are required for each class to commence
Contact Evivatour for reservations

Best Restaurants in Sapa

Delta Restaurant
Address: P Cau May Town Centre
Phone:  020 387 1799
Price: mains US$5
Hours: lunch & dinner
A stylish and atmospheric place, Delta Restaurant is renowned for its pizzas, which are the most authentic in town, though the pasta is pretty decent too. Wash it all down with a drop of Aussie red.

Viet Emotion
Address:  27 P Cau May
Website : www.vietemotion.com
Phone: 020 387 2559
Price: meals 40,000-120,000d
Hours:  breakfast, lunch & dinner

This stylish, intimate little place has a bistro feel about it, with bottles of wine hanging from the ceiling, plus a fireplace. Try the trekking omelette, home-made soup, or something from the tapas menu like gambas al ajillo (garlic prawns). If the weather really sets in there are books and magazines to browse and games including chess

Baguette & Chocolat

Address:  Ð Thac Bac Thac Bac Area
Website: www.hoasuaschool.com
 Phone:  020 387 1766
 Price: cakes from 10,000d, snacks & meals 40,000-120,000d
 Hours: breakfast, lunch & dinner

If you’re craving a genuine European-style cafe, head to this elegant converted villa for a fine breakfast (sets cost 60,000d to 78,000d), tartine, baguette or a slab of gateau. There are also good salads, pasta and Asian and Vietnamese dishes, and the ‘picnic kits’ are a smart option for trekkers.

Tavan Restaurant
Address: Victoria Sapa Hotel
Phone:  020 387 1522
Price:  mains US$4-28
Hours: lunch & dinner

This hotel restaurant has a good rep, and is the place for a ser ious splurge. The Parisian chef has been here for years, and while there are Asian dishes on the menu it’s best to stick to European classics like the rack of lamb (US$20), raclette (US$28) or pasta (from US$4).

Gecko

Address: Ð Ham Rong Park Area
Website: www.geckosapa.com
 Phone: 020 377 1504
 Price: mains US$5-9, sets US$6.50-10
 Hours:  lunch & dinner

This large enjoyable French-owned place resembles an auberge, with a rustic feel and a menu of flavoursome country cooking: try the boeuf bourguignon or the ‘gecko’ soup (with potato, bacon and cheese). There’s a bar area and a little park-facing front terrace.

Pa Then Women's Costume

Pa Then ethnic women in their traditional red costume.

Like many other ethnic groups living in Vietnam, Pa Then people grow flax to get threads for weaving the brocade and fabrics for making garments. Most of the adult Pa Then women have learned how to weave and sew clothes from their mothers. According to Pa Then custom, women have to learn weaving and sewing not only to make the clothes beautiful, but also to prepare for their wedding.
A costume of a Pa Then woman consists of a kerchief, a blouse, a belt, a skirt, and a brassiere. The kerchief is a red cloth, embroidered with designs and wrapped up into round layers. The two ends are decorated with clusters of colourful thread tassels, which cascade down onto the wearer's ears.

The most attractive part is the red blouse, which has no collar but instead has two front flaps that are crossed when worn. The back flap is often longer than the front flaps. The costume is attractive due to the harmonious mixture of hand-embroidered pieces and grafted fabrics. On the red foundation ar

e the handy embroidered geometrical shapes, while the lower sleeves and two crossed front flaps' fringes are grafted with black blocs. Young women often wear a white shirt under the red upper blouse. The white collar then will go on top of the red base, making it more beautiful.

 With their skills, Pa Then women can weave and make unique skirts. Also in red, the skirt has folded lines in the upper hem and embroidered decorations along two sides. The front face has no decorations, just simple designs.

 The belt is a long white or black cloth that is tied around the wearer's waist, with its two tails falling down the front that looks like the skirt's fringes.            

Pa Then women have to spend nearly one month to make a complete set of their costume. Making the decorations and doing the embroidery work takes most of their time. However, their traditional costume is always of the same mode, and they wear it year round, in daily activities or during festivals. Because of this unique style, visitors to the upland provinces of Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang will easily recognize Pa Then women when they see their costumes.

At spring festivals, Pa Then women look charming in their red costumes, adorned with sparkling silver necklaces, ear-rings and bracelets.

Fansipan moutain


Location: Fansipan Mountain is located 9km south-west of Sapa Townlet in the Hoang Lien Mountain Range.
Characteristics: Fansipan is branded "the Roof of Indochina" at the height of 3,143m; Fansipan is to be approved as one of the very few eco-tourist spots of Vietnam, with about 2,024 floral varieties and 327 faunal species.

The topography of Fansipan is varied. Muong Hoa Valley, at the lowest altitude (950-1,000m), is created by a narrow strip of land at the base on the east side of the mountain.

Geologists say the Hoang Lien Mountain Range, with Fansipan as its highest peak, did not emerge in the mountainous North West of Vietnam until the neozoic period (circ. 100 million years ago). Fansipan, a rough pronunciation of the local name "Hua Xi Pan" means "the tottery giant rock". The French came to Vietnam and in 1905 planted a landmark telling Fansipan's height of 3,143m and branded it "the Roof of Indochina". Very few people climbed to the top of Fansipan at the time. Then came the long years of war and Fansipan was left deserted for hunting and savaging. The trail blazed by the French was quickly overgrown by the underbrush.
   
It takes six or seven days to reach the 3,143m summit, the highest peak of the Indochina Peninsula.

In 1991, Nguyen Thien Hung, an army man returned to the district town and decided to conquer Fansipan. Only on the 13th attempt did Hung, with a H'Mong boy as his guide, conquer the high peak by following the foot steps of the mountain goats. Scaling the height was meant to satisfy his eager will and aspiration to conquer the mountain without expecting that his name would be put down in the travel guidebook. After that the Sapa Tourism Agency started a new package tour there. It seemed the Fansipan Tour was meant only for those who wished to test their muscular power.

The summit of Fansipan is accessible all year round, but the best time to make the ascent is from mid-October to mid-November, and again in March.
   
Foreigners like best to book Fansipan tours between October and December, as this period is more often than not free from the heavy rains that obstruct the jaunt. But the Vietnamese prefer their tours to the peak of the mountain from February to April, as it is not so cold then. However, the best time for the trek to the mountain is from the end of February to the start of March, when the flowers all flourish and the climbers may behold the carpets of brilliant blossoms, violets and orchids, rhododendrons and aglaias.

Ban Ho Village


Ban Ho Village, Vietnamese Australian Tran Han expressed his excitement when he walked out of the Lavie Stream in the scenic village Ban Ho, more than 26 kilometers away from the famous resort town of Sapa.

Han said swimming in the Lavie was one of many unforgettable memories of his trip to northern Vietnam earlier this year, as the water was fresh and clean in the stream which ran from rocks and hills where a few minority groups live.

Young citizens of Lao Cai Province Vietnam and foreign tourists often trek to Ban Ho to indulge in the pristine Lavie Stream, enjoy the sweet sound of running water from the Ca Nhay Waterfalls and other natural attractions of the tranquil village.

The Lavie Stream, together with Muong Hoa Stream, weaves through boulders, hills, mountains and terraced paddy fields of Tay village, which is nestled in the breathtaking Valley Muong Hoa, adding the finishing touch to the picturesque image of Ban Ho Sapa.

Even though Ban Ho is not too far from the center of Sapa Vietnam not many tourists have visited the village because of the tough approach road, which is under construction and slippery in the rainy season.

However, the village is also accessible by driving from Sapa tours to Su Pan Village and then trekking 10 kilometers to Ban Ho. Topas is one of a number of tour operators who offer this one-day package, with cost determined by the number of participants.

Ban Ho Village, Ban Ho is worth the somewhat difficult journey to get there, as the village rewards visitors with stunning views of unspoiled sites and an opportunity to discover the daily activities of the ethnic people Tay.

On the way to the waterfalls, which were named by locals after seeing fish jumping out of the water in the old days, visitors will pass brooks gently running down bamboo cylinders that locals use to channel the water into their terraced paddy fields, wooden houses perched on the sides of rolling hills and wild flowers.

When they emerge from the water in the dry season the boulders and stones along the Lavie Stream are artworks that resemble different figures, depending on the imagination of viewers. In the rainy season from May till September visitors can see water flowers created by the splashing water running into the boulders.
The trails and roads from Ban Ho also lead to the quiet Red Dao Village of Nam Toong and other ethnic communities, where trekkers can enjoy the best of Northern Vietnam, such as deep valleys, amazing mountains and simple people

Silver waterfall And Tram Ton pass

Alongside the road, about 5km towards Sapa is Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall). With a height of 100m, it's a big one, and the loop track is steep and scenic.. Make sure the camera has enough memory for this route.

Tram Ton Pass
The incredible road between Sapa and Lai Chau crosses the Tram Ton Pass on the northern side of Fansipan, 15km from Sapa. At 1900m this is the highest mountain pass in Vietnam. Even if you are not planning to carry on around the northwest, it is well worth coming up here to experience the incredible views from the top of this pass. Descend by mountain bike before returning by truck or rent a motorbike to make the short hop to the new Tam Duong (Binh Lu). This is a seriously spectacular ride. On the Sapa side of the mountain the weather is often cold. foggy and generally miserable. Drop down a few hundred metres below the pass on the Lai Chau side and it will often be sunny and warm. Ferocious winds come ripping over the pass, which is not surprising given the temperature differ ences - Sapa is the coldest place in Vietnam while Lai Chau is the warmest. Tram Ton Pass is the dividing line between two great weather fronts - who says you can't see air?.

Lao Chai Village

(A story by Dane - who visited Lao Chai March, 2007)

    We got a decent jump on the day. We set out before noon. The foggy days had passed, and we had seen plenty of sunshine lately. Lao Chai is a village near Sapa, down in the valley. We didn't know for sure if we wanted to go all the way there, but we thought we'd at least head in that direction and see what we could find.

    What we found were more incredible views and more cute kids. They're everywhere. For anyone who knows me, I'm sure it comes as a shock to hear me talk about kids so much. I'm not normally a big fan. They're loud, they smell, they're messy, and they don't respond to rational arguments. I guess they're a lot like adults, but their cries are much more piercing.

    But these little hill tribe kids are adorable. They're quiet, friendly, industrious, I can't understand them, and their snot covered faces are somehow endearing. They're magical little creatures. And it's nice because they're still fascinated by visitors. We've been to some places where it's obvious they don't see a lot of Westerners. But adults are rarely friendly and fascinated. They're distrustful and wary. But we were up on some mountain, sort of lost on some trail, and we saw this one little girl near a hut in the distance. When she saw us, her face lit up, she screamed "HELLO," and she ran toward us. When she reached us, she just stood there and stared at us, interested but polite. It turned out that she had exhausted her English after our initial greeting, and we don't know any Vietnamese or whatever the H'mong language is. But the three of us were pretty content to just smile at one another and share some silence. She didn't look malnourished or anything, but we had some crackers with us and thought we'd offer her some. She was thrilled. She smiled big and then ran away. We assumed she was done with us. In fact, she was just going to share her prize with a little girl who was hiding in the trees. They both screamed and ran toward the house. Then more kids approached. Some quickly, the rest cautiously. Eventually we had 6 children standing around us. They were all smiles and giggles. They didn't have their hands out or request anything. They didn't all come for the crackers. I think the gesture just let them know that we were friendly people. One of the little girls was heartbreakingly cute. Her hair was tussled, her clothes a little worse for wear, she hadn't discovered Kleenex yet, but she smiled constantly, her eyes were full of wonder and joy, and all of it added up to make her the cutest kid I've seen in a long time. We all sat around for quite some time. Eventually we brought out more crackers and wished we had more to offer. It's not that they expected anything or looked particularly needy (some will disagree when they see the photos, but that's just how most the kids look here), but it's nice to do something nice for them. And handing them money isn't the answer. Food's always good. We've been trying to find some coloring books or something to take them. But one thing that immediately makes most of the kids happy is seeing themselves in your digital camera. We took lots of pictures and let them see. They'd all giggle and get embarrassed and then pose again. I shot some video of them talking and laughing and showed them that. They about lost their minds. It was a joy that's more pure than I often see. They were great. We eventually figured out how to ask their names and we went through introductions several times. They all had cool names like "Shohl" and "Blah" and "Bai" and "Tao." I'll post the video of them saying their names. It's worth seeing. After all this we finally decided to say our goodbyes. I was genuinely sad to leave, which is crazy because we could barely communicate. But I liked them much better than a lot of people I can understand. Maybe there's something to that.

    As we left they started an impromptu game of hide-and-seek. Also adorable. I shot a video of that too. Like I said, all the kids like looking at the LCD and seeing pictures, but seeing a video and hearing their own voices just sends them over the edge. I was glad we had something that could make them so happy. It's a great feeling to have some exchange, instead of feeling like we, the travelers, are the only ones getting something out of our visit. Sometimes we give money, sometimes food or books or toothbrushes, but the thing that made me feel the best was watching those kids. It's better than all the pagodas and wats and statues put together.

    But I still don't like kids. Even yours.

    After leaving the children, we headed out toward the river. From the ridge of terraces, we could see all the way up the valley toward Sapa. It's gorgeous. It's just mind blowing how much they've altered the landscape. I've seen terracing and I've always liked it. The Amalfi Coast in Italy, the Peruvian Andes, but this is on another scale entirely. Cutting these ridges into the side of a mountain isn't easy. If you've seen 10 terraces on a hillside, you've seen the product of a great deal of work. There are sections of these mountains that are completely covered in terracing, from the banks of the river to the top of the mountain a kilometer up. And this is work done by hand with a hoe. You can watch them doing it still. Yes, they have beasts of burden that can help with the plowing, but the initial work is done by hand with back-breaking labor. I have some shots of the people filing out of the valley into the surrounding mountains at sunrise with their hoes and baskets on their backs. I'm sure there are tree huggers that find this upsetting, but they're not covering the land with concrete. Trees are replaced with rice. After harvest, the animals graze on the drying stalks. Then they burn it, flood it, and start all over again. Right now they're burning everything and the air is thick with ash. It's like living at the foot of Vesuveus. My lungs love it.

    So check out the shots of the valley. The light makes it hard to see it, but all those lines in the mountainside are terraces. They're 4 or 5 feet tall and 8 feet deep. I looked down from a distance and the land lost form. It looked like one of those mazes on a restaurant placemat. My eyes just followed the lines, trying to find a way out. But I was lost in them. It's quite a sight.

    We crisscrossed through the mountains on dirt paths that would often disappear into flooded terrain. We'd try to just pick our way through the fields toward the correct spot on the horizon and we'd eventually find our path again. Whenever we passed hill tribe people on our way, we knew we were at least heading toward some village somewhere. I noticed when we arrived in Sapa, but have yet to point out, how similar these people look to Central and South Americans. It's striking. Their facial features are alike, they're clothing and textiles are almost identical, their jewelry looks alike, and they're general culture reminds me a great deal of Guatemala in particular. It makes sense, since people crossed into the America's from Asia at least 14,000 years ago (or they took an ark 4000 years ago). But it's still fascinating to see the similarities despite such a relatively long period of geographic isolation.

    By this point we had hiked so far that we decided to make our way to Lao Chai. The sun sunk in the sky quickly yet again, and we didn't get to the village until dark. But we saw the surrounding valley in the fading sunlight and the colors were deep and vibrant. The sunlight tends to wash it all out, but for the first and last hour of the day, the landscape is paint-by-numbers, and it's all oils and acrylic. Rich hues and curving brush strokes abound.

    By the end of the day we were exhausted. Eight kilometers of going up and down over hills and rocks, winding around mountains, and navigating flooded terraces is about as easy as it sounds. I'd take the treadmill any day, but I'd prefer to keep the view. We caught a lift on a motorbike back to Sapa. As we sped along the curving road, we saw the last lights of day disappear behind the looming mountains, with clouds sweeping across the sky and through the valley below. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

    (Source:www.travelpod.com)

Sapa ancient rock fields


Sapa Ancient Rock Field is between the terraced rice paddies of ethnic minority groups. This 8sq.km-area of remains consists of large multi-grade rocks engraved with ancient images. The first exploration research, in 1925, recorded that there were 200 stones of various dimensions concentrated in the area. Hon Bo, which is 15m long and 6m high, is the biggest of theses rocks.

The engravings on the surfaces of the stone are either pictographic or decorative. Remarkably, among the engravings are drawings of humans, stilt-houses of the ethnic minorities and symbols believed to be a primitive form of writing. But their meaning has not yet been deciphered.

In addition, impressive images include a da chong (the husband stone), da vo (the wife stone), as well as stones that look like tigers and a stela with an incantation written on it by the carver to help his people defeat the tigers. The da chong and da vo tell the story of faithful love between a couple who overcame all difficulties to be together; even though they turned to stone, they are still dedicated to each other.

Archaeologists have proven that this area has been inhabited since ancient times. These fascinating Viet remains have drawn the attention of scientists and tourists.

Ham Rong Moutain - The legend

Ham Rong Mountain is an attractive tourist area in the center of Sapa Townlet. Legend has it that in the distance past, all animals lived together in a chaotic environment. One day, Jade Emperor gave an order that every species of animal had to find for them an area to live. Having heard the order, they scrambled for a place to reside. The three brothers of dragon who were living in a large lake hurriedly ran to the east but could not find any place; they then ran to the west. The two older brothers ran fast and came to the destination first. The youngest brother ran slowly and strayed into the crowds of lions, tigers and big cats. Fearing that these animals would attack it, the dragon opened its mouth to defense itself. At that time, the order of Jade Emperor was no longer available, so the three dragons petrified. The two older dragons, which were waiting for their brother, face Lao Cai City, and the youngest one raising its head and opening mouth faces the Hoang Lien Mountain Range. So the mountain is named Ham Rong (Jaw of Dragon).
Visitors to Ham Rong have chances to climb up the San May (Cloud Yard) to enjoy the panorama of Sapa Townlet, visit the orchid gardens with beautiful and colorful flowers. In addition, Ham Rong Mountain has numerous caves and stones in extraordinary shapes.

Y Linh Ho Village

Located about 7 km southwest of Sapa town, on the west side of Muong Hoa River. Y Linh Ho is a small commune composed by a dozen of small hamlets scattering on the very tough mountain terrain with high and steep mountains. There are some hundred inhabitants from the Black H’mong only living in this commune. They built their rudimentary houses on their farmland and mainly cultivate corn and dry rice on the steep hillsides. The only way to get to the commune is on foot from the main road. It is also the place where we start many of our hiking tours.

Muong Hoa River & Valley

Starting as a small stream of water from the foot of Silver Waterfall about 14 Km northwest of Sapa town, weaving its way along mountains’ feet southeast between the two mountain ranges. About eight kilometers southeast of Sapa town, the two mountain ranges open wider to form the Muong Hoa Valley which get wider and wider as it goes further south about 30 km. The Muong Hoa valley is famous for breathtaking scenery and is the largest farmland for rice growing in Sapa district.

Coc Ly Market


Leaving Sa Pa early Tuesday morning or picked up in Lao Cai arriving with the train from Hanoi, we drive with land cruiser to Coc Ly Market. The drive from SaPa will take us approx. 2 1/2 hour. We visit the market with all it's colourful ethnic people such as Flower Hmong, Phu La and Dao Tuyen who gathers to buy and sell.

Before lunch we go on a short trek to the nearby village of Sa Koun Ho which is inhabited by the Flower Hmong and Black Dao minority.

We enjoy lunch in a local restaurant before we leave Coc Ly and drive to Trung Do village - inhabited by Tay minority. From the village we go by boat down the river, where we experience the magnificent sight of the beautiful caves and bustling life on the riverbank. The boat trip takes us about 2-2 1/2 hours before we are picked up by our jeep. The jeep takes us back to Sa Pa or to Lao Cai train station depending of your wishes.

Cat Cat Vilage


Cat Cat Village is about 1 km from Sapa town. It's located at the bottom of the Muong Hoa Valley and near the stunning Cat Cat Waterfall. This is an age-old village of H'Mong ethnic group remaining unique customs and practices that are lots in other villages.

To visit village, you walk through Sapa Market down the valley. Once you walk out of the crowd, you'll be stunned by the nature's beauty with high mountains of over 3000 m and the green rice terraces dropping nearly 1000 below. The sun shines across and there are H'Mong houses scattered in the valley

Visitors to Cat Cat have an opportunity to admire a lively and colorful picture. That is the image of young women sitting by looms with colorful pieces of brocade decorated with designs of flowers and birds. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered with beautiful designs. A noteworthy is that H'Mong women use plants and leaves to dye these brocade fabrics. And then they roll a round and smooth section of wood covered with wax on fabrics to polish them, making their colors durable.

In addition to the brocade weaving craft, many residents in Cat Cat are good at manipulating gold and silver jewelry. Their products are fairly sophisticated, especially jewelry for women.

Tourists to Cat Cat are most attracted by its unique customs, including the custom of "pulling wife". A man can ask his friends to lure a girl he likes to his house and keeps her there in three days. During these days, if the girl agrees to become his wife, a wedding will be held. However, the girl can happily go home after three days if she does not like him.

Traditional houses of H'Mong people in Cat Cat have three rooms with three doors and covered with po mu wood roof. In the house there are three columns that stand in round or square stones. The walls are made from sawn timber. The main door is always closed and only opens when people in the house organize important events. Altar, inlaid floor containing food, places for sleeping, kitchen and receiving guests are indispensable parts of the houses.

Visitors to Cat Cat Village can discover countless unique features of H'Mong people.
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Sapa Town


Nested under the shadow of Fansipan mountain, Sapa Town beautifully sits on a hill top at 1,600m above sea level, viewing over the Muong Hoa valley. Being unknown until 1880s when the French arrived Sapa town was quickly became well-known for its natural beauty, fresh and cool climate. As a result, in early decades of 20th Century, It was built into a summer resort by the French with some hundred villas to accommodate their colonials to escape away from summer heat of cities in lower regions.
The resistant war against the French(1945-1955), caused a lot of damages and Sapa was almost isolated and forgotten until 1990s when tourism started again in Vietnam. Sapa woke up to welcome the first tourists in early 1990s and be developing into a large town to serve the booming tourism. Although experiencing such fast growing, the town is well maintained its own charms and resisted its harmony to the surrounding nature. From the top of Ham Rong Mountains a perfect panorama view of the town open wide with lovely architectures and buildings under the shades of pine trees which centered around the Church and market place.

Sapa Overview



Sapa district (or Sa Pa) is located in Lao Cai province, 350 km from Hanoi, close to the border with China. The Hoang Lien Son range of mountains dominates the district, which is at the eastern extremity of the Himalayas. This range includes Vietnam’s highest peak, Fansipan Mountain at 3,142m above sea level, and a vast area covered by thick forest, which is very rich in wildlife. The township of Sapa lies on a hill station at the attitude of about 1,600m and was built by the French into a famous summer resort with some hundred colonial villas which was well-known as “ Tonkin’s Alps” . The complicated terrain of Sapa including steeped high mountains with sharp cuts and large valleys, many streams of water in combination with sloped terraced paddies form magnificent scenery.

Famous for its breathtaking landscapes, Sapa is also an ideal inhabitation for a great diversity of ethnic minority peoples. It is likely that, Sapa was first inhabited by highland minorities of H’mong and Zao groups who immigrated from southern provinces of China, later came the Tay, Zay, and a small number of Xa Pho to form the 5 main ethnic groups which takes about 85% of the district’s population today. The Vietnamese, in small number, immigrated from lower land to the region, mainly living in town, working in government offices, schools, hospital or running their own mini hotels, shops, … while most other ethnic peoples live in small hamlets and villages scattering on the mountains and valleys throughout the district. Until middle of 20th Century, the H’mong and Zao, majority of Sapa’a population, still lived shifting style and practiced slash and burn agriculture which caused huge damages to the nature. Nowadays, most of them have changed into sedentary one basing on intensive farming and work their land on sloping terraces cultivating rice and corn, since the vast majority of the land is mountainous. However self subsidiary is still the main feature of their production and lifestyle with almost no contact to the out side world until 1990 when tourism started in the region. On the other hand, due to hard weather & climate condition, only one crop can be cultivated in a year and the productivity depends much on nature thus led to a fact that food shortage is quite common here.

For nearly two decade, thanks to the all aspect development of the region in an attempt to turning Sapa into one of the country’s premier tourist destination, the local ethnic peoples has experienced great changes and enjoy invaluable benefit. Road to remote villages is continuously built and upgraded, many schools were built…and the most important one is the revolution in agriculture and fast development of tourism which helps the majority ethnic peoples in Sapa improve their live dramatically.
Luckily that in spite of all fast changes taken place in recent years, the ethnic minority peoples in Sapa still maintain well their colorful and unique culture.