Sapa – a former French Hill station in the cool highlands (1600m) is home to various ethnic minorites.
Enjoy day walks to visit villages of Black Hmong, Dzay ( Giay) and Red Dao (Zao) communities.
It is worthwhile to check into the calendar of ethnic festivals held throughout the year.
Hmong Gau Tao New Year ( somewhere between November and February, before the Vietnamese Lunar Tet New Year, the Dao Tet Nhay for spring dances, and the Giay Roong Pooc harvest festival around end of August-October. Although winter season temperatures can be quite cold, winter festivals take place throughout the season.
The Sapa Love Market is a traditional gathering for Hmong and Dao ethnic youth. Held on Saturday evenings in the town square, young people meet to find partners expressing affection through music, dances and traditional games. This has also become a popular tourist attraction.

Fansipan Mountain, the “Roof of Indochina,” is Vietnam’s highest peak (3,147m) offering stunning views.
You can now quickly get to the top via a cable car to a point with a temple complex and where there is either a 600-step final climb, or a funicular. For the more adventurous, a 2-3 day challenging trek is possible with licensed guides.
Kim Son Bao Thang Pagoda was created in Vietnamese Buddhist style, resembling ancient pagodas from Northern Vietnam along with a big Amitabha Buddha Statue looking down on the world below.

Sapa Town has transformed from a quiet hill-station to a bustling mass tourism destination.
There are lots of small and reasonable guesthouses, and more upscale hotels have been built.

A few suggestions:

Sapa Horizon Hotel ( formerly Sapa Paradise View )-  is long-time family establishment.
See if David Duc Tho can help with your arrangements:
www.sapahorizonhotel.com

Chau Long 2 Hotel Sapa another long-time established property with wonderful view.
https://chaulonghotel.com.vn/

Victoria Sapa Hotel:  beautiful property of the Victoria Hotels chain, but not much of a view from rooms:
https://www.victoriahotels.asia/en/hotels-resorts/sapa.html
Victoria Hotels also found in the Mekong Delta, Siem Reap and Luang Prabang

Dragon Mountain Family
Trekking guides Ying and Sa, ethnic Hmong girls can introduce you to the area and to the local culture:
https://dragonmountainfamily.com/

Train Hanoi to Lao Cai for Sapa:

Most visitors take the overnight train from Hanoi- approx 9 hours to Lao Cai. There are several private train carriages of higher standards linked on to the government train including the Victoria Hotel Express Carriage, and you may wish to check into the ET Pumpkin Express!
More on various options:   www.traintosapa.com

The train travels north along the Red River arriving at the train station of Lao Cai where the Red River forms the border with China. Cross over and you can continue by train right on to Kunming.
This border sees alot of trade.
In 1979, the China-Vietnamese War was a short but intense conflict. China invaded northern Vietnam to “teach them a lesson” after Vietnam invaded Cambodia to topple the Khmer Rouge. The Vietnamese taken by surprise, as much of the Vietnamese army was in Cambodia. The Vietnamese managed to redeploy troops and fought back fiercely. After about a month, China withdrew. Both sides claimed victory although China failed to force Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia, there were heavy losses on both sides. Lao Cai was a key battleground and the border remained shut until 1993.

Lao Cai to Sapa::
From Lao Cai, it is another 1.5 hour drive up into the hills westward to Sapa Town.

Sunday and Tuesday Market Days
Trains arrive early morning in Lao Cai- enjoy breakfast after getting off the train.
Sunday is the traditional market at Bac Ha
Tuesday is a smaller market at Coc Ly

This is when ethnic Flower Hmong come to market wearing their elaborate traditional dress with colorful bands and leg wraps.  These markets are to the East of Lao Cai.
So you can either visit these markets first and then make your way up to Sapa coming back through Lao Cai. You can also check into new Eco Lodges that may be available around Bac Ha for an overnight.

Chay River and the Fairy Cave.
also to the East of Lao Cai, where you can do a local boat trip to see the Fairy Cave.

Sleeper Buses
Comfortable sleeper buses can also take you directly from Hanoi to Sapa,  but train lovers will enjoy the train… just wish the ride were a little longer to not feel rushed to get off so early in the morning.  However if wish to go to market, you need to join the locals who go very early!

Photos below were taken from my last visit several years ago. 
There was no cable car yet up to Fansipan Mountain, so did not get to that peak, but walks through the villages were wonderful adventures of another world.

With all the changes and new growth, I hope the ethnic groups are happy to maintain their traditions, especially in the art of hand-crafted embroidery in their traditional dress. You may notice more of their dress now machine-made, with copies coming across from China into the shops and markets.

Rewards of travel in and after the rainy season are the views of green fields around of Sapa

Red Dao (Zao) villagers in Tai Pin village near Sapa. These Zaoladies are very charming and will also quickly latch on to you with their items for sale, so be prepared to make some deals.

Black Hmong musicians and dancers at Cat Cat village – a nice walk to do from Sapa where you can see agricultural terraces and waterfalls. The Hmong people traditionally believe in animism- that everything has a spirit. They worship their ancestral spirits in their shamanic culture. The Black Hmong are known for their indigo-dyed clothing and silver jewelry.
Cat Cat was developed into more of a tourist spot by the French. They also built the Stone Church in the center of town. Some Hmong have converted to Christianity with missionary groups offering aid. Many Hmong gather at the Stone Church for Sunday mass, and it has been said, the French had dropped gifts from the sky which the Hmong attributed to coming from their supreme sky-god.
Some say the Hmong come to church as they await their sky-god to return. They may have embraced Christianity, but are still very connected to their ancestral traditions.

View from hotel in Sapa contemplating an adventure further into the mountains…

The Road to Dien Bien Phu

West of Sapa, is the road that leads to Dien Bien Phu– where the French finally lost their battle to the Vietnamese under Ho Chi Minh back in 1954.

The drive from Sapa to Dien Bien Phu takes about 9 hours on a road that can be rough, far away from the commercial scene of Sapa town.  Have an adventure on the local bus or hire a car with driver and guide.
You will pass through villages of Hmong, Dao and Tay ethnic groups.
Ask in Sapa about special market dates.  You may also wish to take time to stopover for a night enroute. Lai Chau has some local hotels and restaurants and nearby is the Dong Thieu Cave.
The once picturesque town of Muong Lay and valley may be now flooded with a reservoir, so hopefully changes around there are benefitting the local people.

passing through villages around Lai Chau

Dien Bien Phu A1 Hill where you can see battlefields, trenches and memorials of the intense fight against the French. Amazing how the Vietnamese dug secret tunnels and surprised the French, and the Americans were too naive to think they could do the same to them via the Cu Chi tunnels in South Vietnam.
The Dien Bien Phu Museum has exhibits detailing the historic battle.
Read:  Battle of Dien Bien Phu

The town is quite a bustling place with a great food market.
There is an airport at Dien Bien Phu with flights to Hanoi.
Or, continue driving along the loop back to Hanoi via  Son La and Mai Chau.
Mai Chau is about 3 hours drive from Hanoi.
Check out Mai Chau Lodge: https://www.maichaulodge.com/en/

Morning mist over the road to Dien Bien Phu

Overland to Laos
From Dien Bien Phu- you can also travel overland into Laos bringing you Muang Khua on the Nam Ou River.  Travel down the Nam Ou may still be possible by local boat bringing you to beautiful Nong Khiaw via Muong Noi-another travellers mecca in Laos. Definitely off the beaten track and river travel.
Check to see conditions on the Nam Ou as it may not be navigable all the way down to Nong Khiaw
See:  Nong Kiau River Resort
or Mandala Ou:  http://www.mandala-ou.com/

By now, I hope the road across the border into Laos may have improved!
This was the VIP Bus back in 2013

Happy Adventures! Travel Gently and Live Consciously.

Back to Hanoi Page: https://alamasia.net/hanoi/

Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi:
An excellent introduction to the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam and a must visit for anyone venturing up around Sapa: https://www.vme.org.vn/en

Back to Main Vietnam Page

Laos: https://alamasia.net/asia-destinations-news-and-links/laos/

Ha Giang Province is the new and growing Adventure Travel destination in the northeastern Vietnamese frontier: https://vietnam.travel/places-to-go/northern-vietnam/ha-giang

Travel Gently and Live Consciously– Happy Journeys!