Located at an altitude of 1,600m above sea level, at the foot of the majestic Hoang Lien Son range, Sapa has a cool climate year round. Its beauty is diverse from season to season.

In the spring, from February to May, Sapa is romantic with hundreds of species of blooming flowers and trees like apricot, plum, peach, pear, and orchids.

From June to August, Sa Pa is an ideal place to "hide from the heat" in the North when the temperature in Sapa fluctuates at 20-25 degrees Celsius. 

From mid-August, tourists come to Sa Pa to see terraced fields, and participate in trekking tours to see rice fields. September to November is the most impressive time of the year as it is the ripe rice season.

From December to February, Sapa welcomes winter, when lucky visitors can see snow and ice on the mountain tops.

From June to August, heavy rains, floods, flash floods and landslides are likely to occur. Tourists should be careful with activities near streams and lakes.

Transport

From Hanoi, tourists can take a bus or train to Sapa. They can book a limousine bus with the fare from VND350,000 - VND500,000/person/way or take a bus from My Dinh bus station at the price of VND230,000 - VND320,000 VND/person/way. Travel time is about 6 hours.

They can also take the train from the Hanoi railway station to Lao Cai railway station, then take a bus or taxi to the center of Sapa town. Train tickets range from VND180,000 to VND2 million/person depending on the seat class and train type.

Tourists can also ride motorbikes or cars to explore Lao Cai. If using a car, they should follow Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway, then turn to 4D road to Sa Pa. About 30km from Lao Cai city to Sa Pa, travellers should note that the pass has many bends.

In Sa Pa, they can rent motorbikes to explore the town, from VND100,000 to VND150,000/motorbike/day.

Destinations

Sapa Stone Church: built in 1895, it is the most complete ancient architectural work the French left in Sa Pa. In front of the church is a square, where the town's cultural and festival activities are organized. 

Ham Rong mountain: The mountain has an altitude of 1,450 - 1,800m above sea level. Tourists can take pictures with many colorful flower gardens along the road to the top. From the peak, they can see the panorama of Sapa, Muong Hoa valley with green terraced fields, Ta Van village, Cat Cat village... The entrance ticket is VND70,000 VND/adult and VND30,000/child.

Cat Cat village: This is an ideal community-based tourist destination for those who want to explore the cultural life of the Northwestern people. From the center of Sa Pa, tourists can ride a motorbike or trek to the village (about 2km). The road to the village is beautiful. Visitors can ride while admiring the flower fields, terraced fields, the roofs of houses, and the mountains in the clouds.

This is a traditional village of the Mong people, preserving many customs and traditional crafts such as silver carving, weaving, jewelry making... Here, visitors can buy handmade products as gifts, or enjoy local food.

Crossing the Si bridge is the center of Cat Cat, where converges the three streams namely Gold, Silver and Tien Sa and Cat Cat waterfall. Next to the waterfall, there are two suspension bridges, Si and A Lu, which are popular sites for taking photo.

Lao Chai - Ta Van: Leaving the crowded Sapa center, visitors can rent a carmotorbike or taxi to visit Lao Chai, Ta Van - the home of many ethnic groups such as Mong, Dao, Giay...

The distance is about 10km, with many narrow and rugged segments, but the scenery on both sides of the road is worth your try, with beautiful scenery, trraced fields, corn fields, mountains and hills that are extremely peaceful and eye-catching.

Lao Chai - Ta Van is a beautiful destination in the ripe rice season. Coming here, travellers should not miss May Bridge, Muong Hoa stream, Giang Ta Chai waterfall,...

Seo My Ty Lake: is located at an altitude of more than 1,600 m above sea level, about 20km from the town center, with beautiful wild scenery in four seasons. The water in the lake flows from Hoang Lien Son National Park, which is green and cool all year round. People in the area also take advantage of this place to raise sturgeon and salmon. Visitors can ask permission from local people to get on a boat to go sightseeing and fishing.

Trekking in Y Linh Ho village: This is a village of the Black H'mong people. This place is very quiet. The road to the village is located between beautiful terraced fields. This is a trekking route in the rice season that is very popular among European tourists and photographers.

Conquering the Fansipan: Coming to Sa Pa, visitors can hardly ignore the experience of conquering the "roof of Indochina" - 3,143m above sea level. Most tourists choose the cable car to reach the top of Fansipan. Fansipan cable car has a length of 6292.5m, which helps shorten travel time to about 30 minutes.

The price for cable car ticket is VND750,000/adult, VND550,000/child, mountain train ticket is VND99,000/person/way. On the way to the top of Fansipan, tourists can visit a spiritual complex of Kim Son Bao Thang Tu temple, the 11-storey tower, the bronze statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the largest bronze statue of Amitabha Buddha in Vietnam...

From August to October, when taking the cable car to the top of Fansipan, visitors can also see the golden Muong Hoa valley full of ripe rice. Visitors should also experience the climbing train to fully admire the largest Rose Valley in Vietnam.

Just opened not long ago, Sapa Infinity Garden is attracting attention on social networks. This place has many sites for taking the best photos and especially the infinity swimming pool overlooking the Muong Hoa valley. The entrance ticket is VND200,000/person.

From the center of Sa Pa, run along Highway 4D for about 15 km, to the highest part of O Quy Ho pass, visitors will come to the Heaven Gate. From here, they can enjoy the panoramic view of the vast valley below, terraced fields interspersed with winding roads. Currently, there are quite a few new constructions works here such as restaurants, cafes, hotels... The ticket is VND80,000/person, with a drink.

Swing Sa Pa complex is located at 87 Nguyen Chi Thanh, near the town center, about 2km from the Stone Church. This place has many works such as statue of man and woman, giant stone hand, Buddha statue, "stairway to heaven", swing.... This is good for camping or picnic. The entrance fee is VND80,000 per person.

Admiring the sunset on O Quy Ho pass

O Quy Ho Pass, also known as Hoang Lien Son Pass, is located on Highway 4D, bordering the two provinces of Lao Cai and Lai Chau. This is one of the long and dangerous passes in northern Vietnam, but the scenery is among the top in the region.

Tourists can visit the pass and take pictures of the sunset at about 17h-17h30. Sapa weather turns cold and dark very quickly, so the sunset may only last 10 minutes.

On the way to O Quy Ho, travellers can also visit the Silver Waterfall and Love Waterfall. Tickets to Silver Waterfall are VND20,000 per person, and VND75,000 per person for the Love Waterfall.

Where to stay?

Accommodation in Sa Pa is diverse, from guesthouses, homestays in villages, cheap hotels to 4-5 star hotels, luxury resorts, isolated eco-resorts.

In ​​Sa Pa center, there are a number of famous accommodations with beautiful location, impressive design and good services, such as Hotel de la Coupole - MGallery, Silk Path Grand...

In a peaceful time, immersing in Sapa nature, visitors can choose eco-resorts or resorts located in villages such as Topas Ecolodge, Sapa Jade Hill, Laxsik Ecolodge, Ville De Mont Mountain, Utopia Ecolodge...

Some hotels have impressive views of the Muong Hoa valley, where visitors just need to pull the curtains to admire the ripe rice season.

If you choose a homestay, a hostel, go to villages like Cat Cat, Lao Chai, and Ta Van to enjoy the peaceful space of the Northwest mountains. Some favorite places are Eco Palms House, Heaven Sapa, Phori's House, Rock Garden, Coong, Cloud Garden, Mong... Dorm room rates from VND100,000/person, bungalow double room rates from VND 500,000.

Delicious foods

The hot grilled dishes are specialties of Sa Pa, which appear everywhere such as grilled vegetables, grilled corn, grilled eggs, grilled pork, grilled chicken... In addition, when coming to Sapa, visitors should not miss hot pot dishes or salmon and sturgeon salad. A hot pot costs from VND500,000 to VND800,000 for 3 - 6 diners.

Linh Trang