Sapa - Vietnam: BAC HA MARKET

Just over 90kms from Sapa, the Sunday market at Bac Ha is a large local market, populated largely by Flower H’mong and other ethnic minority villagers from the area. Goods range from vegetables to domestic animals. Regular tours to the market depart Sapa at 7.30am.

Sapa - Vietnam: CAT CAT VILLAGE

Cat Cat Village is a mostly downhill 3km walk from Sapa. Wooden houses populated by Black H’mong people cluster close to a waterfall, along with a couple of snack vendors. H’mong women are likely to join for part of the walk.

Sa Pa - Vietnam: MOUNT FANSIPAN

Fansipan is the highest peak of Indochina at 3,143m above sea level. The hike to the summit takes from 1-3 days, depending on fitness, but few operators offer the 1 day option. Don’t underestimate this hike. It is a challenge.

Sapa Resorts: VICTORIA SAPA RESORT & SPA

Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa is perfectly located for both business and leisure guests in Sapa (Lao Cai). 

VICTORIA SAPA RESORT & SPA (1)

The hotel has everything you need for a comfortable stay. Car park, meeting facilities, safety deposit boxes, tours, family room are on the list of things guests can enjoy. Designed for comfort, guestrooms offer mini bar, internet access – LAN, balcony/terrace, non smoking rooms, shower to ensure a restful night. To enhance guests' stay, the hotel offers recreational facilities such as spa, massage, sauna, fitness center, steamroom. 

Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa (2)

Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa combines warm hospitality with a lovely ambiance to make your stay in Sapa (Lao Cai) unforgettable.

Sapa Resorts: TOPAS ECOLODGE

Topas Ecolodge is perfectly located for both business and leisure guests in Sapa (Lao Cai). The hotel offers guests a range of services and amenities designed to provide comfort and convenience. 24hr room service, bicycle rental, safety deposit boxes, coffee shop, restaurant are there for guest's enjoyment. Guestrooms are designed to provide an optimal level of comfort with welcoming decor and convenient amenities like refrigerator, television, shower, in room safe, air conditioning. Take a break from a long day and make use of garden. Convenience and comfort makes Topas Ecolodge the perfect choice for your stay in Sapa (Lao Cai).

Based on ecological principles, Topas Ecolodge actively seeks to be a minimum impact facility. The lodge employs local people and uses local products wherever possible. The 25 individual cottages have breathtaking valley views and feel quite secluded, scattered across the hill.

Sapa Travel: 10 THINGS TO DO IN CAT CAT VILLAGE

Take photos of the splendidly picturesque view of the hills and the terraced rice fields. You can never get enough snaps. Good thing I was in a solo-tour and my guide had been very patient with me.

Look through the houses of the ethnic minorities in the village and discover how people in this area live. You will often see a big family so in one household; 10 members more or less and you will be amazed at how they share in it.

Visit the school. According to the guide:” 10 years ago, kids wouldn’t go to school without candies”. Currently, the government has made an effort to discourage villagers and tourists in giving of candies -all for the good reasons.

Shop. As you go down the village you will walk past a lot of stalls with ladies selling handicrafts. My attention was glued to the blankets- they are very colorful and beautiful so I asked one lady how much time she had spent to make the blanket and her reply was: “8 months”. One of the overwhelmed Asian tourists announced in his group, ‘This is a shopping Mecca, let’s buy!’

Drink the home-made apple wine. With just 10,000 VND (50cents), you’d have a glass of fine traditionally made wine. I haven’t personally tasted it (I was too exhausted when I got there) but I have seen two tourists take and they did love it.

Talk to the villagers and learn how Hmong say ‘Look’- Loke, Make- ‘Meki’. When you don’t buy you just say, ‘I’m only loke Ioke’ . ;-) I had fun talking to them-they are all nice and friendly. And when you don’t buy, they don’t really harass you.

Check out the falls. As you hike to the bottom of the Muong Hoa Valley you will see the stunning Cat Cat Waterfall. There were already a lot of people when I arrived at this wonderful cascading body of water. There is actually a hydroelectric station , which the French built, that people in Sapa use to generate electricity near the waterfall, and you will see this as you walk down to the site.

Feast your eyes and ears on the Bamboo Dance. For me, getting to know Hmong culture isn't complete without experiencing their music. It was 15 minutes after we had arrived at the waterfall when the show started. So we went into their small theater to watch the talented locals showcase their traditional dance. I watched the show for 20 minutes and took videos.

Try the local delicacy and take loads of photos of them. Chances are-you can no longer find them anywhere else as soon as you have left the village. So while you are in the area, taste their food to remember the experience and capture the moment by recording it on your memory card.

Hike. Yes, it’s all about hiking in Sa Pa. I am not fit, myself but I did survive the ‘medium’ (as described in their brochure) trekking. You’d go over a red bridge as you walk back up to Sapa- you’d see a different view. It’s always refreshing and I had 1000 ‘WOWs’. For one, the weather was cool so I did not sweat a lot; also, the beautiful scenery was always keeping my strength at an optimum level as I carried on.

EATING OUT IN SAPA: Nature View - 051, Fansipan Street, Sapa

Grilled chicken sauteed in lemongrass with steamed rice

One of the pricier and fancier restaurants in Sapa, but totally worth it. This places scores on its excellent ambience, delicious food and quick and friendly service. It serves both local and international cuisine and even does a good Set Menu. I definitely saw more tourists here than locals, probably because of the price range. I particularly enjoyed the chicken sautéed in lemongrass and basil (pictured below), the yogurt sautéed chicken was equally good. They also had a decent number of vegetarian options on the menu so I’d say this is one of those places to eat in Sapa that vegetarians will like eating at.

Other recommendations: Spicy sautéed potatoes, pasta, vegetarian and tofu dishes.

EATING OUT IN SAPA: Antique Sapa - 22A, Phan Xi Pang, Sapa

Grilled chicken sauteed in lemongrass with steamed rice

A simple and high value for money restaurant that does a very good Set Menu. Now a lot of restaurants in Sapa try to attract tourists with local Set Menus that are about $4-5 that consist of a starter, main dish and beverage (hot wine or tea) but not all of them are comparable in terms of taste, quality or portion size. Antique Sapa ranks very high on all of these and has one of the best Set Menus with generous portions and meals that will make you fall in love with local food.

Pictured below from the Vegetarian Set Menu : Curried vegetables (Zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, onions and beans) with steamed rice.

Other recommendations: Pumpkin Soup

Things to Do and See in Sapa

Sapa is such a colourful town thanks to the H’mong and Dzao people from the local hill tribes who head into the town’s market every day to trade their produce. There’s a main market every Saturday when the place is packed but there’s a lower key one every other day during the week. These people will have undergone no formal education but the arrival of foreigners has made them well aware of the value of money and many of the youngsters have picked up a basic level of English. They sell clothing and handicrafts which are popular with tourists.

Read the exciting story of some Dutch travellers who visited the Sapa Valley which they describe at Adventure Travel Tales & Tips. Many visitors sign up for trekking expeditions out to local villages and beyond. All hotels and travel agencies in town offer half day visits to Cat Cat just 3km outside of Sapa and full day hikes to Ta Phin village which lies 10km outside town. Spectacular scenery abounds on all treks in the area. Overnight stays in minority villages such as Sin Chai are also popular options.

For stunning scenery you must get out to the Tram Ton Pass 15km from Sapa. At 1900m is the highest in Vietnam and connects Sapa to Lai Chau. All around you are surrounded by almost vertical rice terraces and stunning mountain peaks with regular mists hovering on them. The 100m high Thac Bac waterfall on the same route is spectacular.

Upland fields

For the seriously fit there is a hike to the top of Fansipan, Vietnam’s highest peak at 3143m. This isn’t a climb to be taken lightly with potentially treacherous conditions when the weather turns bad. From Sapa to the peak is only about 20km yet experienced hikers take three or four days to complete it carrying all their own equipment as there is no accommodation en route. Taking a local guide and even porters is highly recommended. If you are up to such a challenge the rewards are breathtaking.

Sapa - The hidden beauty

Sapa lies in the very north west of Vietnam near the Chinese border.
Along with Halong Bay it is the “other” major excursion from Hanoi. Time permitting you can do a circuit around the northwest highlands which takes in Mai Chau, Son La, Dien Bien Phu, Lai Chau and finally Sapa before heading back to Hanoi. This would take at least a week by private vehicle and longer on local buses. During the wet season roads can be treacherous with landslides common. The best time to visit is from March to May and from September to mid-December.

Sapa

In reality the vast majority of visitors arrive in Sapa from Hanoi via Mai Chau and don’t go on to discover the spectacular scenery of the Tonkinese Alps where Montagnard hill tribes have lived for centuries.

In Sapa these local people have quickly adapted to the incursion of tourism and it’s a common sight to see local women from the hill tribes pursuing foreigners down the main street bartering over colourful clothing and souvenirs. You might find this over the top in Sapa and would benefit from a trip out into the more remote villages where tourism hasn’t had such a nasty social impact. The Montagnards aren’t complaining though as many of them have grown relatively wealthy on the back of the new found cash economy.