Sapa, the fanciful town in fog in Vietnam

“Well, Sapa brings in peace in a fine, rugged scenery and cultural diversity… a very sweet time for us!” remarked a young couple after their honeymoon in Sa Pa.

For almost foreign travelers, Sapa is one of the most interesting sightseeing in the north of Vietnam, with the height around 1500-1650 meters. Sapa is a modest and quiet land but hides wonderful things of natural scenes with the fresh air, clouds, sky, romantic scenery and majestic mountains. The best time to visit Sapa in Vietnam is from March to May and from September to mid-December. Being one of the most attractive tourism destinations in Vietnam, Sapa is a precious gift that Mother Nature dedicates to Vietnam. 

Sapa – fairy home of ethnic minorities

There is nowhere in Vietnam can tourists easily meet the local ethnic minorities like in Sapa. Sapa is famous for its special cultural diversity in a combination of Vietnamese ethnic minority groups’ culture. Traveling in Sapa, you will have opportunities to discover the unique customs of the local residents. Local markets are the town’s typically cultural element, which are always crowded and joyful, attracting hundreds of visitors. This is the common place for minority groups to gather and exchange goods. Moreover, tourists coming to Sapa at weekends have the great chance to learn about local ethnic people’s courtship and martial life, through the Sapa love market and wife kidnapping ceremony of the H’Mong group. The ceremony will begin on April 29th. This is part of a five-day festival, titled Festival on the Cloud, to mark the beginning of the Sapa 2006 tourism year, in the northern mountain township of Sapa, in Lao Cai Province.

Sapa- challenging for mountainous trekking

Sapa is voted to be the best trekking spot in Vietnam, by both natives and foreigners thanks to Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range, which also includes Mt. Fan Si Pan- the highest peak in Vietnam and the entire Indochina peninsula with the height of 3143 meters. This mountain is not only a tough challenge to trekking enthusiasts but also an opportunity to witness the splendid mountainous vista. The scenery of the Sapa region represents a harmonious relationship between the minority people and nature, which can be seen perceptibly in the paddy fields carpeting the rolling lower slopes of the Hoang Lien Son Mountains. It was the elements wearing away the underlying rock over thousands of years that created this impressive physical landscape.

Sapa- thunderstruck local food

Foreign tourists are actually fond of scarce and precious specialties of Sapa, such as forest’s products, handicrafts, delicacies which is typical of ethnic minority people in Vietnam. There are dishes that will be a must to enjoy for every visitor – boiled chayote consumed with sesame or “lon cap nach”, which are home pigs but are raised in the field or forest.

The cool weather makes barbecued meat and fish with mushroom and vegetables the most preferred street foods in Sapa. People grill corn, sweet potatoes, dumpling, bamboo-tube rice, or even eggs as well. Nevertheless, tourists can try many other local foods like purple sticky rice or “thang co”- horse meat right in Sapa market.

More surprisingly, Western restaurants, from Italian to French ones, can also be found around the center of Sapa, at a very reasonable price.

If ever asked to drop a quick comment, even the toughest person must admit the romance and peace of a magnificently cool and beautiful Sapa! I hope you should spend a short summer here, and you will soon share the idea!