Sapa in Vietnam is an old hill town that was discovered and developed by the French in 1922 in a beautiful valley at an elevation of 1600 meters above sea level. At that time, it was the most popular resort for the French living and working in Vietnam. More than 200 French colonial style villas were built here. In this town, due to the high elevation, it is sometimes very cold and you can experience four different seasons in a day. Forgotten for half a century, Sapa is again welcoming tourists and it is one of the most popular destinations in the north of Vietnam. And surely, it is one of the best places for trekking and meeting some of the eight ethnic minority groups. Terraced rice fields and cascading waterfalls greet you along the twists and turns of the trekking route. If you are adventurous and have enough time you shouldn’t miss the spectacular view from “The Roof of Indochina”, Fansipan Mountain, which is 3143 meters above sea level.
The town has comfortable hotels or you can stay at the home of one of the local ethnic minorities. Sapa is home to various families of flowers of captivating colors, which can be found nowhere else in the country. When Tet, the Lunar New Year Festival, comes, the whole township of Sapa is filled with the pink colour of peach blossom brought from the vast forests of peach just outside the town. Sapa is regarded as the kingdom of orchids. Here, orchid lovers are even amazed by the choice, when trekking in the forest filled with several hundred kinds of orchids of brilliant colours and fantastic shapes, such as Orchid Princess, Orchid of My Fair Lady’s Shoe. Some orchids are named after lovely singing birds such as the canary, salangane’s nest, and more. Sapa is most beautiful in spring. Apricot, plum and cherry flowers are splendidly beautiful.
Sapa local markets are crowded and merry, and are especially attractive to visitors. Minority groups come here to exchange and trade goods and products. Market sessions are also a chance for locals to promenade and young men and women in colorful costumes to meet, date or seek sweethearts. My favorite thing to do every time coming to Sapa is open the window in the morning, seating and leaning my back on the windows side with a cup of coffee in my hand, let the cloud running over me to the room and enjoy all fresh air in this moment.
