Located in the northwest of the country, Sa Pa is a mountainous district of Lao Cai province, a land of modest, quietly but contains various wonders of the nature. The natural scenery of Sa Pa is associated with human creativity, the mountains, green forests, like a painting in a harmonious layout. Immersed in clouds, Sapa is as a magical city in mist, drawing up a charming picture.
City Covered by Clouds
There is an invaluable resource and that is the fresh cool climate with a diversity of natural scene. Located at an average altitude of 1500m - 1800m, the climate of Sapa is at the average temperature of 15-18 ° C. Sa Pa has Fansipang Mountain Peak which is at the height of 3.143 meters on Hoang Lien Son Range. Call the Hoang Lien Son mountain range by only on this celandine, a kind of medicinal herbs and rare. Also Hoang Lien longer "mine" of information valuable timber species such as oil, of which birds, such as grouse, bear, monkey, antelope and thousands of medicines.
Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range
The National Forest of Hoang Lien Son has 136 species of birds, 56 species of mammals, 553 species of insects Sa Pa District is located in Lao Cai Province, north-west Vietnam, and 380 km north-west of Hanoi, close to the border with China. The Hoang Lien Son Range of Mountains dominates the district, which is at the eastern extremity of the Himalayas. This range includes Vietnam's highest mountain, Fansipan, at a height of 3143 m above sea level. The town of Sa Pa lies at an altitude of about 1500 meters above sea level. The climate is moderate and rainy in summer, and foggy and cold with occasional snowfalls in winter.
Fansipan Mountain Peak
Sa Pa is a quiet mountain town and home to a great diversity of ethnic minority peoples. The total population of 36,000 consists mostly of minority groups. Besides the Kinh people, there are mainly 5 ethnic groups in Sapa and that is Hmong, Dao, Tay, Giay, and a small number of Xa Pho. Most of the ethnic minority people work their land on sloping terraces since the vast majority of the land is mountainous. Their staple foods are rice and corn. Rice, by its very nature of being a labour intensive crop, makes the daily fight for survival paramount. The unique climate in Sa Pa has a major influence on the ethnic minorities who live in the area. With sub-tropical summers, temperate winters and 160 days of mist annually, the influence on agricultural yields and health related issues are significant.
Terrace Rice Field
The geographical location of the area makes it a truly unique place for many interesting plants and animals, allowing it to support many inhabitants. Many very rare or even endemic species have been recorded in the region. The scenery of the Sa Pa region in large part reflects the relationship between the minority people and nature. This is seen especially in the paddy fields carpeting the rolling lower slopes of the Hoang Lien Mountains.
Hmong Ethnic Communities
The impressive physical landscape which underlies this has resulted from the work of the elements over thousands of years, wearing away the underlying rock. On a clear day, the imposing Peak of Fansipan comes into view. The last major peak in the Himalayan Chain, Fansipan offers a real challenge to even the keenest walker, the opportunity of staggering views, and a rare glimpse of some of the last remaining primary rain forest in Vietnam.
Sa Pa Culture Museum
Visiting a museum is not top of most people's list of things to do when visiting Sapa, but for those interested in the history of the region and the culture of its inhabitants, the Sa Pa Museum is worth half an hour of your time. The museum is housed in an attractive stilt house with a static exhibit upstairs which runs uninspiringly through the history of the Sa Pa Region before moving on to some slightly more engaging exhibits about the culture of the ethnic minorities.
Red Dao Ethnic Minority
It's like the Ethnology Museum or Women's Museum in Hanoi, but far smaller and dustier. Downstairs was home to a sponsored exhibit about the crafts and customs of the Hmong and Red Dao people. It specifically focuses on their handicrafts as part of the Sa Pa Fair Craft project to promote these traditional crafts and help provide new economic opportunities. Entry is free but a stall is located inside so you may end up paying more than you expect, it's not a hard sell though.
Cat Cat Village
Cat Cat Village
Nestled in a beautiful valley about three kilometers from Sapa Town, Cat Cat- the old village of ethnic groups- attracts tourists from all over the world for its distinctive customs and practices which have been lost in almost ethnic villages. Cat Cat Cultural Village was formed in 19th century by the gathering of some families belonging to some ethnic groups living in mountainous areas of northern Vietnam, especially Black H’Mong.
Sa Pa
Rice and corn were grown in terraced fields, while traditional handicrafts such as twisting flax and weaving fabric have been well-kept. Through times, Cat Cat Village has transferred to one appealing feature of Sa Pa’s tourism. Visiting Cat Cat, tourists will be impressed by the peacefully picturesque sceneries. People can easily catch sight of women sitting in front of the loom with colorful pieces of brocade, while children playing around with pets or even livestock.
A Group of Tourists Visiting Cat Cat Village
Moreover, many residents of Cat Cat Village are also skillful at manipulating sophisticated gold and silver jewelry. The original architect of H’Mong people is interesting as well. Their house typically contains three rooms with three doors and po mu wood roof, while the walls’ material is sawn timber. Cat Cat Village gives tourists a chance to have a glimpse into the daily life of local ethnic people, as well as take part in traditional activities such as weaving fabric.
A Souvenir Shop
It is also a good opportunity to purchase some traditional souvenirs and handicrafts right from the craftsmen. People can also try some local food selling the way upcoming to the hill. In addition, the road leading to Cat Cat Village is an easy and interesting route for trekking. The hike through mountains will offer tourists the wonderful picture of rice paddies, water fall, or even water buffaloes grazing leisurely. The visitor can have a chance to visit.
Ta Phin Village
Ta Phin Village
Though Sa Pa has long been familiar with tourists, Ta Phin Village is still a new name to almost everybody. Located about 17 km in the west of Sa Pa, Ta Phin is a village of Red Dao’s people possessing a rich culture that has not been damaged by the modern life. From Sa Pa, it will take about 30 minutes to reach here by motorbike. The mountainous road can make it difficult for cars to move, so the best solution is to hire a “xe om”, or motorbike taxi, and the experienced driver will take you to right place at a very reasonable price with many useful advices and tips.
Coming to Ta Phin, you will immediately catch sight of groups of Red Dao’s women gathering together, keeping inside their hands colorful reels of thread and cloths. They sew continuously, even when offering the goods to the customers. Amazingly, most of them can speak quite well, some use Vietnamese less than English. Since 1998, Ta Phin has officially become the brocade village, where tourists can find the distinctively hand-made brocades made by ethnic people. All of the products are eye-catching with numerous bright colors and patterns, ranging from bag, scarf, purse, to skirt, and even backpack and coat.
Tourists visiting Ta Phin village
Ta Phin is also the main supply of brocades for shops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and the products are exported to foreign countries as well. Through times, Ta Phin Village, however, still can remain its special traditions. If you are lucky enough, you can have a chance to participate in a Red Dao’s wedding, seeing how carefully they prepare and many complicated customs for this occasion. There are also several local festivals such as dancing festival, greeting for the new house, oath-taking ceremony that will help you understand more about the simple but happy and amiable life of ethnic people.
Hoang Yen Chao Castle
Hoang Yen Chao Castle
Hoang Yen Chao Castle is a unique architectural construction combining Eastern style and Western style. Built in the 20th century, it belongs to Na Hoi Tho Village, Bac Ha District. Its proximity to Bac Ha Market makes it increasingly popular in the recent years. The castle was built as the resident of Hoang Yen Chao, and later, his son Hoang A Tuong. With two-floor architecture, it also functions as a fortress. The castle possesses a vital location that enables its residents to influence and control the whole Bac Ha Valley.
Inside Hoang Yen Chao Castle
From afar, you can easily notice the white castle standing vividly against the blue sky and the green fields of Lao Cai. High fences, blockhouses and deep trenches, as well as invincible defending towers used to protect the castle from the enemies in the past. Unfortunately, time has swiped away those wonderful features. However, you can still see the system of dangerous strap full of real spikes built around the castle. After strolling around the construction, make sure that you go inside and take a look at all the vestiges that survive the destructive flow of time.
Sa Pa Market
Sa Pa Market
Located right at the heart of Sa Pa Town, the traditional market, which is bustling until late afternoon, is not only for trading, but also for socializing and unwinding after hard working days. It consists of both indoors and outdoors space. While stalls along the stone stairs outside sell flowers, fresh produce, groceries and food; little workshops on the second floor offer ethnic fabrics. Once getting inside the market gate, tourists will see stalls full of mountain fruits like peach, apricot, pear and plum.
Handbags and Many Accessories
Buying some fruits for the dinner dessert or enjoy during the trip is a good idea. Dropping by the right hand side stalls, tourists will find trinkets (ethnic silver jewelry), medical herbs and local products that are good for health like forest honey. For the ones who are enchanted by colorful costume of H’Mong, Dao people in Sa Pa, and looking for authentic ethnic fabric, the second floor of Sa Pa Market is a must-visit. Here, one can find a number of embroidered skirts, handbags, blankets, pillow shams and table covers with unique patterns, made by the indigenous.
Sa Pa Market
Ethnic women who sell brocades here can converse quite well in English. Visiting Sa Pa Market in the morning, travelers will see a lot of local people gather at food stalls to enjoy favorite breakfast of “men men” (steamed corn wheat), “thang co” (horse soup) and corn wine. These are traditional food and beverages of local people in Sapa, and must-try for any tourists who come here. As a weekly market, Sa Pa market only opens on Sunday. Hence, tourists should wake up early on Sunday morning to visit the market and enjoy hearty breakfast with the locals.
Ham Rong Moutain
Ham Rong Mountain
Being shaped like a dragon’s head dimly looming in the thin veil of the early morning, Ham Rong Mountain or Dragon Jaw Mountain is an attractive tourist area in the center of Sa Pa Town. It is a fine combination of man-made and natural landscape. Ham Rong is home to numerous kinds of flowers and orchard gardens. Tourists wander stone paths leading tourists to wild peach forest, then orchid gardens with more than 6000 orchid plants belonging to 194 kinds. Besides, there are a lot of indigenous and exotic flowers grown along the paths like Lily of the Nile, hydrangea, geraniums, ox-eyed daisy and cherry blossom. Mountain fruits like peach, plum, and pear are also found here.
A close view of Ham Rong Mountain
The scenery hidden in the fog and echo sound from bamboo flutes of Mong minority boy change this place into a heaven on the earth. Another interesting activity is conquering San May (Cloud Yard), the peak of Ham Rong Mountain at the altitude of 1800 m to enjoy the imposing panorama of Sapa town. In sunny days, from here tourists can even see the peak of Fansipan under clear sky with white cloud floating around. Along the way to San May, tourists may drop by Cong Troi 1, Cong Troi 2 for resting and photo taking. These places also offer visitors a great view to French villas and terraced fields below. The best time to visit Ham Rong is spring, when all flowers in the mountain blossom, boast their beauty and perfume. The foot of Ham Rong Mountain is only a short walk from Sapa Church.
FanSiPan Mountain
Fansipan Mountain
At the height of 3,143m, Fansipan has been widely known as the highest mountain in Vietnam and the Roof of Indochina. Conquest of Fansipan is dream of many professional climbers as well as adventurous travelers when they come to Vietnam. The Mount Fasipan is located in Lao Cai province, about 9km southwest of Sa Pa Town. It belongs to the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range, located in the northwest of Vietnam and lying in the border of two provinces: Lao Cai and Lai Chau.
Fansipan Mountain Peak
The flora in Fansipan is so diverse with 1,680 species of plants, some in which are rare and able to be found only here. Hence, the mountain is an appealing natural attraction for any tourists, especially the ones who are interested in botany. Types of plants vary depending on altitude. Besides, climbers can see beautiful orchids and wild flowers along the way to the peak, especially in spring. There are a number of waterfalls lying around the foot of the Mount Fansipan. These waterfalls are ideal resting places for climbers after a long journey as well as nice places for taking photos.
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