Traveller\‘s Reviews

Sapa – A must see destination

Sapa – large mountain, fresh air and funny people will bring you far away from the crowded city, help you kiss away all your tiredness and trouble.

You have chance to deliver yourself into the nature. After the trip happy memory will stay in your innocent heart.

We had a great sapa and Halong bay trip arranged by Fansipan View Hotel.

Sa Pa is well worth the visit

We used TrekkingSapa for this trip. $123/per person and backed to backed it with Halong bay. This included soft sleeper in both directions a good Hotel with fantastic views.

Breakfast, a 10-14 km guided trek with picnic to local villages and a bus to Ba Ha markets (about 100km) from Sa Pa (only on Sundays). Sa Pa is beautiful its totally different than anything else you will see in Vietnam. Its also cooler. The minority tribe people are very kind & lovely in their native clothing and will follow you on the whole trek. They will expect you to buy from them at the end of the trek. I just gave them all money. A great experience and would highly recommend it.

Lovely homestay in Sapa

That’s was amazing trip with you Trekking Sapa staffs!!!

As I promised you I would write some my comment here to introduce you to our friend and travelers all over the world.

We obsolutely enjoyed our 6nights 5 days in Sapa. The local people were so kind and hospitaly to show us their normal life by let us joined their works, shared their house in Ban Ho, the Tay village.

We also loved the Muong Hum market, the very colorful one in the last day of Sapa trip.

All your services were perfect: Victoria Hotel, foods, tour guide (Hao), good car…

We highly recommend you to all our friends.

A fabulous trekking Sapa tour

Thank you for your excellent organization. We enjoyed the trekking tour very much! No comments as we like everything.

Your guides were so capable and experienced, we did not have a worry for the entire 6 days and our kids loved it! The trek really got out kids interested in nature and culture, and the food was great. Hope to make some other trip through Vietnam or Cambodia in future. And I definitely will recommend you and TrekkingSapa company to my friends traveling to Vietnam.

A pleasant trip, a completely different experience

Booked a 2 day trip to Sapa via TrekkingSapa and we were arranged to stay at Victoria hotel. Our short trip here was remarkable. Sapa is a lovely town in the northwest of Vietnam and it gave me a completely different experience.

The weather was beautiful during our trip, it was always cool with fresh air, I even could smell the flavour of flower around, you may also see people from many ethnics group, they were all friendly and colourful in their traditional dress. Especially, I love the cute local animals like dogs, pigs, buffalos we saw on the trekking way.

The hotel where we stayed was excellent. Our room was large with a comfortable bed; there were big windows overlooking to outside giving a wonderful views. The staffs there were really helpful and available @ all time.

Normally, people always have something to complain about after one trip, I truly have nothing to dislike. Highly recommend everyone to Sapa.

Thank you TrekkingSapa tour operator for Sapa tour

It was completely out of my expectation when coming to Sapa. I still felling that all little lovely H’Mong kids in sapa playing around me. They are so nice. The most I like in Sapa tour is the afternoon soft trekking across terrace fields, small stream and communicating with local people.

The children speak English well and all of them are very friendly, they welcomed us to their house, taste their famous green tea. Sometimes they ask very personal questions but they are friendly and their smiles are never end. I like colorful and traditional cloths. We were lucky when it’s clear and sunshine during all our tour. The landscape in Sapa is so beautiful, I am sure it will take you out of noisy and crowded city. I took lots of picture from a Red Dzao family, I will send it to our tour guide May (a local Red Dzao girl) and she promised that she will give it to the family we visited. May translated all our questions help us talking with local people in easy way, she’s great.

Victoria Sapa is fantastic hotel. I enjoyed staying there very much. I book our trip through TrekkingSapa tour operator. I had a recommendation from my friends but still worried about their services before I send them the deposit online via onepay system.

Once more thank you for your exellent organizaton of Sapa tour for me!

Sapa is an amazing place

We got there of a tourist train with a nice Filipino journey mate, cabin of 4 soft berths. After a distance of about 40 km from Lao Cai, Sapa appears in the clouds. Sapa is said to have all four seasons in one single day.

The weather changes indeed very quickly; the morning little clear and sunny and in some minutes, the clouds appear and rain begins to fall. You must always be prepared for all kind of time. Since everything was arranged in advance for us via Sapatrek company, we were getting free here. All of members in my family had an excellent trip with Sapatrek company. They truly have provided one of the best customer service I have ever experienced in all my travels! Thank you so much!

Amazing Sapa trekking

Great trip! Be advised by a friend, my partner and I decided to book the Sapa trekking tour thru the Trekking Sapa Tour Operator. Everything was far more our expectation. It was AMAZING experience to see the villages, beautiful landscapes, cultures and daily life of people here.

When we came, there were a number of little H’Mong kids followed and played around us. They looked very lovely in their colourful and traditional clothes. Moreover, I was rather surprised to realise that some children could speak English quite well, sometimes they asked us few personal questions but they were friendly and always smile. Their parents also invited us to visit their house, and try their famous green tea which was really appreciated.

One of the things I loved the most during our Sapa tour was the moment when we took a soft trekking across the terrace fields, small streams in a cool weather and deeply breathe fresh air. It was incredibly peaceful.

After all, I would like to say thanks to everyone whom I met, thanks Trekking Sapa Tour Operator, your excellent organization really made our trip memorable and unforgettable

Impressive Sapa

Trekking is a must whilst in Sapa. There are many villages and routes to choose from, and the village of Cat Cat is a sample

This is a small village about 3 km from Sapa. It is therefore easily found and reached, and can be combined with a visit to Lao Chai and Ta Van. There are so many wonderful walks to take here, ranging from a short hop down to Cat Cat Village, to treks that go for days. While trekking to Catcat village, I came across this primitive husk powder. I find it pretty interesting, a miniature of modern hydroulic power. It is simple to have such an experience with trekking sapa company. They are truly specialist. Absolutely recommend.

Sapa Travel Guide

Xoe Dancing Festival in Ta Chai Sapa

Time: The 15th day of the first lunar month.
Place: Ta Chai Commune, Bac Ha District, Lao Cai Province.
Objects of worship: Agriculture Deity (administer of fields and gardens).
Characteristics: Xoe dancing of the Tay.

Xoe Festival in Ta Chai is the spring festival of the Tay to pray for good crop, full of grains and rice. The ritual is rather simple with a tray of offerrings put at the foot of a neu tree which show the sincerity of villagers to the god of farming. After the magician observes rituals, the whole of the village take part in dancing of xoe in the boisterous sounds of gong, drum with many special styles of dance such as: xoe in group, xoe in couple, xoe in four person, xoe greeting…

Thuong Temple Spring Festival Sapa

Time: From the 14th to the 15th day of the first lunar month.
Place: Lao Cai City, Lao Cai Province.
Objects of worship: Tran Hung Dao.
Characteristics: A palanquin procession, tug of war contest, wrestling contest, and con throwing, sticks pushing, no (arbalest) shooting.Thuong Temple is located on the Hoa Hieu Hill, Lao Cai City, dedicated to Tran Hung Dao – the famous general of Tran Dynasty. He commanded the Dai Viet troops defensive in Lao Cai in 1257. The spring festival is organized at the cutural center of Lao Cai Ward and Thuong and Mau Temples. The ceremonies include the opening festival, processions of the Holy Mother and Thien hau Nuong; worshipping ceremony takes place on the 14th day, thanksgiving ceremony is on the 15th day to pray for peaceful and prosperous things to everyone. It involves traditional singing and dancing performances and mountainous ethnic games: con throwing, arbalest shooting, tug of war, stick pushing, wrestle, cocks fighting, swinging… The spring festival is alco displayed brocade souvernirs, local goods which are made by girls of the Mong, the Dao, the Thai…

Sapa Ancient Rock Field

Location: Sapa Ancient Rock Field is in Muong Hoa Valley, Hau Thao Commune, Sapa District, Lao Cai Province.
Characteristic: This 8sq.km-area of remains consists of large multi-grade rocks engraved with ancient images.

Sapa Ancient Rock Field is between the terraced rice paddies of ethnic minority groups. The first exploration research, in 1925, recorded that there were 200 stones of various dimensions concentrated in the area. Hon Bo, which is 15m long and 6m high, is the biggest of theses rocks.

The engravings on the surfaces of the stone are either pictographic or decorative. Remarkably, among the engravings are drawings of humans, stilt-houses of the ethnic minorities and symbols believed to be a primitive form of writing. But their meaning has not yet been deciphered.

In addition, impressive images include a da chong (the husband stone), da vo (the wife stone), as well as stones that look like tigers and a stela with an incantation written on it by the carver to help his people defeat the tigers. The da chong and da vo tell the story of faithful love between a couple who overcame all difficulties to be together; even though they turned to stone, they are still dedicated to each other.

Archaeologists have proven that this area has been inhabited since ancient times. These fascinating Viet remains have drawn the attention of scientists and tourists.

Ham Rong Mountain Sapa

Location: In center of Sapa Townlet, Sapa District, Lao Cai District; 33km from Lao Cai City.
Characteristics: Ham Rong Mountain is an attractive tourist area in the center of Sapa Townlet.

Approx.Legend has it that in the distance past, all animals lived together in a chaotic environment. One day, Jade Emperor gave an order that every species of animal had to find for them an area to live. Having heard the order, they scrambled for a place to reside. The three brothers of dragon who were living in a large lake hurriedly ran to the east but could not find any place; they then ran to

the west. The two older brothers ran fast and came to the destination first. The youngest brother ran slowly and strayed into the crowds of lions, tigers and big cats. Fearing that these animals would attack it, the dragon opened its mouth to defense itself. At that time, the order of Jade Emperor was no longer available, so the three dragons petrified. The two older dragons, which were waiting for their brother, face Lao Cai City, and the youngest one raising its head and opening mouth faces the Hoang Lien Mountain Range. So the mountain is named Ham Rong (Jaw of Dragon).

Visitors to Ham Rong have chances to climb up the San May (Cloud Yard) to enjoy the panorama of Sapa Townlet, visit the orchid gardens with beautiful and colorful flowers. In addition, Ham Rong Mountain has numerous caves and stones in extraordinary shapes.

Tet of dancing of the Dao Do Sapa

Time: From the 1st to the 2nd day of the first lunar month.
Place: Ta Phin Commune, Sa Pa District, Lao Cai Province.
Objects of worship: Deities, ancestors.
Characteristics: Dancing (14 styles of dance), bathing ancestor’s statues.

Three big families of Ly, Ban, Trieu arranged Tet of dancing at the head of the family’s house. The main ceremony is the dances which are performed by small group of young boys and girls. There are many dance styles which are described the contexts of ancestor angel go down the earth to attend the Tet with offspring. After the dance ceremony is an ancestor’s statues procession and bathing ancestor’s statues ceremony. Next to it is a dance of offering red and yellow cocks… The flag dance is the end

Fansipan Mountain Sapa

Location: Fansipan Mountain is located 9km south-west of Sapa Townlet in the Hoang Lien Mountain Range.

Characteristics: Fansipan is branded “the Roof of Indochina” at the height of 3,143m; Fansipan is to be approved as one of the very few eco-tourist spots of Vietnam, with about 2,024 floral varieties and 327 faunal species.

The topography of Fansipan is varied. Muong Hoa Valley, at the lowest altitude (950-1,000m), is created by a narrow strip of land at the base on the east side of the mountain.

Geologists say the Hoang Lien Mountain Range, with Fansipan as its highest peak, did not emerge in the mountainous North West of Vietnam until the neozoic period (circ. 100 million years ago). Fansipan, a rough pronunciation of the local name “Hua Xi Pan” means “the tottery giant rock”. The French came to Vietnam and in 1905 planted a landmark telling Fansipan’s height of 3,143m and branded it “the Roof of Indochina”. Very few people climbed to the top of Fansipan at the time. Then came the long years of war and Fansipan was left deserted for hunting and savaging. The trail blazed by the French was quickly overgrown by the underbrush.

It takes six or seven days to reach the 3,143m summit, the highest peak of the Indochina Peninsula.
In 1991, Nguyen Thien Hung, an army man returned to the district town and decided to conquer Fansipan. Only on the 13th attempt did Hung, with a H’Mong boy as his guide, conquer the high peak by following the foot steps of the mountain goats. Scaling the height was meant to satisfy his eager will and aspiration to conquer the mountain without expecting that his name would be put down in the travel guidebook. After that the Sapa Tourism Agency started a new package tour there. It seemed the Fansipan Tour was meant only for those who wished to test their muscular power.

The summit of Fansipan is accessible all year round, but the best time to make the ascent is from mid-October to mid-November, and again in March.

Foreigners like best to book Fansipan tours between October and December, as this period is more often than not free from the heavy rains that obstruct the jaunt. But the Vietnamese prefer their tours to the peak of the mountain from February to April, as it is not so cold then. However, the best time for the trek to the mountain is from the end of February to the start of March, when the flowers all flourish and the climbers may behold the carpets of brilliant blossoms, violets and orchids, rhododendrons and aglaias.

Cat Cat Village Sapa

Location: Cat Cat Village is 2km from Sapa Townlet, Sapa District.
Characteristics: This is an age-old village of H’Mong ethnic group remaining unique customs and practices that are lots in other villages.

Visitors to Cat Cat have an opportunity to admire a lively and colorful picture. That is the image of young women sitting by looms with colorful pieces of brocade decorated with designs of flowers and birds. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered with beautiful designs. A noteworthy is that H’Mong women use plants and leaves to dye these brocade fabrics. And then they roll a round and smooth section of wood covered with wax on fabrics to polish them, making their colors durable.

In addition to the brocade weaving craft, many residents in Cat Cat are good at manipulating gold and silver jewelry. Their products are fairly sophisticated, especially jewelry for women.

Tourists to Cat Cat are most attracted by its unique customs, including the custom of “pulling wife”. A man can ask his friends to lure a girl he likes to his house and keeps her there in three days. During these days, if the girl agrees to become his wife, a wedding will be held. However, the girl can happily go home after three days if she does not like him.

Traditional houses of H’Mong people in Cat Cat have three rooms with three doors and covered with po mu wood roof. In the house there are three columns that stand in round or square stones. The walls are made from sawn timber. The main door is always closed and only opens when people in the house organize important events. Altar, inlaid floor containing food, places for sleeping, kitchen and receiving guests are indispensable parts of the houses.

Visitors to Cat Cat Village can discover countless unique features of H’Mong.

Sapa Markets

Love Market

Sapa is also famous for its love market, which takes place on saturday evenings. The love market of Sapa used to be the place to find a partner to get married. With the tourism, the real love market does not take place anymore

Currently you can only see a representation of the love market. Do not miss it anyway if you are staying here a saturday night.Young Red Dzao hill tribe used to come to Sapa to sing songs to the opposite sex. Girls sang the songs hidden in the dark, when a boy found them, and if they matched together, they disappeared into the forest for three days. Some of them got married after that.

While Dao women are indeed highly industrious, the men, it seems, prefer to spend most of their time drinking, smoking opium or sleeping, only occasionally slapping the rump of a lethargic bovine moving more slowly than they are. Few of their songs, though, are about drinking, smoking opium, sleeping or slapping rumps.

Currently you may spot some young locals singing in the dark, but they are not looking for a partner, they are looking for you. They will sing a song, and ask for a tip afterwards.

Every Saturday, the picturesque mountain village of Sa Pa comes alive with shoppers who know what they want: love. They travel from near and far to size up the goods of the day, hoping something will tickle their fancy.

Tall or short, sweet or sultry, they are all on the market, looking for love. Love markets (cho tinh) take place in the northern mountain provinces of Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Son La. A rare opportunity to mix, mingle and find a match, they are often a not-to-be-missed social event. For many young villagers, the love fests are a vital marital resource, given that many live in villages where all the inhabitants are blood relatives.

Here’s how it goes: singles strut their stuff through the market, hoping they will be lucky enough to be asked out on a date. What follows is not as simple as dinner and a movie – amorous couples must abide by the ways and mores of their ethnic nationality.

Unlike the steady flow of sensuality at Sa Pa, some loves must stand the test of time. Khai Vau market in Ha Giang province takes place only once a year, on March 27 in the lunar calendar, a date known as Phong Luu (Prosperity Day), which gives the market its name of Cho Phong Luu (market of Prosperity). According to legend, the market’s beginnings date back to the unrequited love between a young boy and girl. They met in Meo Vac, but as they were from different tribes, were forbidden to be together.

In true Shakespearean fashion, a bitter quarrel erupted between the families, and the couple was forced to end the affair. Unable to bear the thought of never seeing each other again, they decided to meet on the same day every year in Khau Vai. Today, the site of the forbidden rendezvous is home to the love market.

The market is not just for marriage hopefuls. In this rural area, it is also the social event of the year, where old friends meet up and new ones are made. No matter their age, everyone looks forward to the chance to chat over sticky rice, grilled cassava or rice dumplings. Although the market does not officially start until March 27, the celebrations begin the evening before. March 26 is a night of song and dance, the performances expressing fervent wishes for eternal love. Romantic melodies fill the night air.

There is one day in the year
I dedicate to you
I have no gold or silver
Just my true love
Come with me if you believe in me

The dancing and singing continue into the early hours, often persuading men and women into each other’s arms. That first magical night, some are lucky enough to leave the market with their new partners and walk hand in hand through the forest. But others are simply nervous: tomorrow is the big day, after all. Many have waited months for the chance to find their soul mate. The day of the Market of Prosperity is alive with different moods: happiness at meeting old friends, anxiety as others wait to meet someone new.

Whether they find a partner or not, the happy memories of the day linger in the minds of many of these mountain people. And anyway, there is always next year. Because at this market, the goods are always ripe.

Can Cau Market

Can Cau Market is a small, but very colourful market, set in the mountains near the Chinese border

The Flower Hmong minority is the most common here, and their colourful dresses makes is a beautiful sight.

Binh Lu & Tam Duong Market

Binh Lu and Tam Duong market is located on the other side of Sapa, passing the 1900 meter Tram Ton pass, Viet Nam’s highest mountain pass and considered the most beautiful stretch of road in the country.

The town is bustling with activity as the local hill tribes gather for their weekly market day, amazing tribal markets in Binh Lu where thousand of Thai Kadai language groups such as Tai Lu, Tai Laos, White Tai, and H’mong – Yao group (black Yao, Yao Lantien..), Giay, Khomu.. comes to buy and sell their own produces.

Every Sunday from 8 am to 1 pm.

Pha Long Market

Very rural seldom visited market, where you can meet ethnic groups that are only found in this particular district of Vietnam, mostly Hmong, Nung, Tou Zi, Pa Zi and Tou Lao

Along the road, in a landscape of mountain peaks, numerous Nung et Hmong villages. Lots of traditional houses with baked earth tiled roofs.

Pha Long market, Saturday morning from 6 a.m. to twelve.

Muong Khuong Market

Big market with a wide range of ethnic groups: Hmong, Dao, Nung, and merchants from other ethnic groups who come all the way from China to sell their products. Several Pa Zi women sell traditional incense made from the bark and resin of scented trees.

Muong Khuong market takes place on Sundays and is located in a small border town, which is frequented by Flower H’mong, Tu Di, Tay and Giay ethnic minorities. They come from surrounding villages to buy and sell local products such as food and material for agriculture and fabric.

Opening: 6 am of Sunday
Closed time: 1 am

The district is looking to develop into an eco-friendly destination

Muong Khuong district is planning to remodel itself into a centre of community-based eco-tourism in northwest Lao Cai Province in its current period of development (2005-10), said the chairman of the district people committee Nong Van Hung at a recent tourism conference.

The district, which has 13 markets and seven handicraft villages, has chosen tourism as the driving force that can better the lives of its population of 51,000 who’s current capita per head is VND3.5 million (US$209).

Muong Khuong District is about a 10-hour train ride from the capital and then approximately 50km east from Lao Cai centre. The district is then accessible by motorbike or bus from Lao Cai City, Vietnam.

The locality is home to 14 ethnic groups including Mong (the largest group who account for 43 per cent of the population), Nung, Dao, Pa Di and Phu La. The mix in ethnicities lends the area a colourful character, visible in the market and the wares each group has to offer.

“The market is one of the main tourist attractions which sees a lot of visitors, especially as the district also serves as a link to other famous sites like Sa Pa Town, Bac Ha (Bac Ha tour)and Si Ma Cai districts in the province and the border gate with Yunnan, China,” said Hung.

“The agriculture-based district will target community-based eco-tourism in a sustainable manner that will help develop future social-economic projects over the course of the next few years,” he said, adding that the district is expected to open more border gates for increasing tourism traffic from China.

Vibrant market

Muong Khuong District is well-known to travellers for its many markets lining National Road 4D. It gives visitors a chance to glimpse into the life and traditions, not to mention goods on sale, of the Mong, Nung and Dao.

“We want to transform tourism in Lao Cai Province into a powerful industry and Muong Khuong District is just one of the tourist destinations we want to focus on and improve upon. Currently, we are upgrading the infrastructure and landscapes in the district to make it more attractive to tourists,” said vice director of Lao Cai Province’s Culture, Sport and Tourism Department, Le Duc Luan.

Challenges ahead

During the conference, travel agents highlighted the problems tourists faced and how they needed to be rectified as it was important to ensure that travellers did not leave with bad impressions of the area.

“We are fully aware that Lao Cai is famous for its sites, especially Sa Pa Town and Bac Ha District and how tourists are drawn to the area’s weekly markets and lifestyles of the different ethnicities. However, we are afraid that an overload of tourist traffic could prevent visitors from travelling throughout the province,” said Dang Thi Tho, head of the Hanoi branch of Phoenix Voyage travel company.

“What we have learned from our 10 years of offering tours in the province is that authorities need to open more sites so that visitors have more options to avail of when they visit Lao Cai. Our customers, mostly from France, would visit Sa Pa and Bac Ha but never considered prolonging their stay in the province because nothing attractive was on offer there,” Tho added.

Tran Thi Huyen Thanh, director of Wild Lotus company, said: “I have seen just how beautiful Muong Khuong District’s natural landscape is. That is its advantage but it needs to tap into it and explore creative ways to promote it so that the area becomes an ideal destination for travellers to Lao Cai Province.”

However, the 34-year-old director said that the District needed to revamp the markets to make them easier to access and browse through in a carefree manner. He said locals needed to be made aware of norms of social etiquette in their dealings with tourists.

“At the moment, many locals do not even smile or turn their heads if tourists want to take photographs with them. Instead it is common for them to ask for a little money if they are asked to pose for photographs or they trail tourists, and harass them into buying their wares. This chaotic atmosphere needs to change,” said Thanh.

The district opened a lodge in centre of Cao Son Village, where visitors could stay overnight and then go on a trek the following day throughout forests and markets in or near Cao Son, Lung Khau Nhin, Pha Long, Ta Gia Khau, Ban Lau, Ban Xen and Lung Vai.

Many spoke of their pleasure visiting brocade weaving sites and maize wine villages in Ta Chu Phung and Di Thang. Perhaps more such lodgings need to be opened.

New plans

In the current 2005-10 five-year plan for tourism development in the district, authorities in Lao Cai hope to complete work on a road that will link Muong Khuong and Si Ma Cai districts to Ha Giang next year. This should facilitate tourism in the area as it will give travellers opportunities to explore in a convenient manner.

The road will also turn Muong Khuong District into a centre of tourism and provide a viable trade route from Hekou, Ma Guan and Yunnan in China to Bac Ha, Si Ma Cai districts in Lao Cai and Ha Giang provinces.

Bac Ha Market

Bac Ha Market is in Bac Ha District, Lao Cai Province; about 80km from downtown Sapa

Characteristics:

It is a trading centre and meeting place for couples, friends, and relatives every Sunday.

There are many trees around Bac Ha, and in the spring the countryside is white with blossoms.
Every Sunday, Bac Ha hosts the biggest fair near the mountainous highlands and the Chinese border. It is a trading centre and meeting place for couples, friends, and relatives, and it is a typical weekly activity for the H’Mong and other minority groups living in the locality. Local products for sale or barter are carried on horseback.

At the fair, adventurous gastronomes can try thang co blood porridge, a popular dish of the H’Mong and other local people.

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