Sapa is a famous tourist destination in northern Vietnam, just 5-6 hours by highway from Hanoi, known for its breathtaking natural scenery, cool climate, and rich cultural heritage. Located in Lao Cai Province, Sapa is home to stunning terraced rice fields, majestic mountains, and picturesque valleys. Visitors can explore Fansipan, the highest peak in Indochina, and experience the unique traditions of ethnic minority groups such as the H’Mong, Dao, and Tay. The town is also famous for its vibrant markets, where locals sell handmade crafts and traditional foods. Whether you enjoy trekking, photography, or simply relaxing in nature, Sapa offers an unforgettable experience.
What season is Sapa beautiful?
Sa Pa has a cool climate, so it is suitable for year-round travel. You just need to avoid the rainy season from June to early August, because extreme weather can cause flash floods, landslides...
From February to May, Sa Pa spring is brilliant with hundreds of blooming flowers such as cherry blossoms, peach blossoms, plum blossoms... Summer from June to August is the time when tourists come to Sa Pa to escape the heat and admire the cool green terraced fields.
Autumn lasts from September to November, Sa Pa is charming in the golden color of ripe rice and the weather gradually gets cold. Winter comes from December to February of the following year, if you are lucky you can "hunt" for snow and ice on the mountain tops.
Move
You can book a limousine from Hanoi to Sa Pa or a bus from My Dinh station for 230,000 - 350,000 VND per person, depending on the seat class. Travel time is about 5 - 6 hours.
If you take the train, choose the Hanoi - Lao Cai route, after about 7 - 9 hours of travel you have to take a bus or taxi to the center of Sa Pa. Train tickets cost from 160,000 to 800,000 VND depending on the seat class and type of train.
If you drive yourself, take the Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway, then turn onto 4D road to Sa Pa. The road is easy to travel, but you need to pay attention to the signs and drive at the right speed. On cold, rainy, foggy and slippery days, you should carefully check the tires, brake system, lights... before departing. The driving time is about 5 - 6 hours. Depart from Hanoi at the latest around 12:30, so that when you reach the pass to Sa Pa, it is not too dark.
Where to play
You can spend about 3 days 2 nights to explore famous destinations in Sa Pa.
Ham Rong Mountain
With its magical and mysterious scenery, Ham Rong Mountain attracts many tourists. The lowest point of the mountain is 1,450m, and the highest peak is over 1,800m. From the top of the mountain, you can see most of the famous tourist attractions of Sa Pa town such as Muong Hoa valley, Ta Van village, Cat Cat village...
Ham Rong Mountain is suitable for organizing a picnic, combining eating, shopping and sightseeing because on the way up the mountain there are countless shops and beautiful flower gardens. The entrance fee to Ham Rong Mountain tourist area is 70,000 VND for adults and 30,000 VND for children.
Sapa Stone Church
After going to Ham Rong Mountain, you return to the town center not far away to visit Sa Pa Stone Church. This is a symbolic work of the mountain town, started in 1895. The church was built in the shape of a cross in the Gothic style, expressed in the roof, bell tower, arches... all are pyramidal, creating a graceful and airy look for the work.
Cat Cat Village
Cat Cat village is located 2 km from the center of Sa Pa, so you can choose to trek or ride a motorbike. This is a peaceful Mong village, still preserving many customs and traditional crafts such as weaving, silver carving, jewelry making...
The road to the village is quite beautiful, you will go through winding hairpin bends, on both sides are terraced fields with ethnic roofs peeking out. Crossing Si bridge is the center of Cat Cat village, where three streams converge: Tien Sa stream, Vang stream and Bac stream. Visiting the village, in addition to learning about the life of the Mong people, you also have the opportunity to buy handicrafts as gifts, enjoy local products. The entrance ticket to Cat Cat village is 50,000 VND per person.
Lao Chai - Ta Van
From town, you can follow the 10km road to Ta Van by motorbike, taxi or trekking. The road to Lao Chai - Ta Van is narrow, with both sides covered in a cool green color of terraced rice and corn fields. Although no longer wild and remote, Lao Chai - Ta Van is still a peaceful village with many ethnic groups living there such as Mong, Dao, Giay...
The most impressive thing here, besides the local ethnic life, is the terraced fields spread across the hillsides. Late summer is the time when the ripe rice turns the whole mountainous area golden. So if you have a lot of time, spend a day here to experience the indigenous lifestyle. Entrance fee is 70,000 VND per person.
Fansipan Peak
To reach the top of Fansipan without expending too much energy, take the cable car and the mountain train. In the morning, you line up to buy tickets at the mountain train station opposite Sa Pa town square. The cable car ticket costs 715,000 VND per adult, 525,000 VND per child, the mountain train ticket costs 99,000 VND per person.
To reach the top of Fansipan, you take the funicular train, then the cable car, then another train ride or walk up 600 steps. Each train ride lasts about 6-7 minutes, each cable car ride about 30 minutes. Those who like to walk can leisurely climb the stairs, visit the spiritual complex on Fansipan including Kim Son Bao Thang Tu, 11-storey tower, bronze statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the largest bronze statue of Amitabha Buddha in Vietnam...
In addition, at the cable car and mountain train stops, there are souvenir shops, restaurants... to serve the shopping and dining needs of tourists. Note: you should wear low-heeled shoes, bring a jacket, raincoat, or umbrella in case the weather on the mountain top suddenly turns cold and cloudy.
Swing Sapa
This check-in complex is located at 87 Nguyen Chi Thanh, near the town center, about 2 km from the Stone Church to the cable car.
With many structures such as the statue of a man and a woman, the giant stone hand, the Buddha statue, the "stairway to heaven", the swing... this place becomes a location with countless shooting angles creating unique pictures.
Note, before going, you should prepare your photo-taking outfit, or you have to rent it on the spot for 50,000 VND per set, and you should fully charge your camera and phone. If you are traveling in a group, you can organize a camping or small picnic right here. Entrance fee is 80,000 VND per person.
O Quy Ho Pass
O Quy Ho is known as the "King of the passes" with a deep valley on one side and a steep cliff on the other. O Quy Ho is about 50 km long, connecting the two provinces of Lao Cai and Lai Chau. A suggestion for those who want to take beautiful photos on this pass is to come at sunset, around 5-5:30 pm. When the sun gradually hides behind the mountains, the entire pass is covered in a dreamy yellow color. However, Sa Pa's weather changes very quickly, maybe only 10 minutes after the sun and sunset, dark clouds have covered it.
Silver Waterfall - Love Waterfall
Located on the O Quy Ho pass, 3 km from the top of the pass, Bac waterfall and Love waterfall are also must-see stops for many young people. Bac waterfall has stairs to the top of the waterfall, but the higher you go, the colder it gets and the water flows strongly, so be careful to avoid slipping. Love waterfall, although the road from the gate to the waterfall is 1.5 km and you have to walk, the path to the forest is poetic. The entrance ticket to Bac waterfall is 20,000 VND per person, the entrance ticket to Love waterfall is 75,000 VND per person.
Eat and drink
When coming to Sa Pa, you must eat grilled food, because this dish is available everywhere and has many types, from skewers of pork, chicken, and rolled vegetables to eggs, corn, potatoes, and bamboo rice. The price of grilled food is only from 20,000 - 100,000 VND per type. In addition, salmon and sturgeon cooked in hot pot or eaten raw are also very popular. A hot pot costs 300,000 - 600,000 VND, suitable for 3 - 6 people.
Specialty restaurants that tourists can refer to are thang co A Quynh (Thach Son street), fish hotpot dishes at Hotpot Center (Xuan Vien street), pho con sui Ong Ha (468 Dien Bien Phu). For young tourists who love food and youthful space, they should go to Mi Nuong (Dien Bien Phu street) specializing in charcoal grilled dishes or Tuk Tuk Chicken Shop with grilled spicy ribs, cheese-shaken chicken... and H'Mong Pizza at Pi's Boutique.
In the town center, there are also many cafes for tourists to choose from. However, if you want to find a quiet space with a view of the valley or mountains, you can go to Coong Cafe (in the same Coong homestay on the way to Cat Cat village), Vietrekking (Hoang Lien street), Gem Valley Cafe (Cat Cat village).