Need to know before leaving to Sapa

Sapa attracts so many visitors every year, both domestic visitors and travellers from around the world and regarded as “a Citadel in the clouds”. Because of its special features, Sapa is always listed among the most desired destinations in Vietnam. Let’s discover this country with our to learn practical Sapa travel guide and know about the best things to see in Sapa.

1. Where is Sapa located?

Located in the mountains of northwestern Vietnam, Sapa is a district of Lao Cai Province, about 380 km from the capital city of Hanoi and 38 km from downtown Lao Cai. The town is located at the altitude between 1500 and 1650 m above sea level, so it is covered with fog all year round, so it is known as a citadel in the clouds.

2. Why is Sapa so fascinating?

Pleasant weather & climate

Sapa’s climate is cool all year round, the average temperature is between 15 – 18oC, especially in winter, the temperature could climb below 0oC and snow also appears. Therefore, as soon as the French first came to the area in the early 20th century, they built a tourist citadel to escape from the extreme heat of the tropical country in the summer.

Breathtaking landscapes

Being located in the high mountainous area and having a temperate climate, Sapa offers stunning sceneries that take every traveller’s breath away. At any time of the year, Sapa has its own distinct beauty. The harmony of mountains, natural forests, valleys, streams, waterfalls with the simple houses of the locals and French architectural works creates a captivating charm. Visitors can lose their eyes between the green colour of nature and the colour of local life.

Unique rice terraces

Terraced rice fields are a masterpiece that demonstrates man’s hard work and nature’s creation. In Sapa, these terraces have existed for hundreds of years, created by ethnic minorities in the area to grow rice on the mountainside.

Because of the harsh winter climate, they can only do one harvest a year in Sapa. Normally in late April and May, they fill the terraces with water, making all the terraces become a giant mirror on the mountain. From June to August, the verdant rice plants grow, and from late August to September, you can already smell the scent of rice in the air.

Beauty of ethnic minorities

Not only known for natural beauty, Sapa also converges the cultural diversity of many ethnic minorities such as H’Mong (occupies the majority of the local population), Tay, Red Dao, Giay. By travelling to Sapa, visitors will have more opportunities to explore the culture and customs of some ethnic minorities, and discover the simple but always joyful life of the highland people. Fortunately, they still dress their very colourful and attractive traditional ethnic costumes and maintain their customs quite well despite the development of tourism, especially in recent years. Therefore, visiting the ethnic villages in Sapa is always one of the must-do things when you come to the area.

Cooking with mountain flavours

Perhaps because of its clear and cool climate, the cuisine of Sapa has a very unique flavour. Each specialty here gets its own uniqueness. You can’t miss the opportunity to taste Sapa’s roasted skewers, armpit pork, five-colour sticky rice, smoked meat or Thang Co-the area’s special hot pot,… 

Now in the Silver Waterfall area, there is also salmon cultivation so salmon dishes also become the specialties of Sapa.

3. When is the best time to visit Sapa

• Spring (February – May)

February – May is the time when many tourists choose to come to Sapa. The spring air covers the citadel of Sapa, a colourful shirt of peach blossoms, apricot blossoms.

April – May would be the time when people in Sapa start sowing and planting rice. Therefore, if you come to Sapa at this time, you will admire the vast terraced fields filled with water

• Summer (June – August)

June – August is the ideal time for those who want to escape the sweltering heat of the big cities. The whole country of Sapa is covered in the colour green, from the verdant forest to the growing rice terraces.

• Fall (September – November)

In mid- or late September, Sapa is most attractive with golden ripe rice, which spreads enormously over the terraced fields, all over the mountains and hills, bringing enchanting scenery. This is the best time for photographers to hunt the gorgeous photos of Sapa.

From October to November, Sapa starts to get cold. This is also the water season in Sapa, so the waterfall will flow strong, very lively and majestic.

• Winter (December – February)

From December to February, it is very cold in Sapa; in some places, the temperature even drops below freezing and it snows, especially at night and early in the morning. 

4. How to get Sapa from Hanoi

With a distance of 380km, the journey by car from Hanoi will take about 6-7 hours while for the transfer by train, it normally moves in the night. The train leaves around 10PM in the evening and arrives at Lao Cai station around 7PM the next day.

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