Sapa is a scenic spot in northwestern
Vietnam, 350km from Hanoi by road and
38km from Lao Cai Town. That area of Lao
Cai Province is well-populated. It is
1,600 meters above sea level and stands
in a valley with cool weather. The
highest temperature in summer is 15- 20
C0 degrees Celsius. In
winter, there is usually cloud and fog,
and it is very cold. Not far to the west
of Sapa is the 3,143-meter-high Fansipan
Mountain, called the “roof of
Indochina." This mountain is attractive
to tourists with a passion for
adventure, discoveries and conquests. In
the neighborhood of Sapa, there are many
historical relics and beauty spots.
The Sapa ancient rock expanse is a
scattering of rocks in terraced fields.
These rocks are inscribed with drawings,
such as pictures and floral designs.
When these images were created remains a
mystery. Bac (Silver) Cascade, 12km from
Sapa, pours water from hundreds of
meters above. May (Cloud) Bridge is a
suspension bridge on Muong Hoa River, in
a valley 17km from Sapa,
Ta Van & Ta Phin Villages, in a
limestone range 12km from Sapa, is
another haunt for many travelers. ln
1922, Sapa was already a holiday resort
for French residents. Today, visitors
can see Western-style ancient and modem
villas juxtaposed in a poetical cherry
forest and with green pomu (Fokienia
hodginsii) trees. Sapa is most beautiful
in spring. Apricot, plum and cherry
flowers are splendidly beautiful.
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. Visitors to Sapa will find
it a beautiful spot any time of the year
Sapa
Situated at an altitude of 1,600 meters
above sea level, Sapa is as cool in
summer as the low-lying land below in
autumn, Even on sunny days, you have to
wear warm clothes in the morning and
cover up with thick blankets in bed at
night. With no advance warning of a
thunderstorm short and heavy rains may
come at noon on any summer day.
Subsequently a rainbow, transforming
Sapa into a magic land, which for years
has been a constant source of poetic
inspiration, lights up the whole region.
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 color 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 colors 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. Salamander's
Nest, and more. Not only flowers, but
also fruit gardens make Sapa so ideal as
a mountain resort town in northern
Vietnam second only to Dalat mountain
resort town in the Central Highlands.
Visitors to Sapa in summer cannot fail
to sample some yellow peach,
whose origins go back to Yuannan in
China. The sweet taste of Tan Van plum
and pearl is found only in the Sapa
forests. From time immemorial Sapa has
been known near and far for its valuable
medicinal herbs the vast preserve of
which almost remained untapped
The Fansipan
Mountain's history
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 Fanipan’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. In 1991,
