WHAT TO SEE IN SAPA

What to see in Sapa, Attraction in Lao cai province, Sapa attraction

Bac Ha Market
Location: 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.

Can Cau Market ( Saturday only )

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. Almost every Saturday around 8 different minorities are represented at the market.Muong Hum Market(Sunday only)Leaving Sa Pa early Sunday morning we drive by Russian jeep to Muong Hum market. The drive takes approx. 3 hours. We visit this very interesting local market frequented by Tu Di, Dao Tuyen, H'Nhi, Flower Hmong and Giay minorities. We enjoy in a small local restaurant and after lunch we visit H'Nhi village. We walk around the village and it is possible to visit a local house. In the early afternoon the jeep takes us back to Sa Pa or to Lao Cai train station depending of your wishes.

Hoang A Tuong Castle (Hoang Yen Chao Castle)

Location: Hoang A Tuong Castle is located in Na Hoi Tho Hamlet, Bac Ha District, Lao Cai Province; 300m from Bac Ha Market.

Characteristics: It is a unique construction work, which harmonizes the Oriental and Western architectural stylesThe castle was built at the beginning of the 20th century (between 1914 and 1921). Its owner was Hoang Yen Chao of Tay origin. He was the father of Hoang A Tuong, a tribal mandarin under the domination of the French colonialists.The castle covers an area of 4,000m² in which the main building occupies 420m². In front of its arched doors are earthen banks. Occupying a pivotal position overlooking the Bac Ha valley, the castle serves both as the residence of Hoang Yen Chao, then Hoang A Tuong and as a fortress. Its network of walls, bunkers, and battlements were reinforced by a mortar mixed with sugar molasses. In a distance, the white castle jutting out from the valley looks imposing and majestic.At present, this castle is put under a restoration scheme to better help tourists get insight into the changes of the local life.

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.

Ham Rong Mountain

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.

Cat Cat Village

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

Ta Van village

Ta Van is a small village set within a picturesque valley outside the Vietnamese mountain resort of Sa Pa. The area is renowned for its colourful ethnic minorities, and Ta Van is home to two such groups. A stay here will give you a close-up experience of the life-style and culture typical of the area.

Fansipan Mountain, Fansipan conqueror, Fansipan advice

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.

Fansipan tours, Fansipan tour guide, Fansipan discovery

Going to the field” or Long tong Festival of the Giay
Time: The thin day of the first lunar month.Place: Ta Van Commune, Sa Pa District, Lao Cai Province.Objects of worship: The Heaven, the Earth, the God of rice.Characteristics: Praying for good crop festival.
Every year, on the thin day of the first lunar month, the Giay in Sa Pa organize their special festival. The worship ceremony is held at ngo hours (12 o'clock at midnoon). The sorcerer wears blue dress, offer sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, God of rice, pray for Spirits in protecting crops, and having a good crop.After the worshipping ceremony, villagers take part in traditional games such as bow-shooting, cross-bow shooting, horse racing, con throwing, tug of rope, stick pushing.

Celebrating Victory Festival of the Nung DinTime: The 1st day of the seventh lunar month.Place: Muong Khuong and Bac Ha Districts, Lao Cai Province.Objects of worship: Earth genie.
Characteristics: Offerings to sacrifice to genies include the food made from banana: banana, banana inflorescense, banana core, 7 - colour steamed glutinous rice which symbolize banana tree and a pair of red chopsticks, folk song singing to tell about the story of fighting invaders.