Sa Pa Holiday Weather today
Date/time of update: December 22, 2024, 4:54 am, Timezone: GMT+7
Overcast Clouds
Temperature: 11.19°C
Temperature feels like: 10.09°C
Minimum Temperature: 11.19°C
Maximum Temperature: 11.19°C
Atmospheric pressure: 1018hPa
Humidity:66%
Visibility: 10000m
Wind speed: 0.84m/sec
Wind Direction: 122 degrees
Cloudiness: 89%
Sunrise: 2024-12-21 11:40:16
Sunset: 2024-12-22 10:26:06
Sapa Vietnam is 400km (5 hour drive by car via the expressway, 8-9 hours by overnight train) north-west of Hanoi. This cloud-covered town is located at 1,550m above sea level, cool all year round. There are many magnificent mountains including the peak of Indochina-Fansipan of 3,143m elevation.
Sapa Travel Guide Overview
Sapa was built into a hill station for the French colonialists to get away from the heat of Hanoi in the summer. There used to be many French-styled villas in town. But most of them were destroyed during the border clash with China in 1979.
Nowadays Sapa attracts thousands of tourists from all over Vietnam and abroad thanks to the cool and fresh climate, the sublime nature beauty and the colorful hill tribe cultures.
Geography
The Hoang Lien National Park is home to the highest leg of the Hoang Lien Mountain Range which stretches from the north-west to the south-east covering a part of both Lao Cai and Lai Chau Provinces. Sapa is located right to the north-east of the Hoang Lien National Park, right at the base of the highest peak of Hoang Lien as well as Vietnam, Fansipan.
Sapa Town from above
The terrain of Sapa is mountainous with steep gradients. There are small valleys in between the peaks. There are several ethnic villages on mountain slopes and in the valleys around Sapa.
Sapa Climate, Best Time to Visit
Sapa has a cold temperate climate: rainy season from May through October an dry season from November through April. During the rainy season, the temperatures are around 18-20oC and there are westerly and north-westerly winds. In the dry season, the temperatures are about 10-12oC; there is often snow in high-altitude areas; the winds are easterly or north-easterly; and it is often foggy. It is normally humid in Sapa with average humidity of 90%. The average annual rainfall at Sapa is around 2,762mm.
So depending on your travel interest, you can find the best time to visit Sapa: cool temperatures in the summer, snow in the winter.
Black Hmong Ladies sun-bathing in Sapa Town
Peoples and Population in Sapa
The area is home to 7 ethnic groups with unique cultures, lifestyles and languages; all wearing their traditional attires, working on evergreen terraces. Hill tribes gather for the weekend market for trade and for meeting with lovers. Sapa is a good place for relaxing, for cultural touring, and for trekking and should not be missed on your trip to Vietnam.
A sunny day in Sapa Town with blue sky
Sapa Travel Guide, Tourist Attractions and What to See in Sapa
Given the nature and peoples of Sapa, the whole area is a beauty and everywhere you turn, it is purely lovely a scenery. Except for Ta Phin Village, O Quy Ho Pass (and Silver Waterfall) and Ta Giang Phinh Village, most the other attractions in Sapa are along the base of the Hoang Lien Mountain Range. To make it easier for your orientation, Paradissa’s team would make it into different spots as below.
1/ The Sapa weekend market
The market held on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Ethnic groups from different villages would flock to town for trading and for meeting with lovers. The whole town of Sapa would be colored by their traditional colorful costumes.
Red Dzao ladies in Sapa, Lao Cai, Vietnam
There used to be a love market in town on Saturday night until late 1990s. Since more and more tourists travel to Sapa for beholding the love market, it's not in session as it once was.
2/ Cat Cat Village and Waterfall
Cat Cat Village is about 1 km south Sapa town. It's located at the bottom of the Muong Hoa Valley and near the stunning Cat Cat Waterfall. Cat Cat is home to the Black H'Mong who accounts for over 50% of Sapa's population. To visit the village, you walk through Sapa Market down the valley. Once you walk out of the crowds, you'll be stunned by the natural beauty with high mountains of over 3,000m and the green rice terraces dropping nearly 1,000 below. The sun shines across and there are H'Mong houses scattered in the valley. The walking tour of the whole loop would take you about 2 hours.
3/ The Muong Hoa Valley
The Muong Hoa Valley located 8km to the south-east of Sapa Town and surrounded by Hoang Lien Mountain Range, and another high mountain range running parallel to the former, and other lower mountains to the north and south. There is a river running north-south through the middle of the valley. There are wonderful rice terraces in the valley and Giay and Hmong Villages that make your photos more sensational should you come here at the rice time.
Sapa golden terraces at the Muong Hoa Valley
4/ Villages of Lao Chai and Ta Van
Lao Chai and Ta Van Villages are home to the Giay People and Black H'Mong People. They are at the bottom-south of the Sapa Muong Hoa Valley and offer breathtaking scenery of rice terraces dissected by the running water of mountain streams. To visit these 02 villages, you'll need to hire a jeep or a motorbike and travel past the stadium and Sapa market gate. You'll follow this main road for 8km, then you'll see a path down the valley to the right where you'll get off and start the walking trip of Lao Chai and Ta Van Villages. The whole tour takes about 1.5 hour.
Terraces out of Sapa Town
5/ Ta Phin Village
Ta Phin Village is 12 km north of Sapa Town and it's home to the Red Zao People. The village nestles itself on the mountain slopes and offers unreal mountain views. You can take a motorbike/jeep from Sapa to the village and enjoy a walking tour around chit-chatting with the local young girls selling handicrafts. Very likely you'll be invited to visit their home. The tour takes about 1-1.5 hour.
Red Dzao Ladies at Ta Phin Village
6/ The Silver Waterfall
The Silver Waterfall and the Gateway to Heaven: these 02 sites located about 15km west of Sapa Town on the road from Sapa to Lai Chau province. The Gateway to Heaven is Tram Ton Pass between Sapa and Binh Lu town which offers stunning panoramic view of the Fansipan and the deep valley below. The trip takes 2 hours by jeep or motorbike. Make sure the camera has enough memory for this route.
The sublime O Quy Ho Pass in Sapa Vietnam
7/ The Ham Rong Mountain
Ham Rong Mountain is just right in the center of Sapa Town. The mountain offers panoramic views of Sapa and its surroundings including Fansipan - the Peak of Indochina. Accessing the mountain, you'll go alongside the church from the town center to the end of the road and turn left for the ascending path. There are steps which will guide you through the fresh orchid gardens and flower gardens to the top. There's also an ethnic house on the mountain with ethnic music and performances played by local girls and boys.
8/ The Mount Fansipan
Mount Fansipan (3,143 km elevation) is the Peak of Indochina. You can join Paradissa on an adventure of a life time conquering this summit in 4 days. Our staff including H'Mong boys will help us with logistics for the tour. Mountain camps as accommodation, untouched jungles on the way to the top, hotly cooked meals accompanied by sounds of jungles are highlights of the adventure.
The Hoang Lien Mountain Range at Sapa, Lao Cai, Vietnam
Things to do, Luxury Travel, Family Holidays, Adventure Tours in Sapa
Sapa is ideal for sightseeing relaxing tours, nature tours, cuture tours, adventure tours such as trekking, hiking, mountain biking or white-water rafting...
From Hanoi, you can join Paradissa Travel on a relaxing luxury tours, discovery tours, mountain bike tours or trekking adventure tours in Sapa for 3-8 days.
There are also several tour companies in Sapa who operate mostly trekking tours around the Muong Hoa Valley in Sapa.
1/ Luxury Travel in Sapa
You can find it easy to get a luxury travel package in Sapa nowadays. The various experiences include staying at a luxury resort amid the rice terraces. The views from your room are magnificent. The same is true for a rustic luxury ecological lodge amid the sublime nature of Sapa. Traveling between Sapa and Hanoi by private vehicle is convenient nowadays. If you would like overnight train experience, then there are options for luxury train which takes 8-9 hours to travel between Hanoi and Lao Cai.
2/ Adventure Travel, Leisurely Walking Trips, Trekking Tours in Sapa
Sapa offers great experiences to adventure travelers: trekking to visit ethnic villages, mountain trekking to Mount Fansipan. On multi-day trekking tours you stay with local ethnic families with rudimentary conditions.
But you can also stay in a luxury hotel and day-trek to a beautiful spot in Sapa and get back to the comfort of your hotel for the night. For these tours, picnic lunch can easily be arranged with your favorite food.
Beside the above hard trekking adventure tours, there are several options for walking tours the level of difficulty of which can range from easy to moderate. You can get a private transfer to a spot, have walking trip and visit the area, and move onto another one..
3/ Family Holidays in Sapa
Sapa is a kid-friendly destination given the quiet traffic and that there are several spots that your family can have a walk together amid the fresh nature. If your kids are older than 8-9 years of age, then there are options of trekking tours or walking trips amid nature with different levels of difficulty. If your kids are babies, then you will need a baby carrier belt for Sapa because several mountain trails are not suitable for pushchairs. Baby food should not be a problem in Sapa nowadays. And many hotels in Sapa have services catering to kids of different ages.
Paradissa hosts a number of family tours for families with kids of different ages. The travel activities can be more active or more of relaxing nature. The style of accommodation selected, special requirements of each family member… are all looked after carefully when we design a trip for your family. So, please let us know if you are planning a family trip to Vietnam and need expert help.
Where to stay, Accommodation in Sapa
There are many hotels in Sapa Town ranging from simple guest houses to luxurious 4 star hotels.
Staying overnight with a local ethnic family in their simple house is an option. Conditions are limited and poor, but the experience is unmatched.
For those doing adventure tours like mountain climbing or hiking or trekking, you can bring along or check with us for mountain camps. This is also an exotic experience that many miss going wild in Sapa.
Sapa green terrace
Getting there and away
1/ By Road
Sapa can be accessed by road or by train (to Lao Cai) from Hanoi. The journey by road would take 5 hours via the express way. The road conditions are good.
2/ By Train
There are nightly trains between Hanoi and Lao Cai. The train trip is 8-9 hours. The train conditions range from standard to good and luxury: hard seats without air-conditioning, soft seats with air-conditioning, soft sleepers with air-conditioning.
For sleeper carriages, there are 4-sleeper or twin-sleeper compartments. For these carriages, the train company provides 1 tiny bottle of water and 01 bread for the cool journey. Lock your compartment carefully before dozing off! Security on the train is fairly good, but always wise to use your common sense while traveling!
Y Ling Ho Village of the Black Hmong in Sapa
Getting around Sapa
1/ On foot
Sapa Town can easily be explored on foot. There's only one main road running the full length of the town with a lake at an end. it's safe to stroll in town at night.
There are many buffalo paths which range from easy to steep, slippery and, no doubt, hard for the visitors to do exercise.
2/ By Xe Om (motorbike taxi)
There are many Russian-Minsk Xe Oms with driver near the church in the center of the town. Prices should be negotiated before setting off. Check their brakes carefully, too!
Sapa Average Monthly Rainfall and Temperatures
