Located in Lao Cai, a province in the Northwestern region of Vietnam, Sapa is a remote small hill town, which is endowed with breathtaking landscapes, splendid verdant rice terraces, favorable geographical features, and a cool mountain atmosphere year-round. Home to different hill tribes with diverse cultural identities, the town is quickly culminating into a travel destination. Crowned with cool weather, picturesque hillsides and tranquil ethnic villages, SaPa now becomes the tourism center of the Northwest and a well-known holiday destination in Vietnam. In particular, the top 10 best things to do in Sapa below will definitely offer tourists a perfect trip.

Terraced rice fields in Sapa

Terraced rice fields in SaPa are among the best things here because its beauty will make tourists stunned and captivated. According to Travel and Leisure magazine in the United States, the vast rice terraces in Sapa were considered one of the seven most picturesque ones in Asia and the world. Due to steep geographic features and fertile soil, rice terraces here are on hilly or mountainous slopes, one after another, from the foot to the top of the mountains, which creates impressively majestic scenery. The color changes seasonally, creating its own charms, from green in new crops to yellow ripening rice in the harvest season. Thus, trekking through breathtaking rice fields will enable you to contemplate spectacular scenery, understand unique local cultures and capture stunning photos.

The Authentic Ethnic Villages

Visiting authentic ethnic villages is an indispensable experience in Sapa. With wild natural beauty, each hill tribe village has its own unique culture and specialties, making Sapa more appealing to visitors. Having trekked to mountainous villages in Sapa through the route to the Ban Khoang-Ta Giang Phin hamlets of the Black Hmong & Red Dzao tribes, tourists admire the peaceful setting and explore their daily local life and authentic local cultures. Nam Cang village is inhabited by the Red Dzao and Black H’mong groups, who are famous for their exquisite embroidery. Furthermore, Thanh Phu village of the Tay ethnic group is famous for its majestic natural beauty, traditional costumes and interesting folk songs. Besides, travelers can visit Ta Van village, Cat Cat village, Lao Chai village, Sin Chai village, Y Linh Ho village, and Ho village to stay overnight at their homestay and taste the local foods.

Ham Rong Mountain (Dragon's Jaw Mount)

A beautiful place that cannot be missed in SaPa is Ham Rong Mountain or Dragon’s Jaw Mountain. With an area of 150 ha, the mountain is situated in the heart of the town. Being shaped like a dragon’s head, Ham Rong Mountain is a fine combination of man-made and natural landscape. It will make tourists stunned by breathtaking scenes of colorful flower beds, orchid gardens, peach gardens, cloud yards, heaven gate and man-made stone monuments. Tourists can also explore diverse flora along with various rocks in different shapes. In each season, the mountain has its own distinct color and charms, which mesmerize tourists. However, spring is the best time because the town is in the flowers' blooming season, showing their sweetness and fragrance.

Fansipan Mountain

Located at 3,143 meters above sea level, Fan Si Pan is the highest peak in Vietnam and regarded as the Roof of Indochina. For those enjoying adventurous experiences, conquering Fansipan Mountain should be on top of your bucket list immediately. Coming here, visitors have chances to contemplate the pristine beauty of immense terraced rice fields, gorgeous mountains and dreamy valleys. Tourists can trek or hike sideways on mountainous terrain or take a cable car ride on Fanxipan Road to admire the breathtaking landscapes and gorgeous views over the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, the grandest in Vietnam. One of the highlights of trekking to Fansipan Peak is exploring the diversity of local flora and fauna.

Quy Ho Glass Bridge

Quy Ho Glass Bridge or Sapa Glass Bridge is the longest glass bridge in Indochina, up to the present. Located at O Quy Ho Pass, hanging on a cliff of 600 meters high, the glass bridge has a length of 60 meters and a 5-meter width. The bridge is made from transparent glass, with a total thickness of 7 centimeters and a capacity of 3000 guests. Tourists can take a walk for over 2 hours or move by glass-cage elevator, which is installed outdoors and called Road to Heaven. The bridge offers travelers a floating experience with the imposing breathtakingly majestic scenery and the deep smoking bottom. Standing on the glass bridge, visitors can capture the panoramic view of O Quy Ho Pass, take thrilling photos and challenge themselves with exciting adventure games.

Silver and Love Waterfalls

Belonging to the top 10 best things to do in Sapa is visiting Silver Waterfall and Love Waterfall. At an altitude of 1800 meters and a height of 200 meters, the Silver waterfall has ranges of beautiful pine forests and flowers prolonging the roadsides, creating stunning and poetic scenery. The mountain is so steep that water mostly falls vertically onto the surface below, so it is called by the romantic name “Silver.” Furthermore, Love Waterfall is situated on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, at a height of 100 meters, from the upper course of the Golden stream, which derives from Fansipan peak. Especially, the name of the waterfall originates from the legend about the love story of O Quy Ho woodsman and a fairy, which makes the waterfall a famous tourist destination in Sapa.

A Typical Weekly Market

Visiting typically weekly local markets is a wonderful experience to explore the unique culture of the locals. First of all, Bac Ha Sunday Market is the largest market in Bac Ha District and remains one of the original features of the Northwest region. Every Sunday morning, ethnic groups in their traditional multi-colored costumes flock here to exchange or trade various products, ranging from jewelry, brocade dresses, and scarves to household items, agricultural products, animals and foods. At the market, visitors also taste rustic specialties such as colored sticky rice, corn cake, and sticky rice cake. Besides, tourists can visit other local markets such as Coc Ly market on every Tuesday, Shin Cheng or Cao Son on each Wednesday, Lung Khau Nhin on Thursday, Lung Phinh on Friday, and Can Cau on Saturday. Coming to ethnic markets, tourists can immerse themselves in peaceful daily life, taste local food and understand the unique culture of the locals.

Off-the-Beaten-Track Trek Tour

Off-the-beaten-track trekking tours are the authentic experience to explore SaPa’s vibrant culture, unique ecology, and mesmerizing landscapes. From the whispering bamboo forests and iconic immense rice terraces, tourists can discover the peaceful life of the locals, admire the dreamy valley, and know more about the locals’ farming and long-standing traditions, house architecture and the unique culture of the mountain tribes. Trekking tours in Sapa offer tourists chances to talk with the friendly locals, stay overnight at their homestays and taste local food with them. Visitors also widen their knowledge about some handicraft villages and traditional villages of the locals and freely discover nearby well-known attractions.

Sapa Cuisine  

Travelling is not only for exploring the natural beauty of landscapes but also for tasting special cuisine characteristics of that land. Reaching Sapa, tourists have chances to eat many delicious and unique dishes, bringing the unforgettable flavor of the Northwestern region. The first famous dish that must be mentioned is salmon salad, which is healthy, low in fat and higher in nutritional value. Salmon and sturgeon are fed on the Sapa farm because the subtropical and milder climate here is suitable for farming salmon and sturgeon; thus, salmon and sturgeon are firm, tender, sweet-tasting, and greasy. Besides, tourists should taste street food in Sapa, such as grilled stream food, bamboo-tube rice, colorful sticky rice, and smoked water-buffalo flesh.

Typical homestay in Sapa

To have a memorable experience and a perfect trip in SaPa, staying at a homestay of a local family is a refreshing change to be close to nature and immerse oneself in the local culture. The homestay in SaPa offers an amazing vista with a breathtaking mountainous view from the rooftop so that tourists have chances to contemplate poetic valleys, immense rice terraces and small local villages scattered along hillsides. Mainly homestays are built of wood, which brings visitors a cozy feeling. Furthermore, having an overnight at a homestay in Sapa is a good choice to witness well-preserved traditional handicrafts and taste delicious organic food and drinks of the land.

In conclusion, Sapa is a famous tourist attraction for travelers both domestically and internationally. The land is an amazing destination for a fantastic and memorable experience. Arriving here, tourists will certainly be mesmerized by the breathtakingly majestic natural beauty of gorgeous mountains and dreamy green valleys, delicious cuisine, unique cultures and long-standing traditions of various hill tribes, and beautiful pleasant weather all year round. The top 10 best things to do in Sapa, from the above-mentioned suggestions, are the best choices for a perfect trip to Sapa.

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=> Sapa 3-Day Tour from Hanoi