A Spectacular Trekking Adventure in Sapa, Vietnam

Trekking in Sapa in northern Vietnam is an adventure packed with mountain hiking, scenic rice field views, and local culture. The well-worn paths used for trekking in Sapa take you through tiny villages in the hills around Sapa. We hiked through a bamboo forest and up and over several mountains and valleys. Terraced fields of rice cascading down the mountain flanks were an ever-present delight to see.

My friend and I did a 3-day, 2-night trek through the Sapa region, staying at local homestays along the way. I’ll share some tips from my experience to help you plan your trekking trip in Sapa.

Sapa Overview

Sapa is in the Lao Cai Province in northwestern Vietnam. It is the center for trekking trips through the Hoàng Liên Sơn Mountain Range. Fansipan, the highest peak on the Indochinese Peninsula, can be seen on the horizon. If you want to reach the “Roof of Indochina”, it’s a strenuous overnight hike or a leisurely cable car ride up.

Many people of ethnic minority groups live in the hills surrounding Sapa. Learning about their local culture is a high point of trekking in Sapa. The women we met in the villages wore their traditional dress made by weaving, dyeing, and sewing the fabric. It’s possible to see them using the native plant indigo to dye their fabrics for making their beautiful outfits. Beforehand, we learned about their traditional costumes at the Vietnam Women’s Museum in Hanoi. It was important background information before our trek. Don’t miss this museum in Hanoi. It’s 4 floors of the amazing accomplishments of the women of Vietnam.

How to get to Sapa

Overnight train or bus from Hanoi is the best way to travel to Sapa. We had wanted to take the 6-hour sleeper train to Lao Cai but it wasn’t running on the day we needed to arrive. If you do take the train, you will also need to take a one-hour shuttle bus to Sapa town. Instead, we took the 5-hour sleeper bus from Hanoi. It left at about 11:30 pm and arrived by 4:30 am. We disembarked the bus in time to see the market being set up in the dark in Sapa. People in neighboring villages had motorbikes laden with piles of vegetables, cages of animals, or other goods to sell to the market vendors. It was a hectic chaos of commerce that was gone by the time the market opened.

Due note that there are two bus stations in Sapa. We arrived at the one on the outskirts of town so needed to take a taxi to our trekking company. The other bus station is more in the heart of Sapa Town. There are many other ways to travel from Hanoi to Sapa so choose the option that best fits your schedule and budget.

Before and after traveling to Sapa, we stayed overnight in Hanoi. Our hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi was so fabulous we returned to it every time we got back to Hanoi. The staff was incredibly helpful-they made any transportation arrangements we needed, recommended the best restaurants in the Old Quarter, and made us feel like family. The hotel, Bendecir Hotel & Spa, is located close to the Night Market and beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake. Don’t miss getting a fantastic massage after your trek at the spa there.

Trekking with Sapa Sisters

I set up a 3-day, 2-night trek with Sapa Sisters and we totally loved it. Sapa Sisters is a women-owned and run trekking agency in the Sapa highlands. This social enterprise is run by Hmong women, an ethnic minority in the Sapa area. Therefore, by booking through Sapa Sisters, you can support fair wages for the Hmong women guides to support their families. It is the only women and Hmong-owned trekking business in Sapa and they get rave reviews. I certainly was more than satisfied with my trek with Sapa Sisters.

I was able to customize my itinerary for the trek as each Sapa trek is a privately guided hike. My request to have an itinerary off the traditional tourist trails was taken into consideration. Therefore, in the three days, we saw very few other trekkers. Additionally, they offer homestays with local guides. Staying with your guide ensures that there are no other people staying with you as there are in other homestays along the route.

I booked 2 local lunches along the way with Sapa Sisters. These were great as we had many courses of local food and greens instead of the traditional fried rice, fried noodles, or Pho of the restaurants along the way. Our one restaurant meal was fine but we totally enjoyed the local lunches and dinners. Additionally, the local lunches did not have the kids hawking their goods which happens in the restaurants along the route. The kids miss school to sell their woven bracelets so it’s not a good idea to encourage them or buy.

Why choose Sapa Sisters for trekking in Sapa?

Sapa Sisters will cost you more than just hiring a guide when you arrive at the bus station in Sapa. However, we enjoyed the options of local meals and a homestay with our guide plus the peace of mind of having everything booked for us in advance. They arranged all our transportation ahead of time. They were also very responsive to emails and answered my questions promptly. Plus it was great to have a private trek with just the two of us and the guide. I recommend spending a few more bucks and getting an excellent experience. If you are going all the way up to Sapa, have a top-notch trip.

Enjoying Sapa with Our Guide Ze

 Our guide was Ze, a Black Hmong woman, who has many years of leading treks in Sapa. She was very kind and interesting, with a wonderful sense of humor. Her English is excellent. We stayed in her home the first night. We had been warned that the guide’s houses lacked Western toilets and showers but Ze’s place had both. A hot shower after the trekking day was divine.

We had a fantastic time with Ze and her husband Ting. The dinner they prepared was delicious and healthy. We got to see how they processed the rice they had just harvested. Ze showed us how she dyes with indigo for the traditional clothing of the Black Hmong women. She even dyed a white T-shirt I had with me so I have a lovely blue shirt as a memory of my time. The homestay with Ze and her family was the highlight of the trip.

Ze took us away from traditional tourist trails to her village for the first night. We walked about 12 kilometers with a steady uphill to start the trek. Ze always gave several options for hikes along the way. She happily walked at our slow pace. With jet lag and a short night of sleep on the overnight bus, we were definitely lagging.

Ze showed us the entire process of making the traditional clothing of the Black Hmong. As she hiked, Ze would twist together pieces of hemp to make the thread used in her clothing. By the end of a day’s hike, she made many hanks of hemp thread she would wind around her hand as she walked.

Wrap Up of Trekking in Sapa

Trekking in Sapa is a mix of cultural curiosity, stunning scenery, and relationships developed with the land and your guide. The rice fields had just been harvested when we trekked in last September so we got to see the stages of drying, winnowing, and storing the rice. The water buffalo that work hard at planting time get to rest in the fall. You can see the water buffalo chewing the leftover rice stalks in the paddies.

We visited villages of different ethnic minorities. Ze was a member of the Black Hmong tribe, but she told us about the other related Hmong cultures-Flower Hmong, White Hmong, and Green Hmong. They are all identified by their distinctive dress. We also visited a village of the Red Dao with women wearing red triangular turban hats.

Tips for hiking in Sapa

The hiking is up and down through the mountains and the valleys. It was a combination of walking on remote roads through the villages and traversing sometimes slippery trails in the mountains. I found good waterproof hiking shoes and hiking poles useful to keep from slipping on the trails and to ease the downhill walking parts. A sturdy day pack and a lightweight umbrella were also useful.

We passed many streams with clear water flowing from the mountains. The waterfalls along the way were gorgeous. One village had a hot spring for bathing so I didn’t miss out on trying out the warm waters.

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A half-day hike without packs on the last day up into the mountainside rice fields to a remote Red Dao village was a wonderful ending. Then we rode on the motorbikes driven by Ze and her husband Ting back to Sapa.

Sapa trekking is, without a doubt, a must-do outdoor adventure to do in Vietnam. I recommend the longest trek you can fit it. Using a guide company like Sapa Sisters will insure that you support the local economy and the women of Sapa.

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