When traveling out of Kunming there are places more remote, or higher up in the mountains, or where booze flows like a river, but few of them offer the calm serenity of Sapa (沙巴), Vietnam. It is not that Sapa is an undiscovered or untouched paradise — it is squarely on the tourist map. However, the town is an idyllic mountain getaway where peace and quiet is not far away and creature comforts are there for those in need.
Sapa sits nestled in the steep Hoang Lien Mountains of northwest Vietnam. The town is perched about halfway up the mountain and below the city proper plunge dazzlingly green rice paddies while peaks perpetually shrouded in clouds loom above.
The once-sleepy hamlet first became known to the outside world when the French established an outpost and sanitarium there in 1922. Then, as now, Sapa was an important meeting place for trade between hill tribes, including the Hmong and Dzao minorities. The village is still host to a street market most days that culminates in a bustling bazaar on Saturdays.
The town is small enough to walk around and stretches no more than half a kilometer in any direction. Locals congregate around a fountain in the center of town smoking long bamboo pipes, selling handmade trinkets or competing in non-stop singing competitions.
The winding lanes branching off the main square are full of both Western-style cafes and local restaurants. The locals sell piles of steamed buns, fried dough sticks, salads, fresh fruits and vegetables. Further up the hill are the market streets. Minorities from the surrounding mountains sell hand embroidered indigo jackets and local crafts including bracelets, jewelry and purses.
Most people in and around Sapa speak at least a smattering of English — especially if they have something to sell. GoKunming recommends eschewing guided tours. They are an informative way to explore the area but are also budgeted for time and restrict independent exploration of the nearby villages, waterfalls and scenic areas.
Although travelers can easily spend their time eating, drinking and shopping, getting out of town and hiking in the mountains is equally rewarding. We trekked from village to village and collected quite an entourage of village women selling umbrellas and handmade trinkets. Extroverted travelers will appreciate the conversation, particularly if they are in the mood to learn about local life or purchase souvenirs at the end of a long walk.
We found some of the merchants were particularly aggressive in trying to usher tourists into their houses. Do not enter a house unless you are serious about making a purchase.
Also, village homes often have fresh-cut boughs from the forest hanging over their entrances. This is a sign requesting privacy, a bit like a 'come back later' sign in the West. Keep in mind that the most popular villages with tourists — such as Catcat and Ta Phin — have 1.5 yuan (5,000 Vietnamese dong) entry fees.
The paths between villages have many trails leading off the beaten track and into the forest. Exploring these is a quiet experience that can lead to one of the area's ubiquitous waterfalls.
Feel free to explore on your own or ask the proprietor of your guesthouse how to get to the best scenic spots, but be prepared for a hike. Alternatively, bicycles and motorcycles can be rented almost anywhere in town. If you do rent a bicycle, get ready for some serious pedaling.
Today Sapa is a still verdant paradise where butterflies the size of a person's palm flutter through the air and where the views are spectacular. It isn't a particularly hectic or energetic place, but that could well be the reason for going there.
Getting there
Buses from Kunming to Hekou depart from the city's East Bus Station (东部汽车客运站). There are 11 buses running daily from 9am to 8pm that take between eight and ten hours. Buses departing in the evening are sleeper-style and GoKunming highly recommends avoiding them due numerous run-ins with thieves.
Once in Hekou, walk across the bridge into Vietnam and pass through immigration before entering the city of Lao Cai. Visas can be obtained beforehand from the Vietnamese consulate in Kunming for 400 yuan. From Lao Cai the trip to Sapa is roughly an hour by bus or taxi that should cost 15 yuan (50,000 dong).
For those already in Vietnam, Sapa is roughly 300 kilometers northwest of Hanoi and can be reached by an eight-hour train that actually ends in Lao Cai. Tickets for overnight sleeper berths cost 130-160 yuan (430,000-525,000 dong). From the train station in Lao Cai, catch a bus or taxi to Sapa.
When to go
Travel to Sapa can be enjoyed at any time of year. If you plan to visit over the winter months (November to February), pack accordingly as the temperature dips in the evenings. Fog is worst during winter as well. The rainy season usually lasts from June to August. Now is the perfect time to visit.
Top image: Jean-Marie Hullot
All other images: Shalene Gupta
Comments
Fond memories of Sapa, true, it's foggy and cold in winter, but hiking through the fog is quite dramatic. And you can get cozy rustic hotel rooms with a fireplace.
Can we not mix up "hiking" and "trekking" please? Backpacker speak makes me sick.
Trekking > to travel or migrate, especially slowly or with difficulty
Hiking > to walk or march a great distance, especially through rural areas, for pleasure, exercise, military training, or the like.
@bluppfisk
I grew up in California, where we say hiking, too. But when I started spending time in Europe and Asia I quickly learned that "trekking" and hiking are synonymous. You're inventing a difference that doesn't exist in popular use. Yes, I found that same definition that you give when I googled the definition of trekking. But just because it's in a dictionary doesn't mean it's true. Languages are living things, and words mean what people accept them to mean. Therefore, trekking means what you and I call hiking. There's not much use arguing over semantics.
The difference between hiking and trekking is roughly the same as that between going on holiday and traveling. The former is done by mums and dads, boy scouts, members of the youth hosteling association who wear thick woolly socks and put dubbin on their boots, other endangered species. The latter is done by right-on types with strange tattoos and blond dreadlocks who attend full moon parties, eat cookies and generally feel superior to the former. After staying in the cheapest guesthouses - or better still "couch surfing" for several months they return to take up masters courses in business studies.
On a slightly different note, star hiking doesn't quite cut it does it?
Ahh yes, but where does tramping and rambling come in?
Not to mention roving, cottaging, and sharking...
If you take the bus to Hekou, just be careful. The vehicles are infested with thieves who will often strike when you are sleeping, no matter how near you are to your belongings...
Trekking is just a another word invented by Lonely Planet to make the sorry excuses for travelling they promote sound cool.
As in "I just did this totally awesome jungle trek with these crazy locals. It was so humid man, my iPad like hardly survived it."
Not many Lonely Planet books back in the 1850s...
Trek: ... "became a word in English language in mid 19th century, and means a long arduous journey, typically on foot"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trek
Bluppfisk: I have always admired the traditionalist, the purist. The chef from Italy who disdains fusion food yet conjures beautiful rustic recipes.
But why waste energy on a fact of life? 'trek' may appeal to the masses who want to experience 'adventure' but may not be up for a 50 mile trek thru rugged jungle.
People have different needs and wants, respect it or ignore it. Marketers appeal to these needs whether it's the purist like yourself or the more commercial mass market. No need to get worked up.
@Ocean For future reference, if you going to be sarcastic and cheeky in an attempt to look intelligent, be aware that citing Wikipedia in fact only serves to offer proof to one's own stupidity. Notice the article you cited now contains the following: "The word itself is derived the from Archaic Greek trekolos, referring to the flight of one group of people from their polis during outbreaks of venereal disease over a large uninhabited area or wilderness." A child can edit Wikipedia, and only children consider it a reliable source of knowledge.
If you want to impress people with your obviously considerable intelligence and vast knowledge of etymology, start by quoting something reliable like the OED.
just to note that the bus between Hekou and Kunming is now much faster due to the fact that buses can now travel the entire length of the highway. sleeper buses arrive in around 7 hours when you can choose to sleep on the bus until morning or opt for one of the 'fixed price' taxis that lie in wait at either end of the trip. don't know about the daytime buses. also, I was told by the border police/army that all foreigners crossing from Laocai to Hekou must now undergo extra security checks. my bags were checked at the bus station in Hekou and at the highway entrance I was taken off the bus and questioned with my hand luggage searched again.
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