Travel Reference
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Sapa
020 / POP 38,000 / ELEV 1650M
Perched on a steep slope, Sapa overlooks a plunging valley of cascading rice terraces, with
mountains towering above the town on all sides. Founded as a French hill station in 1922,
Sapa is the premier tourist destination in northern Vietnam. Views of this epic scenery are
often subdued in thick mist rolling across the peaks, but even if it's cloudy Sapa is a fascin-
ating destination, especially when local hill-tribe people fill the town with colour.
The town's colonial villas fell into disrepair during successive wars with the French,
Americans and Chinese, but following the advent of tourism, Sapa has experienced a
renaissance. The downside is a hotel building boom, including numerous soaring concrete
constructions.
Inherent in this prosperity is cultural change for the hill-tribe people. The Hmong are
canny (though very persistent) traders and will urge you to buy handicrafts and trinkets.
Many have had little formal education, yet all the youngsters have a good command of
English, French and a handful of other languages.
Sapa is known for its cold, foggy winters (down to 0°C). The dry season for Sapa is ap-
proximately January to the end of June.
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