Sapa is the picture that appears in your mind when you pronounce 'VIETNAM'
To the north of Vietnam , in the mountains of Lao Cai province , there is a city 1600 meters high , **Sapa (or Sa Pa, in Vietnamese) **. Home to some of Vietnam's oldest ethnic minorities, such as the Hmong or the Zai, Sapa is the ideal destination for lovers of mountains, ancestral cultures, hiking and nature.
If you want to lose yourself at the top of these rounded-topped mountains, whose slopes are made up of rice terraces cultivated that give a unique shape to its orography, and where the weather changes from one moment to another and without warning , then this is a place you should not miss. Above all, if you do it hand in hand with a Hmong guide showing you the way.
Sapa is an infinite field of rice, terraces and terraces as far as the eye can see
There is a mystical aura that covers the sapa city and the mountains that surround it, and it is not surprising considering the legend that speaks of its creation.
The story goes that in the mountains of Vietnam lived a fairy named Âu Cơ she, that one day, terrified by a terrible monster, she transformed into a crane with the intention of fleeing. Lao Cai , a powerful dragon, saw the fairy in danger, so he came to her rescue and, after saving her, finally married her.
These would be the mother and father of the Vietnamese respectively. Once together, they would spawn 100 eggs collectively known as Bách Việt, the ancestors of the current Vietnamese, who would be scattered throughout the territory of Vietnam.
Walking through the mountains of Sapa, with a climate that can change from the brightest Sun to a fog so thick that it does not let you see an inch away, one can easily imagine that this is indeed the home of a fairy and a dragon. And if you're creative enough, you might even the traveler sees them flying over the mountains and the thicket.
However, not everything was always magic in this part of Vietnam, and as often happens with some of the most beautiful places in the world, Sapa also had to fight to this day to maintain its essence.
The Hmong and Yao ethnic groups They are the oldest settlers on record in this border area of Vietnam. Although a series of petroglyphs speak of the possible existence of some older settlements, it is not known for sure who those first other inhabitants would be.
The intense green of Sapa is indescribable
As would happen with other areas of Vietnam, it was the French who made these tribes known to the world, who until then had lived in the mountains in anonymity.
First used as one of the strategic points for the tonkin war , over time it ended up becoming a mountain pass where the French went during their vacations to enjoy the amazing nature of this wild area, hardly touched by human beings, and of its thermal baths.
The journey itself to this vietnam area It is already part of the adventure. The best option is to get here on the **night train from Hanoi** which takes 8 hours to reach the closest station to the mountains, that of Lào Cai.
This convoy, which cannot hide its age and its origins, is a red and blue historic vehicle, all made of wood, that rattles mercilessly as it navigates on rails so narrow, and so close to the houses of the city, that it seems impossible that there is no more than one scare. But if we are able to ignore the movement, the night on this train will be like reliving a trip in the style of the great adventurers of yesteryear.
Once in Lào Cai, we still have to take a taxi to get to the sapa city . A forty-minute drive uphill, along narrow roads, among leafy trees, and with the crazy way of driving of the Vietnamese, will not allow us to fall asleep before reaching our destination. ¡ And what fate!
Who could have imagined that, on top of a mountain, in the middle of the Vietnamese countryside, a city like this could be found and, nevertheless, there is.
Sapa looks like a city straight out of a fairy tale, as if a bunch of mythological beings from another world had decided to make this town of colorful houses on top of a big hill their home.
A church, a park, colonial hotels , buildings that seem to defy gravity, markets where ethnic Hmong or the red hats sell all kinds of handicrafts… Sapa is, above all, original. And if it is visually unparalleled, the multiple people of different ethnic groups that populate it, with their vibrantly colored handmade suits , they do nothing more than collaborate with this magical feeling.
This is the city of Sapa
But, although the city of Sapa is undoubtedly a mandatory stop, it seems obvious that the traveler who has come this far , he has done it with the intention of enjoying the Vietnamese nature. And he was not wrong.
Our experience recommends hiring as a guide one of the many Hmong women in traditional dress that flutter through the main square. It is precisely with the company of this tribe, that the experience in sapa it can become even more incredible, thanks to their stories, their culture and the way they share their way of seeing the world with foreigners.
Hmong women are petite and giggly , but the traveler should not be fooled by appearances, the matriarchal line of this tribe is evident in the independence and strength that these women dressed in colors actually transmit.
The Hmong are petite and giggly
Next to it, a hiking trail through the mountains, between the thickets that are at times sunny and at times covered in mist of the wild atmosphere of Sapa, acquires a different tone, unique and full of life. Once you accept that one of these women guides you, you will leave the city on foot, and you will begin to enter the steep mountain.
Walk among goats, chickens and other types of animals that roam freely along the path, surrounded by emerald green mountains , with views of the terraces where rice is grown , and crossing from time to time with small villages full of children and adults of the different ethnic groups that populate these border hills, it is an amazing experience.
Without realizing it, you will learn a lot from these women, who seem as light as sheets of paper, despite wearing almost always his children on his back . And if we add to all this that at the end of the road our incredibly friendly, smiling and interesting guides They will show us their town, they will open the doors of their house, they will offer us sugar cane and tea, and they will introduce us to their family, as if we were one more, then...
What more can you ask for from these beautiful mountains in northern Vietnam, home to dragons, fairies and incredible people?
The rice paddies of Sapa
If you still have time, after coming down from the highest and most rugged part of the mountain, then it is recommended to go to catcat, a walk that can be done from your own sapa city, and that leads to a town built next to the river, full of traditional houses, and with very nice views of the rice fields.
Don't hesitate, if you want to feel like you're on an adventure, and in the process learn how some of the oldest ethnic groups in the world live, then Sapa is made for you. Smile, enjoy and let yourself be soaked by the people who populate this place, you will return, in some way, changed and happy. That is the power of Vietnam.
Cat Cat Terrace