This 3 day/4 night tour is a wonderful trip which is offered by HanoiToursVietnam.Com. This tour is not only a trekking trip to the hidden villages and staying at their home, but also a visit to one of the most colorful hill tribal markets in Vietnam. Bac Ha is a rainbow of culture and local trading activities. Different tribes and villages all congregate here only on Sunday to do their business. Please schedule your departure from
The Night Before: Transfer from your hotel to the Hanoi Train Station for a night train to Lao Cai. You will be in shared AC soft sleeper cabins of 4 to travel north to Lao Cai city.
Today’s Morning: The train arrives in Lao Cai at about 6:30 am where your guide will welcome you. Then take a morning drive through the clouds by car / van to Sapa town (about 1.5 hours).
When you arrive in Sapa you will be taken to a local restaurant for a morning shower & breakfast. Then we will take short ride from Sapa to our trekking base where we start our trek through terraced rice fields and H’mong villages. Chances to meet and talk with locals working in the fields are plentiful. We will break for a picnic lunch en route then continue trekking to Ta Phin village of the Dao people (4 hours). Your Dao host family will warmly welcome you to their traditional home where we will share in an ethnic style dinner and stay the night.
Included: Transfer(s), train ticket, tour guide, morning shower, all meals, entrance fee(s), homestay.
Day 2: Trekking and back to Sapa
In the early morning, you will see and hear the sounds of morning village life. You can join them in some of their activities, like feeding the animals; cleaning the houses, gardening or preparing breakfast. After breakfast, we will complete our trek on a valley route to the main road (4 hours) linking Lao Cai and Sapa. Alternatively, for this long trek, you can choose take a short morning wander around the village for about 1 hour, resulting in more time spent with the host family and other villagers. For both options, you will be supported by our car / van back to Sapa (30 minutes).
When we arrive back to Sapa we will check in the hotel, have a shower, and break for lunch. At 2:30 pm we will visit the gardens of beautiful
Included: Transfer(s), tour guide, breakfast, entrance fee(s), hotel
Day 3: (Sunday) Sapa - Bac Ha market, night train to
Get up early for breakfast, check out of the hotel, and then drive to Bac Ha market (106 km). Just before reaching the market we will see colorful activity. Beautiful Flower H’mong people carrying hand crafted products or pulling dogs or buffalos, all on their way to the market. You are free to wonder around the market and become a part of the trading activities, have lunch in a restaurant in Bac Ha town. In the afternoon, we transfer to Lao Cai town. Dinner here on your own before boarding the train at 8:50 pm back to
Included: Transfer(s), train ticket, tour guide, breakfast, picnic lunch, entrance fee(s)
Sapa Overview:
Sapa lies on the side of Hoang Lien Son Mountains, about 350 km northwest of Hanoi, close to Chinese border. This area has spectacular scenery, many natural sites and is home to diverse mountain tribe communities, especially, it is also the starting point for those who want to conquer the top of Fansipan Mountain, the highest mountain in Vietnam at 3,143 m.
Getting to Sapa from Hanoi, it is very convenient to take a train to Lao Cai and then continue with a 45-minute drive to Sapa. Alternatively, adventurers can reach Sapa by road.
Things to See in Sapa
Shrouded in mist, Sapa was originally a hill station built by the French in 1922 for summer retreats from Hanoi. Here, people can relax and enjoy the breathtaking views. The best way to get around Sapa is to walk and almost everywhere it's steep. Besides, Sapa is also a good base for trekking, climbing, cycling and motorbike trips to explore the mountainous region as well as Montagnard villages. Visits to markets are also a highlight of most trips.
Fansipan Mountain is branded "the Roof of Indochina" at the height of 3,143m; Fansipan is to be approved as one of the very few eco-tourist spots of Vietnam, with about 2,024 floral varieties and 327 faunal species.
Ham Rong Mountain is an attractive tourist area in the center of Sapa Town. Tourists to Ham Rong have chances to climb up the San May (Cloud Yard) to enjoy the panorama of Sapa Town, visit the orchid gardens with beautiful and colorful flowers. In addition, Ham Rong Mountain has numerous caves and stones in extraordinary shapes.
Can Cau Market is held on every Saturday from early morning until midday. Though small but it is the place where tourists wil have chanceto see Flower H'mong, Phu La, Black Dao, Tay and Nung minorities in colorful costumes. Set in the mountains near the Chinese border, Can Cau Market is the area where different minority groups in colorful dress exchange local items. You will spend the whole morning there then go to Bac Ha for lunch. Light trekking to nearby villages and visit the old castle of the former Hmong king are also highlights of trips. Visitors can stay at hotel in Bac Ha waiting for Can Cau Market next day or return to Sapa for overnight.
Bac Ha Market, approximately 80km from Sapa, is the most colorful and biggest fair for minority groups. At the market, visitors can see colourful ethnic people such as Flower H’mong, Phu La and Dao Tuyen gathering to buy and sell very lively. It is a chance to take nice photos.
Nearby Bac Ha, it's the Ban Pho village inhabited by the Flower H'mong, you can do a light trekking to the village and meet hospitable, friendly people. Other villages are also close by Bac Ha including Trieu Cai, Na Ang and Na Hoi.
When to go?
The best time to visit Sapa is March and May or mid-September to early December when the weather is pleasant. Before or after these periods, it is different experiences. The winter is cold and brings fog and drizzles while the summer is warm and has frequent showers. The rainy season starts in May through September.
Travel Tips:
In Sapa, you will meet ethnic vendors, who keep following you to sell handmade articles. It is fine to buy, but if you are not interested, you might want to take care to show lack of interest. Also please note that it'd better to separate handmade articles within your bag preventing some color bleeding as those beautiful articles are used natural dyes. Riding on motorbikes around Sapa is interesting, adventurous and becomes a popular option. However, just do it with experienced riders or a tour guide
Bac Ha Market General Information:
Staying around 70 kilometres far away from Lao Cai City to the National Street 4C, Bac Ha has been a famous geographical name of tourism that attracts plenty of foreign customers. It is not only famous for the imposing mountainous scenery but also for the specialities here: the kermis happening in every Sunday morning, corn wine Ban Pho, ripe plum in June and especially Ta Chai dance which clings not just a few tourists.
The kermis at Bac Ha is one of the most enormous, various and having most special traits kermises at the North-Western area. People living in Muong Khuong or Xin Man (Ha Giang Province) often came to the kermis from the previous evening. They fastened their horses in the expanse and stayed overnight at their acquaintances' houses without caring about losing their horses. Going to the kermis, the girls wearing very nicely like the flowers of the mountains and forests in the time of blossoming while the boys wearing the clothes that are as plain as the range of mountains Hoang Lien. The kermis taking place here is not only the place for trading and exchanging goods but also for meeting of couples and changing cultures between communities living in the region. It is considered as a distinct cultural type of the ethnic groups here: Dao, Mong, Ha Nhi, etc. They gathered at the firing charcoal and drank wine together. The horses carry goods out of the fair instead of people is another original picture of the kermis at this North-western region.
Leaving the kermis, tourists can visit the temple Bac Ha righ inside the town. This temple worships Grand Duke Vu Van Mat - the hero who shed luster on the region Bac Ha and the long border line at the north-western of the country in Mac Dynasty and Later Le Dynasty. Besides, people can pass by the mansion Hoang Yen Chao, a powerful hereditary chief's land in the beginning of the 20th century which is now restored to be the guest room of the People's committee of Bac Ha Province. Furthermore, from the centre of Bac Ha Province, the travellers may also go to Coc Ly to hire a boat for travelling on Chay River or enter Pho village to make a small trek to villages lying among the flower valley and enjoy the view of the terraced fields following one another on the path.