|
Sapa Vietnam,
nestling in a beautiful valley on the border
with China, is northwest Vietnam’s most
colorful destination. Vivid green rice
terraces are sculpted into the mountain
sides while in the fields H’mong and Dao
women work dressed in colorful traditional
clothes. At the end of the week the H’mong,
Dao and other ethnic minorities trek into
town from the surrounding countryside to
trade goods at the weekend markets in Sapa,
Bac Ha and other small towns. Here they sell
silver jeweler, traditional embroidered
fabrics and authentic articles of hill tribe
clothing at the markets. Sapa and its
environs has some of the best trekking in
Vietnam and there are many ethnic
minority villages that can be reached in day
treks from Sapa or for a real hill tribe
experience it is possible to stay overnight
in local villages along the way. The scenery
is spectacular, especially in spring and
autumn when the skies are clear and blue,
and the people are welcoming. Dominating the
Sapa skyline is the peak of Vietnam’s
highest mountain,
Mount Fan Si Pan,
rising to 3,143m above sea level. To the
southwest of Sapa, close to the border with
Laos, is
Dien Bien Phu,
where the battle that ended French colonial
rule in Vietnam took place in 1954. The area
around Dien Bien Phu is also home to many
ethnic minorities.
Another interesting area with some good
trekking, great scenery and authentic
minority villages is
Mai Chau,
just 135km west from Hanoi. Most of the
inhabitants of the villages and hamlets that
make up Mai Chau belong to the White Thai
minority and one of the highlights of Mai
Chau is staying overnight in a wooden stilt
house with a local family.
Cao
Bang, to the northeast of Hanoi, is
surrounded by some breathtaking mountain
scenery and the nearby Ban Doc Waterfall is
Vietnam’s largest. Not far from Cao Bang is
another area of outstanding natural beauty,
Ba Be Lakes, located within the national
park of the same name. Lakes, waterfalls,
rivers, caves, lush tropical rainforest and
ethnic minority villages are all to be found
in
Ba Be National Park.
Sapa &
the
Far North
Highlights
|
+ |
Sapa Vietnam for fabulous mountain
scenery, great trekking and
colorful ethnic minorities
|
+ |
Let the train take the strain by
traveling in the stylish
overnight Victoria Express to
Sapa
|
+ |
Spend the night in a stilt house
with an ethnic minority family
at Mai Chau
|
+ |
Ba Be National
Park for lakes, waterfalls and
lush tropical rainforest
|
|
|
|
|
