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VietnamDescription and Is It Worth Visiting
Sapa Ancient Rock Field (Sapa Ancient Rock Field) was discovered in 1925 by an archaeological expedition led by archaeologist and orientalist V.V. Golubev, a French archaeologist of Russian origin. Or rather, these stones lay there and were of no interest to any locals until the researcher paid attention to them. The thing is, ancient images are carved on their surfaces: figures, lines, signs resembling hieroglyphs. A total of 200 huge stones were discovered then, each of which was described in detail and photographed. The age of these drawings and inscriptions is about 2000 years.
To our great regret, UNESCO has not yet decided to take this site under protection, and the inscriptions on them are gradually disappearing, hidden under the artwork of tourists and local kids drawn over them. So, if you are interested in this place, you should hurry, otherwise nothing will remain over time.
Now about the stone field itself and the museum. All 200 stones are scattered over a large area in the field, but of course, you don't need to examine all of them; a few of the closest ones to the road will suffice. Before descending to the stones in the field, you can visit the free museum. It has photos of archaeological excavations, information with coordinates about each stone, some exhibits from the excavations, but unfortunately, there is no particularly useful information. After the museum, you can go down the stairs and trail to the stones in the field.
🕐 Opening Hours
24/7.
💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Price
Free.
🚶 How to Get There
The museum is located 10 kilometers from Sapa right on the TL152 road leading through the Muong Hoa Valley (museum and field on the map). You can get here from Sapa by rented transport, taxi, or visit during a trek.
There is a free parking lot near the museum, a viewing platform, and from there, a concrete staircase leads down first to one stone, then it turns into a trail through the field to other stones. You can go down the trail all the way to the river, but it's better not to walk through the fields off the trail, as these are cultivated fields of local farmers.