Trekking in Sapa: Complete Guide-Instruction on All Questions

Trekking in Sapa: What it is and Is It Worth Visiting

The main attraction and activity in the mountain town of Sapa in northern Vietnam is trekking through its picturesque surroundings visiting ethnic villages or climbing Fansipan Mountain. This is exactly what most tourists come here for and what initially gave Sapa its development as a tourist destination.

Therefore, the question of whether it's worth going trekking in Sapa doesn't even exist for us personally, since the answer is unequivocal: yes, you should. We've been to Sapa three times and each time we gladly go on such hikes. The question is only which route to choose and how to go, independently or with guides. In this article, we'll tell you everything in detail, honestly, and reliably from our experience.

If you don't like reading long articles and want to see everything with your own eyes, you can watch our video about independent trekking in Sapa on the classic route:

What Trekking Routes Are There in Sapa

First, let's get acquainted with what routes exist here and what you'll see and visit while on them. There are several routes that have become traditional and popular, offered by local travel agencies and guides. Although, if you wish, you can set off in any direction you want by arranging with an individual guide or independently. Here are the main routes:

• Classic Route to Muong Hoa Valley

  

  This is the most popular route, tested by time and tens of thousands of tourists, you could say a classic of the genre. It's offered to everyone by default when purchasing. That is, when you buy a tour or hire a guide for trekking, without special requests, you'll almost always be led through the valley.

  Usually, it's a two or three-day hike with overnight stays, although there's also a quick one-day option. Includes visiting one or several villages, waterfalls, walks through rice fields, the Ancient Rock Field, swimming in the river, and the furthest one to Ban Ho village also includes visiting hot springs. Entrance to the valley for tourists is paid – 150,000 VND (5.7 USD). Payment is made at the checkpoint when entering from the Sapa side on the asphalt road, and there's also a route through Cat Cat Village where 150,000 VND is also paid. Read more about Muong Hoa Valley in this guide.

  The route's trails pass through a valley of amazing beauty, surrounded by mountains and adorned with rice fields. You'll walk from one village to another, and you'll spend the night in one or two of them. Overnight stays will be in the homes of local residents, but don't think you'll be placed in a real wooden house like the Vietnamese themselves live in. Tourist infrastructure has long been created in all villages here, and guest houses and homestays operate. In a homestay, you'll live in the same house as a Vietnamese family, but in a house specially built for accommodating tourists. Usually, the overnight stay also includes dinner with the hosts among other tourists.

  The most popular and developed villages in order of distance from Sapa:

  • Lao Chai (Lao Chai, H'mong village)
  • Ta Van (Ta Van, Dzay village)
  • Ban Ho (Ban Ho, Tay village)

  Here is a description of the routes depending on duration:

  • 1 day without overnight stay. Usually go to Lao Chai village, walk around the surrounding rice fields, have lunch, visit the souvenir market, and back to Sapa. But it's quite possible and not difficult to do the route Cat Cat, Lao Chai, Ta Van in 1 day and return by transport (taxi or pre-arranged transfer on a tour).
  • 2 days with overnight stay. Usually go as in 1 day to Lao Chai and Ta Van villages, and stop overnight in Ta Van. The next day from Ta Van through bamboo forest to Cau May Waterfall, and from there back to Sapa by transport. You'll be in Sapa by noon or a bit later.
  • 3 days with overnight stay. Same as 2 days, but after Cau May Waterfall it leads further to Ban Ho Village and overnight there. In the morning in Ban Ho, you can visit the Hot Springs and Spring of Life, and back to Sapa by transport.

  Whatever duration option you choose, we advise preferring routes that start in the tourist village of Cat Cat, rather than those that pass the first part of the way to the checkpoint on asphalt. We've done both routes, and through Cat Cat seemed much more interesting to us.

• Cat Cat Village

  

  This is a kind of "semi-trekking" since it's the closest traditional H'mong village to Sapa, and today is more of a tourist attraction with a paid entrance. Nevertheless, it's very interesting and educational to take an easy trekking walk here, especially if you can't go to more remote villages due to lack of time or aren't confident in your abilities.

  You can visit independently on foot from Sapa center, spending about half a day on the whole walk, and paying 150,000 VND for entrance. See more about Cat Cat Village.

• Ta Phin Village

  

  This is not the most popular trek and usually takes one day, although you can stay overnight in one of the homestays in the village if you wish. Two ethnicities live here: Hmong and Zao.

  The route passes through rice fields and terraces, and in our opinion, it's not as picturesque as the classic one through the valley. But nevertheless, it has its place, especially as an alternative if you've already been to the valley. At the end of the path in the village, you'll find Ta Phin Cave, local restaurants where you can eat, and friendly locals who will pester you at every step to buy something from them. Read more about Ta Phin Village and how to visit it.

• Fansipan Mountain

  

  Mount Fansipan is the highest peak in Indochina. Its peak is 3143 meters high and is located right next to Sapa. You can make an ascent to the summit from Sapa, which could be one of the most amazing adventures of your life, or take the cable car, which opened in 2016. If you choose the foot ascent, you'll get closely acquainted with the flora and fauna of the area, visit villages, enjoy magnificent landscapes, and experience triumph when you reach the summit. Although the climb doesn't require special mountaineering equipment or training, it's recommended to do it only as part of a group trekking tour or accompanied by an individual guide. There will be an overnight stay in a tourist shelter or tents along the way. Read more about Fansipan Mountain and how to climb it.

What's Better: Going on Your Own or with Guides (on a Tour)

It's impossible to answer this question unequivocally, as it's very individual and depends on your experience, desire, and goals. We've done trekking both with guides and independently, so we'll risk sharing our advice and opinion, but ultimately, of course, it's up to you to decide.

Here's a comparison table for both options to make it easier for you to choose:

Practical Information

It doesn't matter whether you decide to go independently or with a guide, the information below is recommended for study:

Opening Hours and When to Go

Trekking can be for one day or several days with overnight stays. Tours usually start from Sapa at 09:00.

The best time for trekking is spring or autumn, i.e., the months March-May and September-October. In winter, it can be too chilly and uncomfortable here, but dry. In summer, everything is flooded with rains. But even if your trip falls in the off-season, in our opinion, it's still worth going trekking; you just need to prepare correctly in terms of clothing and footwear, which we'll tell you about in more detail below.

Precipitation and Temperature in Sapa by Month

Current Weather in Sapa and Forecast for the Near Future:

* - прогноз указан по местному времени. Данные получены с https://openweathermap.org. Если отображаются устаревшие даты, обновите страницу с помощью F5+Ctrl.

Entrance Fee / Ticket Price

A one-day tour costs from $15, two-day and longer tours from $40. Entrance to Muong Hoa Valley for independent trekking – 150,000 VND (5.7 USD, )see all about Vietnamese money and exchange rate).

Where to Buy Trekking Tours or Find a Guide

There are no problems with this at all. Group or individual tours are sold in every travel agency in Sapa (and there are many), in hotels. You can easily buy tours from Hanoi, including transfer and hotel accommodation in the town and in the village.

Moreover, you'll be offered guide accompaniment almost everywhere in Sapa center around the square and church, as well as everywhere along the route. This, by the way, actually creates a lot of inconvenience if you decide to go independently, since local women guides in traditional costumes may follow you along the entire path, and it's very difficult to get rid of them because they don't want to hear the word "no".

Finally, you can choose and buy trekking tours to Sapa, including from Hanoi, online on review sites:

• 📷 Sapa Tours on Trip.com
• 📷 Sapa Tours on GetYourGuide
• 📷 Sapa Tours on Sputnik8
• 📷 Sapa Tours on Tripster

A Couple More Important Notes About Trekking

• Land Leeches

  On the trail, you might encounter land leeches. These are tiny parasites, relatives of the common leech, but much smaller, only a couple of centimeters long. They live in humid tropical forests and are found in the Sapa area as well—we've experienced it firsthand. But there's no need to panic about them; in most cases, they are not dangerous. If one attaches to you, you can simply wait 10-20 minutes for it to drink its fill of blood and fall off on its own.

  Nevertheless, we totally get that running into them isn't very pleasant, so it makes sense to protect yourself. We covered everything in detail and even made a video in a separate guide-article about land leeches. Check it out to know all the ins and outs.

  

• Don't Buy Anything from the Local Kids

  This is a call from the local tourism authorities. As they state, instead of going to school, children are selling goods to tourists on the trekking routes. To avoid encouraging them to skip school, they ask that you don't buy anything from them.

  

Preparing for Trekking, What to Bring

For a hike through the valley and to ethnic villages, you'll need a minimum of things even for tours with overnight stays:

• A small hiking backpack (1-30 liters is enough)
• Hiking clothes and footwear according to season and weather
• Headwear
• Sunglasses
• Spare clothes for sleeping
• Swimsuit and towel
• Rain poncho
• Water bottle
• Cash
• Toiletries
• First aid kit with a minimal set of typical medicines for you

Optionally, you can bring a camera, chargers and cables, power bank. Everything else, including food and drinks, you can easily buy along the way in the villages.

A bit more detail about clothing and footwear:

• Footwear

  Ideally, you should have trekking or hiking shoes and trekking poles, but it's not mandatory, and the locals even walk in flip-flops. During rains, you'll have to walk through clay and mud, here galoshes or boots will come in handy.

• Clothing

  Choose clothes wisely, according to the season, but consider the strong changeability of weather, typical for mountainous areas. After all, in one day, the weather can change from scorching sun to downpour a dozen times, or it can rain all day during the rainy season (summer months). So it makes sense to dress according to the tourist principle of three-layer or at least two-layer clothing: outer layer for rain and wind (light windbreaker with membrane without insulation); middle insulating layer (fleece or down jacket); base layer for moisture wicking (synthetic underwear, t-shirt, synthetic thermal underwear in winter). A rain poncho for backup is a must!!!

  From experience, we know that some tourists carelessly set off on a trek completely lightly dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, not quite realizing what awaits them. Even in summer during rain and wind, you can get quite chilly, because these are mountains and altitude. From evening until morning, the temperature drops even lower, and even without rain in June, we wore sweatshirts in the evening to feel comfortable. Well, in winter, the temperature in the valley can drop to 10 degrees Celsius, which combined with wind and rain can feel like near-zero.

You can buy clothes and shoes in Sapa at very good prices in special tourist shops, at the main covered market, in stalls near Cat Cat Village. You can leave your large backpack or suitcase with your main belongings at the travel agency where you bought the tour, or at the hotel where you stayed or will stay after the trek, and go very lightly with a small backpack. This is free, but if you want, you can leave a tip at the reception.

For ascents to Fansipan, you need to prepare more seriously. Of course, you won't need a climbing helmet and crampons, but a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, food, water, gas stove will have to be taken on a two or three-day trip. For a quick ascent (or if you plan to only go up and descend by cable car), you can go lightly. When purchasing a tour, all necessary equipment is provided.

Our Ready-Made Instruction for an Independent Route and What Else You Need to Know

If you've already read everything above and watched the video, then you probably won't have any questions about doing it independently. Nevertheless, let's highlight some important points you need to know, as well as present a step-by-step plan-instruction for your first independent trek:

A ready-made plan for an independent trek with an overnight stay in Ta Van village (classic route):

• Plan 3-4 days for visiting Sapa. For this, book one night in a Sapa hotel, then one night in Ta Van, and two more nights in Sapa:
  
  • 🛌 Search for hotels in Sapa on Trip.com (👍 Mir cards work)
  • 🛌 Search for hotels in Sapa on Yandex.Travel
  • 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru
  In Sapa, it's advisable to book the same hotel to leave your belongings there at the reception during the trek. Book with breakfasts, it's more convenient. Read about how to get to Sapa, where to stay, where to eat, and everything else in our reliable guide to Sapa.
• Install the Organic Maps or Maps.me app, download the Google map section for offline use. Download points from our map.
• On the first day after arrival and check-in to the hotel: get acquainted with Sapa, and in the evening prepare for the trek. Pack all the things and clothes from the list above into a light hiking backpack, put everything else away in your large backpack or suitcase.
• In the morning, wake up between 6-8 am, have breakfast, check out of the hotel, and leave your large suitcase or backpack at the reception. Aim to leave the hotel no later than 9 am, but preferably around 8.
• On foot, head to the entrance point to Cat Cat Village (village entrance on the map).
• Pay the entrance to Cat Cat Village, you can stroll through the village itself, walk to the waterfall, photo zones. Allow an extra couple of hours for a leisurely walk for this.
• Next, build a walking route in the app to Lao Chai village (the village on the map), and calmly walk through the fields along paths and trails. It's 6 kilometers, timing 2-3 hours in good weather, up to 4 hours during rain.
• You'll arrive in Lao Chai by lunchtime or a bit later. Here you can have lunch at one of the tourist restaurants with a view of the river or snack at local eateries or street food.
• From Lao Chai, it's practically all on asphalt for 2 kilometers (30 minutes walk) to the center of Ta Van village (the village on the map). Check into the previously booked guest house or homestay, and you can walk around the village. Here you can sit in a bar, get a massage or spa at a salon, visit the museum and ancient rock field, or simply go down to the river and swim. You can have dinner at a cafe in the village, but many guest houses and homestays provide dinner for an additional fee in a home setting, we highly recommend it.
• Wake up at 7-8 am, have breakfast at the guest house.
• Build a route to Cau May Waterfall (point is on our map). Distance 3 kilometers, travel time one and a half to two hours.
• You can get to Cau May by at least two trails: the lower one along the river, or the upper one through the upper part of the village. Choose either; the difference is that the lower one goes through fields (more beautiful), and the upper one goes on concrete paths in the village (you'll see village life).
• Both trails will converge in one place and lead you into a bamboo forest. This is a difficult passage, as it's always wet and slippery; you might get dirty in mud.
• After exiting the bamboo forest, you'll come to the waterfall. Here you can climb to the top point of the waterfall (viewpoint with views) and swim in a paid natural pool for 30,000 VND. Then you need to descend along the trail next to the waterfall all the way down to the river and to the base of the waterfall. This is the endpoint.
• From the base of the waterfall, cross the river via a suspension bridge to the village, walk through the village higher up to the asphalt, and here you can order a taxi back to Sapa. Grab and Xanh Sm apps work, price from 130,000 VND. But you might have to wait a long time for a car. If the car takes a long time to be assigned, go up a bit higher to the main road (TL152 road), there the probability of getting a taxi is higher, and there's also a chance to catch a ride with passing cars or minivans with tour guides picking up tourists from organized trekking.
• You'll be in Sapa by lunchtime. This day and the next free day you can use for walks around town, visit Ham Rong Park or go on the cable car to Fansipan.

That's all! Congratulations on your first independent trek in Sapa!

And finally, here are a few photos from one of our hikes to help you get oriented: