Located in Vietnam’s Northwest area, Sapa possesses many magnificent natural sceneries. Traveling to Sapa, you will have a chance to admire magnificent scenery and explore ethnic minority people’s life. Let’s explore the top 07 things to do in Sapa that you should not miss for a wonderful trip here. 

Conquering Fansipan Mountain

Fansipan Mountain is the highest mountain in the Indochina area, at 3.143 meters above sea level. Conquering Fansipan Mountain is one of the things to do in Sapa you should refer to. 

To reach Fansipan Mountain's peak, you can choose to climb yourself or use a cable car. If you have high endurance and good health, you can choose climbing. It will take you about two to three days to reach the mountain’s peak. Although the route is extremely hard to climb, you will definitely have an unforgettable experience in Sapa. 

Fansipan Mountain

Whereas, if you do not have time for climbing, you can use the cable car to Fansipan Mountain peak, which only takes you 15 minutes. While staying in the cable car, you can admire a panoramic view of Hoang Lien Son Mountain, Muong Hoa Valley, etc. You can buy the cable car ticket at the cable car station or contact the Handspan team for a detailed price and itinerary. 

Fansipan cable car station

Let’s visit Fansipan Mountain and enjoy great moments here!

Visiting Cat Cat Village

Should visiting Cat Cat Village be on your list of things to do in Sapa? Yes, definitely. Cat Cat Village is located in San Sa Ho Commune, about two kilometers from Sapa town center. Coming here, you will catch up with simple wooden houses, flowing streams, colorful brocade panels, and friendly ethnic people. You will see Hmong people cultivating, raising livestock, and preserving traditional handicrafts such as weaving, growing cotton, linen, indigo dyeing, and silver making. 

Cat Cat Village

Walking along the two-kilometer winding road leading to Cat Cat Village, you will be overwhelmed by the magnificent scenery of the mountains, valley, and terraced rice fields surrounding. Besides, you will also be amazed at the paved road leading to the village, with stalls selling different kinds of handicrafts lying on both sides of the road. 

Let’s come to Cat Cat Village and enjoy exciting experiences here!

Trekking around Lao Chai and Ta Van Village

Traveling to Sapa, you should not miss exploring ethnic minorities’ villages amidst the stunning landscape here. While Cat Cat village is more crowded, Lao Chai and Ta Van villages are less touristy and more idyll. Trekking around these two villages is absolutely among the fantastic things to do in Sapa you should refer to. 

Lao Chai and Ta Van Villages, about 7 kilometers from Sapa’s town center, are located in the valley, surrounded by majestic Hoang Lien Son and Ham Rong Mountain. They are the places of residence of many ethnic minorities, such as Mong, Dao, Giay, Tay, etc. Coming to this area, you will have a chance to immerse yourself in the magnificent scenery of the streams, mountains, and rice terrace fields. Especially if you visit Lao Chai and Ta Van between September and October, you will see charming golden terraced fields and local people bustling with harvesting crops. Besides admiring stunning landscapes while trekking, you can also explore the cultural features of local people.

Rice terraced field in Lao Chai - Ta Van trekking route

Climbing Ham Rong Mountain

Climbing Ham Rong Mountain is also among the fascinating things to do in Sapa. This mountain belongs to the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, three kilometers from Sapa’s town center. Walking towards the Sapa Stone Church, you will see the road to Ham Rong Mountain right behind the church. 

Going through stone steps, you will catch up with stunning scenery and reach the peak of the mountain. Ham Rong Mountain has three main areas to explore: Ham Rong flower garden, Thach Lam stone area, and Ham Rong Peak. Ham Rong flower garden is where you can find different kinds of colorful flowers, while the Thach Lam stone area has many huge cliffs with little winding roads surrounded by green trees. Climbing to the mountain's peak, you can admire a panoramic view of Sapa, from Muong Hoa Valley, to Cat Cat Village, to rice terrace fields in Ta Van Village. Besides these areas, Ham Rong Mountain also has many places to appreciate Sapa’s view. Let’s come here and take your photo of the beautìul landscape!

Visiting the Love Waterfall

If you would like to immerse yourself in the magnificent natural scenery of the mountains, trees, and waterfall, visiting the Love Waterfall will be one of the awesome things to do in Sapa. The waterfall is located in San Ta Ho Commune, 14 kilometers from Sapa’s town center to the Southwest. Along the way to the Love Waterfall, you will pass through Tram Ton, located next to the O Quy Ho pass. This is one of the most beautiful and winding roads in the Northwest of Vietnam. 

Love Waterfall

With a height of 37 meters, located in the ecological forest area of Hoang Lien National Park, the Love Waterfall is indeed one of the most attractive places in Sapa. There are many other small waterfalls around the Love Waterfall flowing along the Golden Stream (Suoi Vang) inside the national park. Coming here, besides admiring the picturesque scenery, you can also join canyoning, which is getting more and more popular in Sapa. 

Canyoning in Sapa

For more information, you can refer to the article: Sapa appears as an amazing destination for canyoning tour in Vietnam. Otherwise, you can contact Handspan for detailed information and tour booking at info@handspan.com. 

Trying Sapa’s local food

Sapa not only attracts tourists by the stunning natural landscape but also by the delicious dishes. Trying Sapa’s local food is indeed on the list of things to do in Sapa you should not miss. Let’s see delicious dishes in Sapa you should try. 

• Stewed horse meat and horse organs (Thang Co Sapa)
• Salmon and sturgeon (Ca hoi/ Ca Tam Sapa)
• Stream fishes (Ca suoi)
• Sticky rice cooked in the bamboo tube (Com lam)
• Black chicken (Ga den)
• Buffalo meat upstairs kitchen (Thit trau gac bep)
• Grilled food

These dishes have their own tastes and ways of processing. Let’s come to Sapa and try them!

Exploring Nam Cang Village

If you would like to enjoy a less touristy area, exploring Nam Cang Village will also be one of the things to do in Sapa you should not miss. Nam Cang Village is about 30 kilometers from Sapa’s town center. This place possesses many rice terrace fields, streams, waterfalls, and dense forests with rich vegetation thanks to its location right in Hoang Lien Son National Park. 

Nam Cang Village

Coming here, you should spend a day trekking, immersing yourself in the fresh atmosphere of the magnificent mountain. Besides, you will have a chance to learn about Mong, and Dao people’s customs and costumes, how they make rice wine, Do paper, silver, etc. 

A corner in Red Dao people's house

If you would like to stay overnight in Nam Cang, you can choose Topas Riverside Nam Cang, located in the heart of the forests and mountains in Nam Cang. The resort has only 14 rooms, with a nice view of the stream and the mountain.

Topas Riverside Nam Cang

For more detailed information, please refer to the article: Two-day experiences in Topas Riverside Nam Cang. 

In conclusion, you have just learned some of the most exciting things to do in Sapa. If you would like to know more detailed information or book a Sapa tour, do not hesitate to contact the Handspan team. Hope that you will have unforgettable experiences in Sapa!