Established as a hill station by the French in 1922, the charming highland town of Sapa is the one place in the northwest where tourism is booming.
The magnificent scenery is on a very grand scale, and the town is orientated to make the most of the spectacular views that open up on clear days. Perched on a steep slope, Sapa overlooks a plunging valley of cascading rice terraces, with mountains towering above the town on all sides.
Tantalising glimpses of the epic scenery are more common than full-frontal vistas, for the town is often wrapped in a thick mist that rolls back and forth along the peaks. But even if it’s damp and cloudy, Sapa has a lot going for it – this is an important market town for hill-tribe people, who fill the cobbled lanes with colour.
History has not always been kind to Sapa. From WWII, successive wars against the French, USA and China took their toll and the old colonial hotels were allowed to fall into disrepair.
With the advent of tourism, Sapa has experienced a renaissance. Countless new hotels and boutiques have popped up and the dining scene is now almost as cosmopolitan as that of Hanoi. The downside is a building boom that has seen one hotel after another raise the roof in a continual quest for better views. Height restrictions are rarely enforced and the Sapa skyline is changing for the worse.
Inherent in all of this prosperity is a sharp cultural change for the hill-tribe people, the future prosperity of whom has become closely tied with the tourism influx.
The H’mong people, once the poorest of the local tribes, are very canny traders, and you’ll encounter them all over town urging you to buy handicrafts and trinkets. Most have had little formal education and are illiterate, yet all the youngsters have a good command of English, French and a handful of other languages (as well as a mobile phone and an email address). Plenty of H’mong have used their language skills to good effect and work as trekking guides or in hotels and restaurants in Sapa. Other minorities like the Red Dzao are visible all over town, their billowing red headdresses a surreal sight amid the accelerating development.
If you visit Sapa off-season, don’t forget your winter woollies. Not only is it cold (0°C), but winter brings fog and drizzle. The chilly climate does have its advantages, however. The area boasts temperate-zone fruit trees bearing peaches and plums, and gardens for raising medicinal herbs.
The dry season in Sapa lasts from around January to June. January and February are the coldest (and foggiest) months. From March to May the weather is often excellent, and the summer is warm despite the rains between June and August. The window from September to mid-December is a rewarding time to be in Sapa, though there is a bit of lingering rain at the start and the temperature dips by December.
If possible, try to visit during the week, when Sapa is less crowded and more intimate. Crowds flock to Sapa for the Saturday market, but a smaller market is held every day. There is plenty to see on weekdays, and there are lots of interesting villages within walking distance of the centre.
