Travel to Sapa in winter

On cold winter days, most people choose to stay home, yet Sapa is an extremely popular destination during this time. Even though the cold is biting to the skin, it cannot stop the desire of tourists to travel to Sapa in winter, the best thing is that tourists have chance to witness snowfall. Let's find out with BDATrip what is in Sapa in the winter that attracts so many tourists!

A few words about Sapa in winter

Sapa is a small town located in the Northwest of our country, this place is known as the "land of fog" in winter. Located at an average altitude of 1500m-1800m, Sapa's climate is favored for cool weather. Sapa's climate in winter is often covered in fog and cold, with temperatures below 10oC and sometimes down to 0oC, sometimes with snow. White snow covering the roads or white snowflakes lingering on the foliage has great appeal to tourists. And this is also the reason why in the cold winter Sapa attracts such a large number of tourists.

Winter in Sapa starts from December and lasts until February of the following year. The average temperature during the day only ranges from 5-15 degrees Celsius, but can drop below 0 degrees Celsius at night. Therefore, when traveling to Sapa in winter, you need to prepare carefully in terms of clothing, personal items, medicine, etc. Winter in Sapa has a very unique beauty, not as brilliant as spring. , not as green as summer, but has an irresistible charm. Immense terraced fields covered in pure white snow, stilt houses hidden in the mist, winding roads at the foot of misty mountains,... all create a unique atmosphere. the scene is extremely poetic and lyrical.

Where is SaPa and how to get to SaPa

Sapa is a mountainous town in Lao Cai province, about 350km northwest of Hanoi capital, close to the Chinese border.

To go to Sapa, visitors can choose many means of transportation to Sapa such as car, motorbike, train. However, in the winter this place often has dense fog and relatively harsh weather, so visitors should not choose motorbikes as their means of transportation and instead use cars and trains.

• Traveling by train: Currently there are many trains going from Hanoi to Lao Cai station with ticket prices ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 VND/person. When traveling by train, visitors can also enjoy the scenery in the carriages. train. However, Lao Cai station is quite far from Sapa Town, so you can catch a bus to Sapa for about 35,000 - 40,000 VND/person, or you can choose a taxi or rent a car to drive yourself. From Lao Cai station to Sapa Town is about 35km and the road is relatively difficult, so if you rent a car, be careful with the passes!
• Traveling by sleeper car: This is the type of vehicle chosen by many tourists to go to Sapa because it is quite fast and convenient. Ticket prices each way range from 150,000 - 680,000 depending on the bus company you choose. With a travel time of 4-5 hours, the car runs from Hanoi. 
• Lao Cai, for each bus company, there will be different parking stops, so you should choose a bus company with a parking stop in the center of Sapa Town.

Places you must definitely visit when coming to Sapa

Ham Rong mountain

Ham Rong Mountain is a very unique image created from natural cliffs forming a dragon's head that has become the most attractive eco-tourism destination when coming to Sapa in winter.

Ham Rong mountain eco-tourism area in Sapa was built with 3 main areas called: Ham Rong flower garden, Thach Lam rock garden and Ham Rong peak. Tourists traveling to Sapa in the winter will have the opportunity to see the entire scene of Sapa town from above, extremely poetic, this place is also one of the places especially loved by photographers. because it is possible to capture the beautiful frame of Sapa town hidden in white clouds like a wonderland.

Cat Cat village

Cat Cat village is located in San Sa Ho commune, Sapa district, just over 2km from the center of Sapa town. Cat Cat village is known as the most beautiful village in the Northwest. The village is mainly inhabited by the H'mong ethnic group. When you come here, you can walk to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery and extremely fresh air, combined with watching the mountains and forests. In addition, you also have the opportunity to exchange culture with the people here.

Cat Cat village is known for its majestic and poetic natural beauty, with simple stilt houses, small winding roads, green terraced fields,... Coming to Cat Cat village, travel to Cat Cat village. Guests will admire the beauty of traditional stilt houses of the Mong people. The stilt houses are made of wood, with thatched roofs, with unique architecture, imbued with the cultural identity of the Mong people. Visitors will also be able to visit the green terraced fields, stretching as far as the eye can see. The terraced fields are carefully cared for by the Mong people, bringing bountiful harvests. In addition, visitors can also learn about the culture and customs of the Mong people. The Mong people are an ethnic group with a long-standing culture, with many unique customs and traditions.

Fansipan Mountain

When traveling to Sapa in winter, don't miss the opportunity to conquer Fansipan Mountain. Fansipan is the highest mountain peak in Vietnam and is known as the roof of Indochina. Fansipan peak is located at an altitude of 3,143m above sea level, in the Hoang Lien Son range. This is a huge challenge that not everyone can overcome, especially in winter because the winter climate here is very cold. Once you pass, you will be able to admire all the masterpieces of the beautiful nature of the mountains and forests.

Fansipan peak is about 9km from Sapa town center. This place has long become a tourist destination attracting many tourists to SaPa, including domestic and foreign tourists. If you do not want to strenuously climb the mountain, you can also choose to travel by cable car. In just 15 minutes you have reached the top of the mountain, the journey on the 6-sided glass cabin is no less magical as you get to see the winter world right below your feet.

Muong Hoa valley

Muong Hoa Valley is an experience destination in Sapa in winter that you should not miss. In winter, Muong Hoa valley seems to wear a new coat. There are no longer green or golden winding terraced fields, but instead there is white snow covering the entire vast valley, creating a beautiful picture that only when you come to Sapa in winter will you feel it get this.

Muong Hoa Valley has an area of ​​about 8km², with an average altitude of about 1,500m above sea level. The valley is surrounded by majestic high mountains, creating an extremely magnificent scene. Formed thousands of years ago, by the movement of geological layers. The terraced fields here have been created by local people for many generations, by digging the land, building banks, and planting rice. This is where many ethnic minorities live, such as the H'Mong, Dao, Giay,... The people here still preserve unique traditional cultural features, such as costumes and cuisine. , and customs. And this is a famous tourist destination of Sapa, attracting millions of tourists every year. Coming to Muong Hoa valley, visitors will admire the majestic and poetic natural beauty, and discover the unique cultural features of ethnic minorities.

What to bring when coming to Sapa in winter

• Clothing: because winter in Sapa is relatively harsh, when coordinating clothes you need to prioritize keeping warm first.
• Medicine: The travel distance to Sapa is often very long, so you should have some basic medicines such as colds, fever, headaches, etc.
• Identification documents: cash and identification documents are indispensable when coming to Sapa because the convenience of paying by ATM card is still not high.
• Personal items: the weather in Sapa is very cold and dry, so bring along skin moisturizing products if you don't want to see dry skin due to the weather. You should also bring mosquito and insect repellant and sunscreen to protect your skin.

Hopefully the above article will help you gain more experience traveling to SaPa in winter to prepare for your trip in the best way!