HOANG LIEN
NATIONAL PARK
Hanoi
LAOS VIETNAMCHINA
Sa PaVinhGulf of
TonkinLy May Vy boils plants
atop a wood fire to
prepare a traditional
medicinal bath.
Car damom stems
are among the many
ingredients used at
Tam La Thuoc Dao Do
Herbal Bath Spa in Ta
Van village, near Sa Pa.Once back in Sa Pa, we’d have time for a bowl of
steaming pho and a soak in a cardamom-infused
herbal bath at a village guesthouse. But before we
could relax, we still had a long journey ahead of
us, back across the streams and mountain passes
we’d traversed on the ascent, this time with the
harvesters carrying their precious load.
“Tired?” I asked him, as the sky turned pink.
He nodded.
“Even if they gave me this whole forest, I
wouldn’t take it,” he said with a laugh. “This is
too hard.” j
WHY GO NOW
Restaurants and hotels
have been opening at
a brisk pace in Sa Pa,
in part because a new
highway connecting the
nearby city of Lao Cai to
Hanoi opened in 2014.
But much of the national
park that is visible from
Sa Pa remains as wild and
beautiful as ever.
WHAT TO KNOW
Vietnam does not grant
visas on arrival to Amer-
icans. Apply online or
in person at the nearest
Vietnamese embassy
or consulate.
GETTING THERE
Sa Pa is easily accessi-
ble by bus or train from
Hanoi. Sleeper bus ser-
vice takes at least six
hours each way, and
round-trip tickets cost
about $40. Round-trip
fares on an overnight
sleeper train, eight
hours each way, begin
at about $50; a private
cabin in the train’s luxury
sleeper car costs $200 to
$400 for two.
NOT TO MISS
Mount Fansipan
Many Sa Pa–based travel
agencies offer multi-
day trekking tours to
Fansipan, Vietnam’s
highest mountain and
the primary attractionin Hoang Lien National
Park. There’s also a cable
car from Sa Pa to Fansi-
pan’s peak; a round-trip
ticket costs $30.
Village treks
Sa Pa is ringed by
ethnic-minority villages,
and some are connected
to each other by walking
or hiking trails. Several
trekking companies
based in the city offer
trip and homestay pack-
ages of varying lengths,
prices, and difficulty.
Weekend markets
The villages of Can Cau
and Bac Ha, both a few
hours’ drive from Sa Pa,
host weekend markets
selling livestock, pro-
duce, and more.Local dishes
In open-air restaurants
around Sa Pa Lake, one
popular dish is hot pot
served with fresh salmon
raised in local mountain
streams. Another is a
plate of crispy, fried river
fish called ca suoi.
GO WITH NAT GEO
Topas Ecolodge
This National Geo-
graphic Unique Lodge
offers 33 bungalows
perched on a hill
outside Sa Pa, with dra-
matic views of peaks
and rice terraces.Travel Wise: Sa Pa, Vietnam
Mike Ives is a Hong Kong–based journalist writing
primarily for the New York Times. Ian Teh lives in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is a Pulitzer Center
grantee exploring life along China’s Yellow River.
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