20.00pm – TrekkingSapa’s tour guide come to pick you up from your hotel then transfer to Ha Noi Railway Station and catch the night train to Lao Cai (overnight on the train, the cabin with 4 berths, soft sleeper and air-conditioning). Arrive Lao Cai 5:30 or 6:00am.

Sapa is the focal point for mountain travel in Vietnam, and is a riot of colour and atmosphere as people from the myriad ethnic minorities of the hills gather in the markets.

The ‘Flower Hmong’ wear rainbow-coloured smocks, while the Red Dao’s traditional costume is a more muted indigo but topped off with a bright red headdress. When all of the mountain people congregate, the result is a feast for the eyes and the senses.

*** It takes about 8 hours to go from Hanoi to Lao Cai by night train.

The train arrives at around 6:00 am. Look for the “Trekking Sapa’s Logo & Your Name” sign when you exit the train station, as our guide will pick you up there and transfer to the former hill station of Sapa. In the terraced hills and mountains of this area, the expansive green landscape is enlivened by the colors of its hill tribe population – flashes of shining silver jewelry from the necks and wrists of indigo-clad H’mong and the scarlet hues of the turbans worn by the Red Dao can be seen.

After having breakfast at local restaurant, a short rest and some last preparations before our Sapa trip. The the guide pick you up and drive up hill to the famous Silver Waterfall and then onto Tram Ton, the highest mountain pass in Vietnam at 1,800 m above sea level for enjoying the magnificence of Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range as well as over viewing spectacular landscapes of the whole area.

On the way back, you may wish to enjoy a short trek for about nearly 2 hours to Cat Cat Village or just wandering around town. It is good preparation for your trip the next 2 days. The rest of day will be free for relaxing or visiting local market.

Approx: 8 km of trekking  

After breakfast at hotel, Leaving Sapa by car southwards to Muong Hoa valley you will start trekking will from Ta Van village of Giay minority. The morning trek is really challenging because the path is tough and mostly uphill but you will enjoy many short breaks for resting.

The scenery gets more beautiful and the view gets wider as after every hundred meter you walk. As you get to a high elevation of the Hoang Lien Son park, you’ll find yourself in the middle of nowhere but trees, birds, cloud and wind…the forest here is well preserved. After a long break at a nice place for lunch, the trek gets easier and the trail winds its way through an area of the nature reservation.

Enjoy your discovery of the wild nature before paying visit to an isolated village of the H’mong, watching everyday life activities before arriving to our camp site which is nearby a river away from the village. You may join your tour guide and porters putting up tents and prepare dinner or fancy a walk around to stretch the legs and discover wild life. Evening comes earlier than usual and everyone sit down near the fire for dinner and revise of what you got today.

Approx: 12 km of trekking 

The birds singing wakes you up in the morning. Breakfast, packing and then we hit the road again. Following a narrow trail sneaking through thick rainforest for a couple of hours, crossing some old suspension bridges and then suddenly the view opens to a wide valley with beautiful terraced of rice paddies in all shapes as you approach to Den Thang village of Black Hmong by noon. Here you will drop in some local homes and visit a school before sitting down for lunch.

Afternoon trek becomes tougher on tinny footpath going up and down hills to Ta Trung Ho village. Here you will, with your guide, spend the rest of the day walking around the village, visiting homes, talking to the Red Zao people for your discovery of a unique culture and way of life. The area is not visited by tourists and outsiders till recently, so the people is little bit reserved but hospitable and frank.

Enjoy dinner and you will find out that trekking makes simple food into delicacy! Home stay overnight a traditional house of a Zao family.

Approx: 10 km of trekking  

Saying good bye to our host, you are now on the path again, from the fringe of the rain forest of the Hoang Lien Son mountain, ascending through forest and terraced rice paddies and corn fields to Nam Toong, another village of Red Dao and here lunch will be prepared in a local school. It is interesting to spend time talking with the teachers and playing with children, teaching them some English. They are very keen to learn new things.

Continue our trek in the afternoon while the descends to the valley and lead to My Son village of Xa Pho ethnic whose population is just about 4000 individuals living in North Vietnam, who basically live on hunting, gathering and slash and burn agriculture till recently. After an hour visiting the Xa Pho dwellings, we walk to Thanh Phu village of Tay minority.

The Tay people live a sedentary life in large village and farming rice and other food plants intensively. They built large wooden houses on stilts and well organize their villages. We settle here in this village for home stay overnight.

Approx: 12 km of trekking  

Today is an easy day starting with a descend down the valley from Thanh Phu to the bank of the river which runs through a large and green valley, enjoy swimming and relax by the river before paying visit to Ban Ho, another large and fantastic Tay village. Enjoy a long break for lunch in a Tay house and then take a jeep ride back to Sapa.

The rest few hours in the afternoon is for freshen up, packing and rest before leaving Sapa for Lao Cai station. A shower is available at our office, followed by an afternoon. The car will pick you up for the night train back to Hanoi. Arrive at Lao Cai railways station and take the night train back to Hanoi.

Approx: 10 km of trekking 

Arrive in Hanoi early morning (around 5:20am) Here you can catch a taxi back to your hotel by yourself. Finish unforgettable Sapa Tour with TrekkingSapa. Good bye & see you in the next time! TrekkingSapa can arrange additional customized trips for you if the above itinerary does not match your expectations.