Vietnam is one of the better known Asian country for its nature, rice fields and healthy fresh food. Its habitants are mostly tourist friendly and welcoming. The English levels are lower or even non especially in less visited areas by tourist yet the welcomeness of the natives seems to be even higher.
One of the main tourist worldwide – known attraction. there is a train Few times a day – morning and evening – passing through a narrow street. At some points the living areas along the railway were transformed into a chill zone with many small cafes creating one of the iconic touristic attractions of the Hanoi.
In the North of the Vietnam, at the bottom of the highest mountain of the Indochina (Fan Xi Phan) lies a famous trade center Sapa. It might work for us travelers as a good transportational hub to be able to reach northern parts of the Vietnam and the mountain.
From my personal point of view the city itself seemed very overcrowded, demanding, dirtier and very fast paced so I recommend to spent here as little time as possible.
The experiences may vary for sure, yet after cruising in the areas Northern from the Sapa, my demands were there satisfied way better. Just get your supplies and get out there! 😀
I even recommend to buy the supplies in Hanoi if possible so you can instantly go venture and maybe go discover Sapa later after you come back 🙂
If you want to get to the Sapa from Hanoi then, there are two main ways how to get to the Sapa – Bus or Night Train. I chosen the night train and it went quite well.
In order to follow my low-budget plan as usually I even bought a ticket for sitting which cost around 200 K (one-way) which is a half price against the sleeping option.
I bought the tickets online here from HANOI to LAO CAI (it might be also written as SAPA but currently there are no trains going to SAPA)
From LAO CAI be aware! After you get out of train there will be thousands people which will try to sell you the ride. Do not get caught and proceed outside of the trainstation and find the public (YELLOW) buses just on your left side when exiting the train station. You should be able to see them from the entrance. To the additional lower cost of your ticket you can meet and see the people of Vietnam naturaly going to work,school etc. Always ask for the ticket after purchase.
The tickets from LAO CAI by this yellow public bus should cost around 35K (one-way)(april,2019)
Sapa town (10k population) is a significant trade/transit/market hub for its region. For a lot of the tourists it is also a starting point on the way to the – Fan Si pan aka „Roof of the Indochina“ – nowadays, sadly therefore, mostly by using the cable car.
It is true that the cable car will get you to the top but you might pay a high price in terms of visting at that moment most likely a over-crowded areas and unfortunately potentionaly loosing the mystical atmosphere at the mountain top itself.
As any other Hiking Trail towards the peak this one might be easier or more difficult depending on your level of fitness and a weather.
It is mostly recomended to start a hike via north trail – which beggins near the Love Waterfall. It might be further away from the Sapa, against the other ones with a longer total path distance of the Trail, but the trail itself seemed to be in a good condition having a stready increasing and decreasing difficulty phases with 2 solid camps on the way up – providing sufficient shelter options if needed. The First Camp was situated at 2,200 m and the second one at 2,800 metres which is also equiped with a shelter hut ;-).
I, of course have choosen a „shorter“ route which is in reality: longer and also harder. Even that the start of the route was approximely 9 km closer the Sapa (versus the mentioned north trail) I lost some time here and there by getting a 2 times lost and going through a section of the jungle even without a route.
Unfortunately enough, I was later then rewarded by quite intense „meeting“ with a biggest white water buffalo which I have ever seen. At first time I just saw his back and I thought that it is elephant :D.
If is someone interested in this route you need to find a bridge over the river, outside the city, north not far away from the cable again northly, in the valley on the forest border, then its quite easy to find the route yet you have been warned. Definetely do not go there alone or without a proper functioning GPS, offline maps etc. to be able to find your exact location and adjust since the trail itself does end in the middle of the jungle on a random jungle carpenter spot.
Back to The Tram Ton Trail. The path contains mostly of a dirt, stones, stone stairs, some parts with the steep steel ladders AND of course possible breathtaking views during the last third of the trail influenced by the weather and visibility.
From my point of view this hike is a must for anyone who is interested in hiking, a little adventure or would be bored if just taking the cable car and have some courage, equipment energy, spare time and resources to do so.
The other option could be to do the ascent and decent in one day – the light way (small backpack with water and snacks) which is potentialy saving you a lot of time and or struggle during the ascent if you choose to do so with sleeping on the mountain – so choose wisely!
Enjoy! 🙂
After catching the idea and inspiration from other blog VIETNAMCORACLE (I recommend you to check it also since my road description is not as accurate 😀) I decided to spend few days on this road trip scenic loop. I must say thanks to this road trip I was able to create some lifetime memories. This scenic loop contains a lot of different sceneries.
The main points of this loop are : Sapa – Lai Châu – Sin Hô – Mường Lay – Phong Thổ – mountain side loop Nậm Cáy and Dao San back to – Lai Châu
Lets take a look!
The road between Sapa and Lai Chau catched my eye around waterfalls (Love Waterfall, Silver Waterfall) a main perk could be considered the Quy Ho Pass (2035m one of the highest road passes in Vietnam) during often changing weather condiditions you can catch very nice views over the valley. The roads are quite dangerous in this area and therefore i hope you.
Endless oversized asphalt roads, tea plantations, huge concrete buildings, pleasant vibes (almost heaven like against Sapa) and slower pace of living against other bigger cities – that is Lai Chau.
The more I stayed around, the more I found out that there is quite a lot to discover. In quite small area of the city itself you can quickly pass from a full center and busy markets in the north of the city to very peacefull rural areas with tea plantations on the edges.
There are sufficient food, accomodition or leasure time options to do without overcrowded tourists groups around you.
Places which I found interesting to discover:
City Center – big square, concrete buildings and lake.
Tea Plantations
Farm location
Nậm Cáy – S Sapa