About Sapa

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The Catholic church in Sa Pa, built in stone in 1930

Sa Pa is a frontier township and capital of Sa Pa District in Lào Cai Province in north-west Vietnam. It is one of the main market towns in the area, where several ethnic minority groups such as Hmong, Dao, Giáy, Pho Lu, and Tay live.

Black Hmong Women in Sapa

Sa Pa District is about 330 km from northwest of Hanoi close to the border with China. The Hoang Lien Son range of mountains dominates the district, which is at the eastern extremity of the Himalayas. This range includes Vietnam's highest mountain, Fan Si Pan, at a height of 3143 m above sea level. The town of Sa Pa lies at an elevation of about 1500 meters (4,921 feet) elevation. The climate is moderate and rainy in summer (May—August), and foggy and cold with occasional snowfalls in winter.

O Quy Ho Pass 

Sa Pa is a quiet mountain town and home to a great diversity of ethnic minority peoples. The total population of 36,000 consists mostly of minority groups. Besides the Kinh (Viet) people (15%) there are mainly five ethnic groups in Sa Pa: Hmong (52%), Dao (25%), Tay (5%), Giay (2%), and a small number of Xa Pho. Approximately 7,000 live in Sa Pa, the other 36,000 being scattered in small communes throughout the district.

Cat Cat Village - Sa Pa

Most of the ethnic minority people work their land on sloping terraces since the vast majority of the land is mountainous. Their staple foods are rice and corn. Rice, by its very nature of being a labour-intensive crop, makes the daily fight for survival paramount. The unique climate in Sa Pa has a major influence on the ethnic minorities who live in the area. With sub-tropical summers, temperate winters and 160 days of mist annually, the influence on agricultural yields and health-related issues is significant.

Terraced fields

Before the 1990s, the town's economy was mainly based on small size agriculture. Tourist arrival between 1995 and 2003 grew from a total of 4,860 to 138,622. On average, 79% of the visitors are Vietnamese and 21% are foreigners.

The people of the Sa Pa area have been very poor even by Vietnam's rural standards. Efforts to improve the situation for the local people include both governmental and non-governmental initiatives. The government of Vietnam and foreign governments have contributed to local development programs. Locally, the Hmong-run social enterprise, Sapa O'Chau, organizes volunteer placements, such as English teaching, and visiting through trekking and homestays at local villages for short or long-term periods.

Sun World Fansipan Legend - Sun Group

Sapa now becomes the famous destinations in Vietnam with millions of visitors yearly, and will be the center of economy area in northeast of Vietnam.