Our trekking guide from Sapa O'Chau

Sapa in Summer

Now that the summer weather is kicking in the temperature regularly exceeds 40 degrees in Hanoi. Within seconds of venturing outside the sun scolds your bare skin and wading through the thick, soupy air exhausts you in a matter of minutes. We were keen to escape the city heat and spend some of our final days in Vietnam up in the cool of the mountains in Sapa.

Our Sapa Selfie

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Visiting Sapa in Summer

It was a relief to arrive in Sapa, to throw open the doors of our hotel room and feel the rush of cool, alpine air fill the room. We last visited Sapa during winter, when the fields were brown and vacant; now they are a lush, vivid lime-green, full of rice ready to be harvested. Buffalos pull ploughs across the terraces and the cone-hats of farmers dot the countryside as they squat to pull crops from the ground.

Buffalo wallowing in the Sapa rice terraces

Sapa town is now chock-full of Vietnamese tourists on summer breaks. At the weekends they descend upon the restaurants and cafes in large groups. In the evenings the open-air amphitheatre is swarming with children firing flashing rocket toys into the sky while teenagers stand in circles, kicking Caus (shuttle-cock-like objects) back and forth. Adults recline on the stone steps to watch local H’mong people perform traditional dances and songs on the stage.

Sapa's Amphitheatre full of tourists

During this visit to Sapa we were saddened to see far more children, some as young as three or four years old, working in the streets selling goods to tourists late into the night. One evening I watched in despair as a tiny, yawning girl carrying a sleeping baby on her back relentlessly paced the square, approaching tourists with her bags and bracelets. Rather than buy from child sellers we try to give back to the local community in a more sustainable way; on this visit we booked a private trek through Sapa O’Chau, a social enterprise which employs local people and puts money back into the community and local education.

Our trekking guide from Sapa O'Chau

Ta Phin Trek – In Pictures

As soon as we left the town we were alone in the mountains with our lovely guide, Lam, who lives in nearby Lao Chai village. Lam speaks excellent English and works as a tour guide several days a week, she also helps to farm the land and makes and sells handicrafts. Lam appears fiercely independent and ambitious; unlike many other 22-year old Vietnamese women she’s chosen not to marry or have children yet and focus instead on working and enjoying her freedom.

Local children playing by the roadside in Sapa, Vietnam

Lam took us on a trek to Ta Phin, one of the largest, most sprawling villages in Sapa which has over 2,000 residents, members of the Red Dao and H’Mong minority groups. In sharp contrast to our previous trek in Sapa, we walked in peace and quiet, coming across only a handful of other tourists. We weren’t approached by anyone selling their wares so we could focus instead on the scenery, chatting to Lam as we went.

Ma Tra Village, Sapa, Vietnam

We were awed by the views and the immense scale of the mountains and rice terraces spiralling off in waves of green, brown and yellow into the distance. Mere words don’t do justice to the spectacular views; so here are some of our best snapshots from our trek.

Rice paddies in Sapa, Vietnam

View of the valley on our Sapa trek

Fields of green rice terraces in Sapa, Vietnam

Filling Vietnamese lunch on our Sapa trek

Village dog sleeping in Sapa

Stunning scenery in Sapa, Vietnam

Countryside views in Sapa

Valley and mountains in Sapa

Rice shoots in Sapa, Vietnam

Delicious cheese selection at the Hill Station, Sapa

Sapa in Summer

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12 Comments
  • Matt
    Posted at 11:35h, 04 June Reply

    Love Sapa! So green and beautiful in your pics too. I know what you mean about the kids – I’m always torn as part of me wants to buy all of whatever their selling so they can be happy and go home to bed but you know that’ll just encourage them to do it again the next day. So we also skip buying from them. Will have to look up that tour company if we’re back there – looks like it was a good one.

    • Amy
      Posted at 02:13h, 05 June Reply

      Sapa O’Chau is a great company Matt, I’d recommend it if you find yourselves back in Sapa.

  • Gilda Baxter
    Posted at 20:45h, 04 June Reply

    Hi Amy, so sad about the children having to work when they should have a childhood, love and education. Ensuring that you spend your tourist money in the local economy and choose a local guide is a good way of giving something back. You guide sounded like a very sensible young girl focusing on her work, independence and ambitions. I loved all your pictures and particularly the one with the buffalo, it took me few seconds to work out what it was lying down all covered in mud.

    • Amy
      Posted at 02:14h, 05 June Reply

      Glad you liked the pictures Gilda, we took hundreds because the scenery was so beautiful!

  • Emily
    Posted at 22:39h, 05 June Reply

    Wow – it does look incredibly lush! Sapa really seems like a dream; I really want to go to Vietnam!

    • Amy
      Posted at 10:39h, 06 June Reply

      Sapa is really one of our Vietnam highlights, I’d highly recommend it!

  • Katie
    Posted at 04:39h, 06 June Reply

    Oh my goodness. Sapa looks stunning! What a wonderful end to your time in Vietnam!

    What a shame about the child sellers, but great that you found a way to support the community in other ways.

    Happy travels!

    • Amy
      Posted at 10:41h, 06 June Reply

      There are a few different organisations that promote ethical tourism in Sapa and we had a great time on our trek 🙂

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