Sapa Rice Terraces: My Experience on a 2-Day Trekking Tour

Our last stop in Vietnam has been the increasingly famous rice terraces of Sapa. Sapa is one of the most worthwhile places to visit in Vietnam and, without a doubt, a destination no traveler to this country should overlook.

Sapa is located in the northwest of Vietnam near the Chinese border, with Yunnan province, at an altitude of about 1,600 meters. It is a small town nestled in the Hoàng Liên Son mountains, surrounded by rice fields and humble villages. Many tourists come here to hike and discover the deeper, more natural side of Vietnam.

Due to its altitude, Sapa has a cool and temperate climate for much of the year. Winters can be cold, with temperatures occasionally dropping below zero, and there is even snow on rare occasions.

Since we wanted to visit the remote villages in the area, and we had been told it was very difficult to get there on our own, we ended up booking a tour from Hanoi. Here I share my experience of one of the places I enjoyed the most during our trip through Southeast Asia. Let’s get started:

Trekking in the Sapa rice terraces: 2 days trekking

The tour consisted of two days walking through the rice terraces of Sapa, the surrounding mountains, and the local villages. At night, we would stay the first night in Sapa upon arrival and the second night in the home of local villagers (homestay).

On the first day of trekking, we left the hotel early in the morning. Just as we stepped out with our guide, a group of women and girls from the Hmong ethnic minority joined us and accompanied us for part of the journey. We spent the day walking through rice terraces and remote mountain villages.

When we went, in October, as is usual during that time, farmers had begun harvesting the rice. Although the scenery of the rice terraces was beautiful, it wasn’t as breathtaking as we had imagined. The best time to visit Sapa is from June to August, during the rainy season, when the rice fields are full of water, and the landscape is lush and green.

Sapa’s ethnic minorities

One of the biggest attractions, apart from the rice terraces of Sapa, are the ethnic groups that live in the area. You mostly meet three types: the Hmong, the Dao and the Tay. The Hmongs and the Dao are the most common to see in the village. Local markets, such as the Bac Ha Market, are excellent places to experience this cultural diversity, where residents sell agricultural products, handmade textiles and handicrafts.

Dressed in their traditional clothes they always greet you very sympathetically. They ask you where you are from and then trying to sell you some souvenir normally made by them. Their most typical phrase is: “Buy something for me, sir”. Anyone can appreciate that sympathy, that smile on their face and that they are always making jokes whether you buy or not.

 Trekking in Sapa with the Friendly Hmongs

During the tour the Hmongs didn’t try to sell us anything. They just walked around with us, occasionally telling you something, making jokes and laughing at each other. You could ask them about their life in Sapa, and even though the older ones didn’t speak English, the younger ones would answer you in fluent English.

After lunch, just before they left with another group, they started offering souvenirs of Sapa, and although I don’t usually buy these things, I ended up buying them something to thank them for the pleasant company.

Sleeping in a “homestay” among rice paddies

At night we sleep in a village near the rice fields. We stayed in a “homestay”, a house of some villagers who had simply left a room full of sleeping bags and well covered with mosquito nets. We had dinner with the family of the house and, I’m not sure if it was the time or the place, but it seemed like the best meal I ever tried in Vietnam.

The next morning we continued our walk through the rice fields, passed a few other villages of different ethnic minorities and returned to Sapa at midday. These two days of trekking through the rice terraces of Sapa I will keep them in the drawer of my best memories. It was certainly the best experience we had during a month-long trip through Vietnam.

Crossing the border: from Sapa to Laos

We liked Sapa so much that we stayed another day to spend it quietly in the city. After getting our strength back, it was time to keep moving so we went to a travel agency to arrange a trip to the Laos border. Our next destination was Dien Bien Phu, the border town where we planned to cross the Vietnam-Laos border.

One of the things that surprised me most about this trip to Sapa was how, whether it was 10-year-old girls selling you or women over 60 carrying big sacks of rice, they always greeted you with a smile.

It makes you realize that you don’t need so many things to be happy. I hope one day to return to this special place, to see the smiling ethnic minorities of Vietnam and enjoy the rice terraces of Sapa.

Return to Sapa in 2017

In 2017, since I was living in Kunming (Yunnan, China), right in the province north of Sapa, I took the opportunity to visit the rice terraces of Sapa again with some friends. Upon arrival, we met a very friendly local woman who took us on another trekking route through the terraces. She invited us to her home to meet her family and learn about their rural way of life.

It was a chance to see that, although Sapa had become slightly more touristy than six years earlier, it still retains its unique atmosphere. Its landscapes remain stunning, and its people are just as humble and friendly as ever. By the way, if you’re looking for even more authentic rice terraces, you can visit the Yuanyang Rice Terraces in Yunnan.

Feel free to comment, rate, and share if this post has been helpful to you. Subscribe if you’d like to receive travel updates. If you’re planning a trip to Vietnam, you might also be interested in our Vietnam Travel Tips or the post about a two-day tour in Halong Bay.