Best time to visit Sapa

Sapa is a mountainous town belonging to Lao Cai province, which is located in the north of Vietnam. Sapa is really a one-of-a-kind destination of Vietnam. Particularly, its weather is usually cool all year, and the average temperature is only 15 Celsius per year. Furthermore, Sapa is the living area of a lot of ethnic minorities. That’s the reason why Sapa is really well-known with local villages, stilt houses, crowded outdoor markets, and special and unique cuisine.

What does Sapa have to offer

Travelers who travel to Sapa may have chances to experience numerous interesting activities. Specifically, they can do sightseeing with numerous spectacular mountainous sceneries. They also can interact with local people with activities like renting out a homestay at beautiful villages like Cat Cat, Ta Phin and taking photos, visiting spacious tillages and golden terrace fields, learning how to do agricultural activities, strolling along with love markets, and buying souvenirs, acknowledging traditional handicraft and eating odd and interesting local foods.

Sapa is also famous because of its fantastical attractions. In particular:

• Fansipan peak: Fansipan mountain is a peak of Hoang Lien Son mountain range. This summit is considered as the roof of Indochina, because of its height, particularly 3147 meters high. On the peak are numerous places to visit such as the biggest Buddhist statue of Vietnam, Bich Van pagoda, Dai Hong Chung observation, milestone on the Fansipan, and so on. Visitors can use slings, or trains to go to it.
• O Quy Ho pass: O Quy Ho pass is one of the top 4 treacherous passes of Vietnam, which can meet every adventurer’s expectation. Additionally, at the peak of this pass, there is an attraction called Sky Gate (Cong Troi), where you can take a lot of marvelous photos here.
• Natural places: Sapa is also famous for its spectacular raw natural scenery. Some natural places that travelers can visit are Ham Rong mountain, Bac waterfall (Silver Waterfall), Muong Hoa flower valley, and so on.

When is the best time to visit Sapa

To be honest, travelers can visit Sapa at almost any time of the year, because in each period this city has its own typical attractivenesses. However, to help you get the most out of your trip to Sapa, we provide you with some suggestions based on our 18 years of experience working on tourism.

From November to February next year – The icy wintertime

The last days of November are the time when the freezing winter comes to Sapa. During that period, the temperature of Sapa is really low, and someday it can decline to under 0 Celsius. As a result, in the winter, all landscapes in this city are totally covered in white and glistened snow. That is the reason why this is the best time for travelers, especially the tropical ones who rarely have chances to see the snow, to visit here.

Moreover, during the winter, Sapa’s air is really fresh. That can make visitors feel comfortable when they travel here in the last months of the year. In addition, this is also the time when a lot of festivals will be held in Sapa, such as the Com Moi Festival (New Rice Festival).

This festival will be held at Nam Sai village. Particularly, in this festival, women in families will wear a new outfit and walk alone to the fields, and then they will cut a bunch of wheat and bring it home. After the women come back, other families’ members will prepare parties with traditional dishes and invite everyone to attend. The host must make a toast three times with each guest.

During the Tet Holiday – The carnival atmosphere is raging on

The Lunar New Year is definitely a good time to visit Sapa. By traveling to Sapa in this period, travelers may have a chance to deeply enjoy the lively and riot of color festivals. And here are some carnivals that travelers can experience when they visit Sapa at the beginning of the year.

Tet Nhay Festival (Dancing Festival)

This is the traditional festival of the Dao ethnic minority. In fact, this is the ceremony to worship Ban Vuong (the god who is the ancestor of the Dao people) to express their gratitude and pray for bumper harvests.

The most outstanding activity of this occasion is obviously dancing. In particular, people will put on numerous colorful outfits, gather at the patriarch’s yard house to dance and celebrate. In fact, Dao people have lots of traditional dances to perform, such as welcoming Gods dance, greeting parents dance, waiting for fairies descending dance, and so on. These dances may not only help travelers know more clearly about the customs of the Dao ethnic minority but also lead them to a cheerful atmosphere.

• Time: The morning of the first and second day of the Lunar New Year.
• Location: The yard of Patriarch’s house

Nào Sồng Festival

Nào Sồng Festival is the most typical festival of the Mong ethnic minority. This festival is a special occasion that the Mong people have to praise the Thu Ti God. It is also a day when all the families living in the village gather to discuss their agricultural problems. In particular, they must meticulously prepare a couple of cock and hen or a big pig to dedicate. Specifically, the animal sacrificed will be put on a palanquin, and people carry it on their shoulders. People will go in queue and follow men carrying the palanquin to the sacred place to worship. That can create an interesting spectacle.

• Time: The dragon days of the first Lunar month.
• Location: Seo My Ty – Den Thang Ta Van

Open Sky Gate Fansipan Festival

This special carnival is organized in the peak Fansipan. This festival is inspired by the traditional and colorful culture of North-Western ethnic minorities. Therefore, when travelers visit here, they can experience the atmosphere of the mountainous Tet Holiday with crowded outdoor markets, garish traditional outfits of ethnic minorities, colorful festival flags hanging everywhere, and traditional games. This festival may bring visitors a great and unique experience in Tet Holiday.

• Time: During the Tet Holiday
• Location: On the peak of Fansipan.

From March to May – Be in blossom, spring is in the air

The period from March to May is the vernal time of Sapa, and Sapa looks extremely like a paradise of gorgeous flowers during these three months.

After February slips away with the pure white shade of plum flowers, March comes with magnificent azaleas. To admire these beautiful flowers, travelers can visit Hoang Lien national park located at the foot of Fansipan. This park has over 30 types of azalea with various colors like scarlet, amethyst, magenta, marigold, and so on. By visiting it, travelers may feel like they are lost in the flower land in the fairy tale “Thumbelina”.

The most outstanding flower of April is buckwheat flowers. This is the time when buckwheat flowers are blooming all over Sapa. Fields full of Buckwheat flowers are the most typical image of the North-Western mountainous area of Vietnam. This flower has triangle-shaped petals, and they can change their color over time in a day, particularly they are white in the morning, change to a tinge of pink in the noon, and turn into violet in the sunset. Staying in the middle of the flower field, wearing the traditional dress of ethnic minorities will help travelers create such wonderful photos for their trips.

May comes, Sapa is ablaze with bright red roses blooming everywhere. That makes the air of this city on this time become slightly fragrant, as comfortable as the smell of a brand new perfume. The beginning days of summer are the best time that people can see roses growing up beautifully and releasing their attractive fragrance. Visitors can come to the eco-tourism center ATI, also known as The Roses Valley, to see and take memorable photos of these beautiful flowers.

September and October – Golden spreads out from terrace fields

The period of September and October is the ripe rice time of Sapa. Specifically, in the autumn time, all terrace fields and all over spaces of Sapa are dyed deeply in the numerous shades of golden.

By coming to Sapa at this time, travelers may have a chance to witness such spectacular bright golden scenery. In fact, the shades of yellow come not only from ripe wheat but also from the fields of flowers named brassica. This kind of flower will bloom only in one or two first weeks of winter, so travelers should follow the information carefully to choose the right time to visit if they want to admire this unique golden scenery of Sapa.

In Conclusion

There are numerous suitable times to visit Sapa in a year, and each period has its own beauty and attractiveness. Therefore, you do not need to worry about what time to travel, the time to visit sapa will depend on your preferences and what you expect to see in Sapa. Sapa is always gorgeous and peaceful to welcome every wanderer.