# THE RUNWAY > Adventure Travel Forum >  Best adventure place in Vietnam

## buimanh

That is SAPA!

Sapa town is located in Lao Cai province. It is far 350 km from 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 peak, Fanxipan Moutain at 3,142m above sea level, and a vast area covered by thick forest, which is very rich in wildlife. The township of Sapa lies on a hill station at the attitude of about 1,600m and was built by the French into a famous summer resort with some hundred colonial villas which was well-known as  Tonkins Alps . The complicated terrain of Sapa including steeped high mountains with sharp cuts and large valleys, many streams of water in combination with sloped terraced paddies form magnificent scenery.


Famous for its breathtaking landscapes, Sapa is also an ideal inhabitation for a great diversity of ethnic minority peoples. It is likely that, Sapa was first inhabited by highland minorities of Hmong and Zao groups, who immigrated from southern provinces of China, later came the Tay, Zay, and a small number of Xa Pho to form the 5 main ethnic groups which takes about 85% of the districts population today. The Vietnamese, in small number, immigrated from lower land to the region, mainly living in town, working in government offices, schools, hospital or running their own mini hotels, shops,  while most other ethnic peoples live in small hamlets and villages scattering on the mountains and valleys throughout the district. Until middle of 20th Century, the Hmong and Zao, majority of Sapaa population, still lived shifting style and practiced slash and burn agriculture which caused huge damages to the nature. Nowadays, most of them have changed into sedentary one basing on intensive farming and work their land on sloping terraces cultivating rice and corn, since the vast majority of the land is mountainous. However self subsidiary is still the main feature of their production and lifestyle with almost no contact to the outside world until 1990 when tourism started in the region. On the other hand, due to hard weather & climate condition, only one crop can be cultivated in a year and the productivity depends much on nature thus led to a fact that food shortage is quite common here.

For nearly two decade, thanks to the all aspect development of the region in an attempt to turning Sapa into one of the countrys premier tourist destination, the local ethnic peoples has experienced great changes and enjoy invaluable benefit. Road to remote villages is continuously built and upgraded, many schools were builtand the most important one is the revolution in agriculture and fast development of tourism which helps the majority ethnic peoples in Sapa improve their live dramatically. 
Luckily that in spite of all fast changes taken place in recent years, the ethnic minority peoples in Sapa still maintain well their colorful and unique culture.

----------


## brucekenway

Of course Sapa is one of the best places in Vietnam as well as the world

----------


## sankalppatil732

I like adventures places.The township of Sapa lies on a hill station at the attitude of about 1,600m and was built by the French into a famous summer resort with some hundred colonial villas which was well-known as “ Tonkin’s Alps” .

----------


## davidsmith36

1.Paddle board in Mui Ne

2.Drive a motorbike from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh
As anyone who’s ever been to Vietnam will be able to tell you, they’re big fans of motorbikes and mopeds – crossing the road in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh is an adventure in itself.

3.Go diving in Phu Quoc
Imagine an island paradise with palm trees, golden sands and turquoise oceans alive with an endless array of weird and wonderful marine life and you’ve pretty much imagined Phu Quoc

----------


## jeffronald19

Fan Si Pan Mountain is the highest mountain peak in Vietnam and Indochina which is located only a few kilometers west of Sapa, and can be easily seen from the town itself.

Tram Ton mountain passes between Sapa and Lai Chau, located at nearly 2.000 meters (6.500 feet) is the highest mountain pass in Vietnam.

Muong Hoa valley has 196 strange carvings of the ancient inhabitants thousands of years ago and so far archaeologists haven’t been able to explain this information yet.

Sapa is the "kingdom" of the fruit with a large variety of wild flowers especially immortal flowers which live forever.

Sapa is one of the very few places in Vietnam to see snow. Snow tour is very popular among Vietnamese students.

----------


## Billy Pro

I've been to Vietnam twice. I did have chance to discover exotic places in the North of Vietnam: Sapa, Hagiang, Tamdao with some Vietnamese friends. That's such a wonderful experience in my life. Hope to get back there one day!

----------


## hangraolytam

> I've been to Vietnam twice. I did have chance to discover exotic places in the North of Vietnam: Sapa, Hagiang, Tamdao with some Vietnamese friends. That's such a wonderful experience in my life. Hope to get back there one day!


I agree with you, I love Ha Long Park

----------


## martinsimmons748

Mai Chau area is a world away from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. The small town of Mai Chau is unappealing, but nearby are Thai villages surrounded by lush paddy fields.

----------


## rock45

Sapa is one of the best places in Vietnam as well as the world

----------


## rosejacob

Thanks for sharing this info here anbd letting us know about the places.

----------


## SimonaHalep

Sandboarding in Mui Ne!

----------

