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Located 38km from Lao Cai City, Sapa district is well-known with Sapa towlet, a beautiful and romantic resort. At the elevation of 1,600 m above the sea level, the average temperature of the area is15-18oC. It is cool in summer and cold in winter. On a clear day you will treated to views of steeply terraced rice fields, towering verdant ridgelines, primitive mud-thatched villages, raging rivers and astounding waterfalls.

Nestled high in the Tonkinese Alps near the Chinese border, Sape was built as a hill station during French colonial days, to serve as a respite from stifling Hanoi summers. By using Sapa is a base, you can hike off to more remote villages and have chance to interact with minorities and learn about the unique customs and traditions of the local residences. Sapa was originally built as a hill station in the early part of this century. When approaching Sapa, there are some detached wooden mansions and villas perched on a hill top and a hillside, behind thick pine forests and almost invisible on the foggy morning. Old and new villas with red roofs now appear and now disappear in the green rows of Pomu trees, bringing the town the beauty of European towns. Fresh and cool air in Sapa is an ideal climate condition for growing temperate vegetables such as cabbage, chayote, precious medicinal herbs and fruit trees such as plum, pear, and apple. Sapa is a home various families of flowers of captivating colours, which can be found nowhere else in the country.

Some eight ethnic groups inhabit Lao Cai province: Hmong, Dao, White Thai, Giay, Tay, Muong, Hao and Xa Pho. The most prominent in town are the Red Dao, easily identified by the coin-dangling red headdresses and intricately embroidered waistcoats worn by the women, and the Hmong, distinguished by their somewhat less elaborately embroidered royal blue attire. There is a weekend market in Sapa during which the town fills up with hilltribe people selling their wares.

Surrounding Sapa are the Hoang Lien Mountains, known by the French as the Tonkinese Alps. These mountains include Mt Fansipan, which at 3143 metres is Vietnams highest mountain. The peak of Mt Fansipan is generally accessible throughout the year, but don't underestimate its difficulty, you should have a good level of health and fitness.