A hike on your own
Sapa, also known as the city of clouds, is located in the north of Vietnam near the Chinese border and is definitely worth a visit. Known mainly for its numerous rice fields, the area is perfect for hiking.
As with many tourist attractions around the world, there are plenty of vendors in Sapa who want to sell you something as soon as you get off the bus or cab. These are usually guided hiking or trekking tours through local villages. These tours include lunch, a 10 km hiking route with information from the locals and a cab at the end to take you back to Sapa. Prices start at €16 and there is no upper limit, depending on what you want. Since we are low-budget travelers, we naturally asked ourselves, like many others: Can’t we do this on our own?
On the tours, whether Klook, Get your Guide or on site, we were told that there are entrance fees for the small towns on the route. We asked about this at the official tourist information center on site and were told the following: You can do the hike on your own and there are no entrance fees for the places. You just have to be careful on the paths as they are not safe and there are no signs.
So far, so good. That’s what we wanted to try the next day.
When it comes to excursion destinations and activities, you should ask yourself the question: what do I want and what do I expect from the excursion?
The advantage of a guided tour is, of course, the information, some of which you can get first-hand. Everything is organized in advance and you don’t have to worry about anything. The disadvantage is usually that you are just one of many people and the excursion is quickly completed under time pressure. Or it quickly becomes expensive for a private tour.
Doing an excursion yourself means a lot of planning and organization before and during the trip. The advantage: you can go at your own pace and be away from the tourist crowds.
The tours in Sapa almost all start at the same time, regardless of where you have booked. Depending on the organization, you will be picked up directly from your hotel or come to a meeting point in Sapa. Everyone then walks together to the same starting point where the hiking trail begins. There is also a sign there advising against the hiking trail. We got this information from the locals and the tourist center in the village. So we simply decided to start our tour at this time.
On the way there, we quickly knew that we were in the right place, as countless people were walking in the same direction. Even before we had reached the right starting point, we were approached directly by the locals asking if we would like to join the tour. After saying no, they left us alone and we carried on. The path down towards the valley is very steep and consists of many bumps. You should therefore be sure-footed and not underestimate the distance ahead.
On the way, you walk along narrow paths, sloping edges and bamboo plants, with great views of the valley, rice fields and mountains on one side. The largest mountain in Indochina, Fansipan, is also always in view when the fog lifts.
Even if there are forks here and there, you can usually find the right path again quickly, as there are crowds of people walking along every day and the ground is very dense. This makes the path clearly visible.
Conclusion:
Although we didn’t get as much information about the culture and rice fields as on a guided tour, we were able to enjoy our walk and the silence away from the crowds.
Occasionally we stopped and wrote down our questions or googled them directly. Most of the time, however, we enjoyed the path and the view, especially on the way back and at special viewpoints where we had enough time to have the viewpoints to ourselves and take great snapshots with our tripod.
If you walk the path from Lao Chai back to Sapa, you have everything to yourself as the guided tours only go downhill. This also gave us the opportunity to observe some animals. Squirrels climbing on the bamboo and playing with each other, lizards, butterflies, birds, water buffalo and much more that you wouldn’t otherwise see in a hurry.
What you should take with you on the tour:
- Sufficient water
- Sturdy shoes
- Snacks, food
- Sun hat
- Jacket or thin sweater
- Sure-footed
- Tripod for photography
If you would like to get even more insights into the diverse country of Vietnam, you can find more information on our “Vietnam” destination page.