Rice fields in Sapa

From Hanoi, we took a sleeper bus to the mountains. Sapa, with an altitude of over 1600 meters, is the highest place in Vietnam. It is known for its many rice terraces. It is also significantly colder there than in the rest of the country. It's a good thing we bought thicker clothes, as it was only around 10 degrees. We even sat in the restaurant with jackets on because apparently in Vietnam the entrance doors are generally not shut.

In the evening, we booked a trekking tour for the next day. This was also the main reason why we chose this destination.

So the next morning, we went on a 10-kilometer tour with a group of 10 people. We were guided and accompanied by some women from the Hmong ethnic group.

From Sapa, we went down into the valley, passing by the rice terraces. The view into and through the valley was truly fascinating. Unfortunately, the harvest time was a few months ago, otherwise it would have been even more beautiful. On the way, we also passed through three villages of different ethnic groups. In one village, we had a typical lunch. Unfortunately, we just passed through the villages without really learning more about the life of the people there. At the end of the tour, we walked through a bamboo forest, which led us to a waterfall. From there, we had another beautiful view of the valley, this time from the other side.

During the tour, our guide also explained how rice is harvested. It is similar to grain harvesting in our country. The rice plants grow in the water on the individual terraces. During the harvest, the entire plant is pulled out and the rice is shaken out from the flowers. The rice flowers are used to make rice noodles and rice paper.

We were also lucky with the weather that day. It was cold, but thanks to the bright sun, it was really pleasant. The landscape around Sapa is truly unique. Unfortunately, we only had this one day there. You could easily spend several days hiking in the area.

But we had enough of the cold and flew to the southern island of Phu Quoc the next day.