DearTouring: Sapa

After a somewhat long but fairly easy night in a sleeper bus from Hanoi, we arrived into Sapa, the northern capital of Vietnam. This was a long awaited stop for us as it is infamous for its natural and cultural beauty. Just around Sapa there are over 5 million minority people, while for trekking lovers there's mount Fansipan, named the "rooftop of Indochina" 3143m - the highest peak of the region. Our first day there we decided to explore the city a bit and climbed the Ham Rong Mountain overlooking the city.

On the way to the mountain top, there's a park, a botanical garden to explore, with small places to stop and relax for some tea.

A paved path leads you up through massive rock formations nicknamed "the stone forest".

Walking through stone gates.

Contrasting black stone walls and blinding sunlight.

The view from the park, and a hill that we thought looked like a giant turtle.

View of Sapa from the observation deck on Ham Rong Mountain.

Later in the day we rented a motorbike and rode south of the city towards the valley. The region south of Sapa is believed to be more scenic, and thus, more touristy. We only took a glimpse of the area, as we decided to explore the more rural north for the next 2 days.

In the low season, which is now, there is no rice grown in the stepped terraces. And although the classic Sapa feature are the vivid green colors of the rice fields, this time of the year the region is still gorgeous. The sunrays reflected in the pools of flooded terraces make the entire valley resemble planes of layered mirrors. A truly captivating sight.

Along the way, these 3 cute fellas ran up to us when we stopped to take a photo. They kept saying "hello" and waving to us.

We made it down into the valley into one of the villages and noticed a curiuos sight - a rooster fight. It was so interesting to watch, you notice roosters behave just like humans in a wrestling match. Surprisingly when the owner picked them up to move them back into cages, they instantly froze and didn't make a move.

Crossing a suspension bridge, following a local with a heap of wood, a very common encounter in the region.

On the next day, we embarked on a trek in the northern region of Sapa. We paid a visit to the black Hmong people village. They're called "black" because the garments they wear are died using a locally grown plant which makes them pitch black.

The drying process of the fabric after being dyed.

We were told that the region north of Sapa is less picturesque than the south, but we don't agree, we thought it was just as beautiful.

The 14 km trek toward our homestay with a Red Dao family was different with every turn we took. We crossed river streams, walked in the valley and went up hill tops.

At one of the rest stops, we shared the table with a well trained furry friend.

More valleys and mountains along the way.

This is our home for the night. We were treated with a communal dinner and the specialty of the Red Dao people - the medicine herbal bath.

This sweet man was our guide for 2 days. Here he was weaving a parting gift for us.

The host is making french fries, trying to make us feel at home :)

The hostess' daughter with her little girl. The hat of the baby is a traditional element of the attire, with a bunch of little hanging bells entertaining the child and letting the mom know of her whereabouts.

Next day our trek was bit shorter, but our guide made sure we got the best out of it. We walked through rice fields, muddy crossings, up and down the hillside and even through peoples' backyards.

We got back to Sapa relatively early in the afternoon and decided to visit the Cat Cat village. The path to a large waterfall takes you through the village where the local craftsmen sell their goods. These little statues are carved from a white gypsum type rock native to the region.