Fansipan Hike: A trip to remember

Contents

1. Fansipan hike – the real trip for adventurous people:

At a glance

Fansipan is the highest mountain of Indochina with 3,143 meters (10,312 ft)
Northwest region of Vietnam, near the Chinese border
It is located about 9 km to the southwest of Sapa (Sa Pa), an impressive hill station developed by the French
1-3 days hiking
Pine forests, bamboo thickets and jungle
The best months to discover is: from October to April.Some people say April and May are best season to climb the mountain as because it’s warmer. In this moment, the floristic composition has grown well.

You especially avoid the wet season from June to September, with heaviest rainfall occurring in July and August
It will take you about 2 hours to scale Fansipan.

2. Why you should do this Fansipan hike?

– There are 2,024 floral varieties and 327 fauna species in here.

– You don’t have to bring ropes or need special technical climbing skills.

– The minorities here is friendly, some of them even can speak English. You could take pictures of those people in their colorful costumes and village. That will be worthy memories.

– Ridge walk sections will be your favorite

Trekking lovers can’t miss out the chance to take a Sapa trekking tour with homestay.

3. What you should know about Fansipan Hike?

The malarial mosquitoes can be a danger for you on some months of the year (in rainy seasons)
As scaling up it will be cold so you should bring warm clothes. Temperatures below freezing are frequent.
If you go on January and February, it may snowy.
Climb is harsh, wet, muddy and freeze. Better to bring rubber boots.
Besides, gloves with good grips recommended for ladders and rock scramble
You may be clutching bamboo at points
We have to be careful with poisonous snakes, leeches, rodents, perhaps exaggerated
Dogs are a worry, both in Sapa and on the trail. Sapa is a tourist trap. Touts are a pest.

3.1. Routes:

You have many of choice to plan your journey to Fansipan, it includes a 1 day guided up-and-down.

It’s possible to do independently. But we wouldn’t recommend it unless you are familiar with the route.

There are three routes to the mountain. One is from Tram Ton, the other start point can be the villages of Sin Chai and Cat Cat.

The first route is a more gradual climb because it has been designed for tourists. You can take a trip can in a day.

The route from Sin Chai is shorter but more adventurous, requiring for the unskillful climbers that they should use ropes or other special facilities for climbing.

The route from Cat Cat is the longest way. That is suitable for a longer trip of climbing and exploring the great scenery of the mountain and Sapa. After one day of climbing, there’s a break at 2,200m above sea level. Climbers can enjoy a meal cooked by a Mong porter at their house and camp in their village, followed by a second camp at 2,700m before reaching the peak on the third day.

Most climbers chose a tour from Sa Pa at a cost of about VND1.5 million which doesn’t include train fare from Ha Noi, and you should prepare for a month before start your trip.

Learn more tips about Fansipan Hike with Trekking Sapa tips.

3.2. Transportation:

Many hikers use to transfer from Hanoi to Lao Cai by overnight train, then go by bus from Lao Cai to Sapa. Those tickets are usually sold out during high season, especially occasion, a lot of Vietnamese people also travel to Sapa on their vacation.
If you miss train ticket or want to travel to Lao Cai faster you can go by the night sleep bus direct from Hanoi.

Discovering Fansipan is not easy if you don’t have a local guider who understands the geography here. He can be a map for the tourist trap in Sapa so you will have more fun if there isn’t any trouble on your trip.