Established as a hill station by the French in 1922, SAPA is the one place in the northwest where tourism is booming.
The town is orientated to make the most of the spectacular views emerging on clear days. The town overlooks a plunging valley of cascading rice terraces, with mountains towering above on all sides.
Views of this epic scenery are often subdued by thick mist rolling across the peaks, but even if it’s cloudy, Sapa is still a fascinating destination, especially when local hill-tribe people fill the town with colour.
MAI CHAU - the breathtaking valley of Mai Chau with its patchwork quilt of rice fields, farms and stilted houses is just 4 hours from Hanoi. Home to the H'mong and White Thai hill tribes, who will be our hosts, they will cook and entertain us with wonderful home grown cuisine and a traditional dance performance. By day we take gentle walks through stunning scenery.
DIEN BIEN PHU - around Dien Bien Phu on 7 May 1954, the French colonial forces were defeated by the Viet Minh in a decisive battle, and the days of their Indochina empire became numbered. Dien Bien Phu sits in the heart-shaped Muong Thanh Valley, surrounded by heavily forested hills.
Sights in Dien Bien Phu include the memorial cemetery, Dien Bien Phu Museum, Bunker of Colonel de Castries, Muong Thanh Bridge...
Source: Lonely Planet
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