Cultural walks and overnight in remote minority village

Day 1: Visit four different minority groups in one day (-,L,D)

You will meet your guide after breakfast and head off into the beautiful Hoang Lien National Park by car, along the road you have the chance to see big rice terraces and a hopefully the high tops of the mountain range. Soon your guide will introduce you to the biggest group of minorities in this area, the colorful Black H’mong people, famous for their indo colored cloths and silver necklace. The walk is on a good path and will take few hours, plenty of time to learn about history and traditional customs. You will then continue the transfer deeper into the valley and cross the beautiful Muong Bo River before reaching Thanh Phu village of Tay minority. Here you will see the big difference in culture as the group wears lighter colors of silk clothing. Your lunch will be served next to the rice fields in a local restaurant. After lunch the tour continues to the small village of My Son and an interesting afternoon walk. This remote tribe is the smallest minority group in Sapa area and home to Xa Pho people. In the afternoon we arrive in the remote and quiet Red Dao village of Nam Cang. Walking along the small roads you will soon understand that this is “off the beaten trail”, people are looking happily. Finally you will cross a private bridge and check into your private room in the comfortable Nam Cang Riverside lodge. You can now explore the village or relax in the river or at the riverside veranda.

Approx: Grade: 2 of 5/ 3 hour hiking/ 1.5 hour driving

Day 2: From Riverside to hilltop Ecolodge and back to the Hill Station of Sapa (B,-,-)

You will wake up in the sound of nature. The day starts with a nice breakfast served just few meters from the river. The morning is for relaxing at the lodge or visiting the surroundings. Nam Cang is a small village with a quite big school, which gathers the children from other nearby villages. Play with the cute and curious children; visit a silversmith; learn how to make the Red Dao traditional writing papers, try to test your embroidery skill, which the Red Dao women are famous for; or take a swim in the river… are among the available activities. Saying goodbye to the friendly villagers, you have a transfer to Topas Ecolodge, where you will have lunch while enjoying amazing view of mountains and endless paddle rice terraces. The lunch expense is on your own and the restaurant offers an a la cart menu with wide choices. The walk after lunch is easy and no less interesting. You will visit the nearby Lech village, also habited by Red Dao people. Same as in Nam Cang, the women here wear some of the most colorful and diverse costumes of all Vietnam’s ethnic groups.

You then walk back to Topas Ecolodge for the transfer back to Sapa town.