I chose to make my first visit to Vietnam in June, just to discover later that it’s a rainy season. Sapa, located in the mountains, is the highest town in Vietnam, famous for its rice paddies, mountains and gorgeous sceneries. This area is a UNESCO world heritage site. To get here I took a 2 hours flight from Hong Kong to Hanoi, followed by a sleeper bus that takes about 5 hours of drive to the north of the country, next to the border with China.
A view from my hotel room is definitely impressive. Sapa lies at an elevation of 1500 meters (4,921 feet) and in this season lots of clouds come around this town.I liked just to stay and watch clouds passing by in front of me. One moment visibility was clear, but few minutes after it was covered in white fog.I decided to hike up the mountain above Sapa. There is a thick layer of cloud that stops you from seeing more than a couple of meters away. Even in harsh weather conditions animals are still in search for food.Down hill, in a valley, sun came out to play at the Cat Cat waterfall. This waterfall is very muddy, since it brings water after the rains from the mountains.Because of the climate Sapa only gets one rice harvest. Locals here work on the rice fields, tea plantations, animal breeding farms or they are involved in tourism industry.Few times throughout the day rain started to pour down, but it didn’t spoil my experience and photographs. If you plan to visit Sapa in the summertime – get umbrella and raincoat.Viewpoint of Heaven’s Gate is located not far from Sapa. Through the clouds you see snaked road in the middle of Hoang Lien mountains.Even in the mountains covered with clouds I’ve got a chance to see colors of the sunset, somewhere far over the horizon.
