Run to the Hills

We escaped the busyness of the North Korea US summit in Hanoi by heading North and spending a couple of days in Sa Pa.

Sa Pa is located in the far North and is home to a different kind of summit, the highest mountain in Vietnam. This peak was shrouded in cloud when we were there but you can get a cable car up it if you like.

The service holds two Guinness World Records for the longest non-stop three-rope cable car in the world, spanning 6.3 km (3.9 mi), and the greatest elevation difference by a non-stop three-roped cable car for the 1,410 m (4,630 ft) difference in elevation between the termini.

There is also a mountain railway up to Sa Pa, although it goes to the centre of town and not to the cable car station. Both of these are courtesy of the ubiquitous Sun World that you see at many tourist hotspots all over Vietnam including just previously in Ha Long.

To get to Sa Pa you go through Lao Cai on the Chinese border. This means we’ve travelled the full length of the country, starting in the far South (and a disappointing Sun World with a more-tenuous world record).

Sa Pa appears to be a victim of its own success. You get harassed by hawkers a lot and they will even walk 50m off the road in to your accommodation to interrupt your card game if you dare to venture outside and enjoy the view. There is also a lot of development occurring and I fear that the place is losing much of the charm that drew people there in the first place.

I’ve heard that there are better places in Northern Vietnam to enjoy the scenery and natural beauty. These might be worth checking out if you want something less touristy.