Four days in the Muong Hoa valley
Three homestays in three valleys below Sa Pa town, 45 km of terraces, stone paths and stream crossings. The easiest way into the northern mountains that still counts as a trek.
At a glance
- Duration
- 4 days, 3 nights
- Walking
- 45 km over 3.5 days
- Group
- Maximum 10
- Starts and ends
- Hanoi
- Grade
- 2 of 5
- From
- USD 430 per person
Who this route is for
Sa Pa is the trek people have heard of, and it is the one most often sold badly. The town at 1,500 m has been under construction for a decade: concrete hotels, a cable car to the top of Fansipan since 2016, and a main square that could be anywhere. If your itinerary has you sleeping in Sa Pa town for three nights and doing day walks out of it, you have bought the wrong trip.
The valley below the town is a different matter. Muong Hoa runs south-east for about fifteen kilometres between the Hoang Lien Son ridge and the hills opposite, terraced from the stream to somewhere near the cloud base, and the hamlets in it belong to Black Hmong, Giay, Tay and Red Dao families. We sleep in three of them and only pass through the town twice, both times briefly.
Graded 2 because no day exceeds sixteen kilometres or 700 m of ascent, and because there is a road within an hour of almost every point on the route. It is still a real walk: wet stone steps, mud in the shoulder months, and two stream crossings that are knee deep after rain. Trainers are not enough; you want boots with ankle support and a grip that handles wet rock.
Day by day
Hanoi to Lao Chai, over the first shoulder
Depart Hanoi at 06:30 on the Noi Bai to Lao Cai expressway, which has made this a five-and-a-half-hour drive rather than the overnight train it used to be. Lunch in Sa Pa at about 12:30, and you leave the town on foot at 14:00.
The path leaves the Muong Hoa road after two kilometres and drops through bamboo and then terraces into Lao Chai, nine kilometres in all with 180 m of climbing and 520 m of descent. It is deliberately an easy start on tired legs. You reach the homestay in time for a bucket wash before the light goes.
Lao Chai to Ban Ho, the length of the valley
The longest day, and the best one. You follow the true left bank of the Muong Hoa stream south-east, crossing it twice on suspension footbridges, through Ta Van, Su Pan and a string of hamlets that see fewer walkers each kilometre. Sixteen kilometres, 400 m of climbing and 900 m of descent, roughly seven hours with a long lunch.
The last hour drops steeply to Ban Ho at about 400 m, which is warm enough to feel like a different country from Sa Pa. There is a pool in the stream below the village and people usually swim before dinner.
Ban Ho to Thanh Phu, and back up to Ta Van
The climbing day. Thirteen kilometres with 700 m of ascent through Thanh Phu and Nam Cang, on a path that spends the first two hours in forest before opening onto the terraces again. It is the only day where the group naturally strings out, and the guide walks at the back.
A thirty-five-minute vehicle transfer at the end brings you back up the valley to Ta Van for the last night, which is the most comfortable house of the three and has hot water.
Ta Phin, then the drive back
A seven-kilometre morning loop on the other side of the town, through Ta Phin, which is Red Dao country and has a working herbal bath tradition rather than a staged one. The bath is optional, takes twenty minutes, and costs about USD 6 paid locally.
We leave Sa Pa at 14:00 and are in Hanoi between 19:30 and 20:00. As with all our northern routes, do not book a flight out of Hanoi on the evening of the last day.
Prices
| Party size | Private trek, per person | Set-departure group, per person |
|---|---|---|
| 1 walker | USD 1,140 | USD 490 |
| 2 walkers | USD 720 | USD 490 |
| 3 - 4 | USD 560 | USD 470 |
| 5 - 8 | USD 470 | USD 450 |
| 9 - 10 | USD 430 | USD 450 |
What the price includes
- Three nights in named village homestays, with mattress, mosquito net and blanket
- Private vehicle and driver, Hanoi to Sa Pa and back, and the day three transfer
- An English-speaking trekking guide walking the whole route with you
- A Black Hmong or Giay village guide on days two and three
- All meals listed above, including two packed lunches
- Muong Hoa valley fees and stream bridge tolls
- Refill drinking water throughout
What it does not include
- International and domestic flights
- Travel insurance covering trekking and evacuation, which we check
- The Ta Phin herbal bath, about USD 6 paid locally
- The Fansipan cable car, if you add a day for it
- Drinks other than water and homestay tea
- Tips for the guide, the driver and the host families
Pictures
Who this trek is not for
- Anyone expecting Sa Pa town to be charming. It is a construction site with a good view, and we spend as little time in it as the route allows.
- Walkers who will not wear boots. Two days of this route are on wet stone and the ankle injuries we have seen have all been in trainers.
- Travellers who want the terraces green and gold at the same time. Green is June and July, gold is the second half of September into early October, and no month gives both.
- Anyone who finds being approached to buy handicrafts stressful. On days one and four you will be walked with and sold to, politely and persistently. It is a real economy and we will not pretend it is not there.
- Parties who want a summit. Fansipan from this route means the cable car, which is not a trek; the walking ascent is a separate private trip we run for people we have met.
Questions travellers ask most
Is the night train better than the road?
It used to be the only sensible option. Since the expressway opened, the road is five and a half hours in daylight against roughly eight hours in a bunk plus a 05:30 arrival and a further 40 minutes uphill. We use the road, and we do not charge less for it.
If you particularly want the train we will book a soft-sleeper cabin and rebuild day one around it, at about USD 55 per person extra.
Will we be walking with people trying to sell us things?
On day one out of Sa Pa and on day four at Ta Phin, yes, and often for an hour or more. On days two and three, very little. The women who walk with you are mostly from the villages you are heading to, and buying one thing from the person who walked with you is the graceful way to end it.
How cold does it get?
At the homestays, which are between 400 m and 1,000 m, it is mild all year. In December and January the valley can sit at 8 to 12 degrees with drizzle, and the houses are not heated beyond the kitchen fire. Sa Pa town at 1,500 m occasionally sees snow in January, which is a local news event rather than a walking condition.
Can teenagers do this route?
From about thirteen, yes, and it is the northern route we recommend for families. Below thirteen, day two at sixteen kilometres is too long and we would move you to Pu Luong instead, which has shorter days and a four-hour drive rather than five and a half.
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