Places to visit in and around Sa Pa
Places to visit in and around Sa Pa Sa Pa Market All manner of hill-tribe clothing, jewellery and handicrafts, some quite old, are on sale – after fierce bargaining – in the main Sa Pa Market. The ethnic-minority attire has been cleverly altered for foreign body shapes. Vendors gather at the market every day, but the best time to visit is early on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Throughout the week, Black Hmong and Red Dao women wander about town, aggressively touting their clothing and jewellery. Sapa tours Sa Pa Church Replaced in the last decade with all manner of mini-hotels and karaoke bars, only a few original buildings, replete with balconies and cupolas, linger from Sa Pa’s days as a French hill station. One of the most noteworthy is Sa Pa Catholic Church. Built in 1930, it was shelled in 1952 by the French and again, in 1979, by the Chinese. Repaired in 1994, a priest comes in from Lao Cai twice a week to preach to a packed congregation able to recite Mass from memory. Nor...