Located in Vietnam's remote North West Mountains, Sapa is famous for both its fine, rugged scenery and also its rich cultural diversity. Sapa, at 1,600m above sea level, is an incredibly picturesque resort town that lies on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range near the Chinese border in northwestern Vietnam, known as "the Tonkinese Alps". Sapa and its surrounding region is host to many hill tribes, as well as rice terraces, lush vegetation and Fansipan (Phan Xi Phang), the highest peak in Vietnam at 3,143m. As a result of a recent surge in popularity Sapa has rapidly become a tourist hot-spot.
Sapa is home to a wealth of colorful, diverse hill tribes, who have steadfastly resisted integration into Vietnamese society and modern life. In fact, the hill tribes, including the Hmong, Dao (Dzao), Tay, Day (Dzay) and Xa Pho, comprise the majority of inhabitants in the area, outnumbering the Vietnamese (Kinh) who prefer the warmer low lands.