Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country located on the Indochinese Peninsula’s easternmost tip. The climate of the country varies greatly depending on topography and altitude, but it is generally classified as temperate or tropical. Snow only falls in Vietnam’s mountainous regions, and it never snows in the country’s most populous areas. Although Vietnam is not the coldest country in the world, it is rich in biodiversity and home to some breathtaking sights. Also, Vietnam has entered the list of 80 or so nations where you can go skiing, and indeed the shorter list of 30 or so countries where you can ski any day of the year, owing to the establishment of its first indoor snow facility. Snow Town has opened in Ho Chi Minh City (previously known as and still also referred to as Saigon) and is believed to have already drawn hundreds of families seeking to escape the outdoor heat and to be particularly popular with teens. In addition, there are more Outdoor Activities in Vietnam waiting for you to experience.
Where In Vietnam Does It Snow?
Sapa is the only spot in Vietnam where it snows. Sapa, a well-known tourist destination in Vietnam, attracts a huge number of visitors all year due to its pleasant climate and stunning mountain landscape. It is, in fact, the only spot in Vietnam where snow may be found in the winter. Many people choose Sapa as a destination for their Vietnam travels because of this feature. It is a must-visit especially when you are planning an adventure trip to Vietnam.
Sa Pa (also known as Sapa)
Sa Pa is a district-level town in the Lào Cai Province in Vietnam’s northwest. The town had a population of 61,498 people in 2018. The city has a total area of 677 km2. The town’s capital is located in Sa Pa. It is one of the area’s principal market towns, with Hmong, Dao (Yao), Giáy, Xa Pho, and Tay ethnic minority groups residing there. Sapa is home to Vietnam’s highest summit. The mountain, which is 10,311 feet above sea level, is frequently shrouded in clouds. It’s one of the most appealing trekking concepts in the country when combined with the surrounding terraces, valley walls, and rice paddles. In the area, there are a few ethnic minorities. They get along well with visitors, especially since the area has been a popular destination for trekkers for almost a century. Thousands of tourists visit Sa Pa every year to hike the hundreds of miles of trekking paths between and around the Dao villages of Ta Van and Ta Phin, and the town is currently thriving.
History
In northwest Vietnam’s Lào Cai Province, Sa Pa was a frontier township and the capital of the former Sa Pa District. It was inhabited by people about whom little is known at first. They left hundreds of petroglyphs, mostly composed of lines, throughout the valley, which experts believe date from the 15th century and represent local cadastres. The Hmong and Yao highland minorities followed. Several ethnic minority groups, including Hmong, Dao (Yao), Giáy, Pho Lu, and Tày, live in the township, which is one of the area’s main markets. These are the four main minority groups that can still be found in Sa Pa today. This highest of Vietnam’s valleys, which lies in the shadow of Phan-Xi-Png (Fansipan, 3143 m), the country’s highest peak, was never colonized by the Kinh (lowland Vietnamese). More than 200 boulders with ancient engravings can be found in Sa Pa. Since 1997, the “Area of Old Carved Stone in Sapa” has been on UNESCO’s tentative list. Sa Pa, the name of the Hmong hamlet, with “S” pronounced almost as hard as “Ch” in French, “Sh” in English and “S” in standard Vietnamese, so Chapa as the French called it, did not appear on the national map until the late 1880s when the French debarked in highland Tonkin.
“Sa P commune” is located near the current Sa Pa townlet, indicating the origin of the location name in the Hmong language. Military parties and missionaries from the Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris (MEP) began to visit the future site of Sa Pa Township in the following decade. As part of Tonkin’s ‘pacification,’ the French military marched from the Red River Delta into the northern mountainous regions. The border between China and Tonkin was formally agreed upon in 1894-96, and the Sa Pa area, just south of the border, was placed under French control. To combat banditry and political resistance on the sensitive northern frontier, the entire Lào Cai region, including Sa Pa, was placed under direct colonial military administration in 1891. In 1909, the first permanent French civilians arrived in Sa Pa.
The site had potential, according to health officials, because of its appealing continental climate. A military sanatorium for ailing officers, as well as a full-fledged military garrison, had been built by 1912. Then, starting in the 1920s, several wealthy professionals with sufficient financial resources had several private villas built in the area. In Tonkin, at the end of WWII, a long period of hostilities began that would last until 1954. Nearly all of the 200 or so colonial buildings in or around Sa Pa were destroyed in the process, either by Viet Minh sympathizers in the late 1940s or by French air raids in the early 1950s. The vast majority of the Vietnamese population fled for their lives, and the former township was put to sleep for a long time.
New residents from the lowlands began to migrate to the region in the early 1960s, thanks to the new Socialist regime’s New Economic Zones migration scheme. The brief Chinese occupation of the northern border region in 1979 had little impact on Sa Pa town, but it did for a month force the Kinh (lowland Vietnamese) population to flee. The final barrier to Sa Pa’s full rebirth as a popular vacation destination was removed in 1993 when the decision was made to fully open the door to international tourism. Sa Pa was once again on the tourist map, this time for a new generation of local elite tourists as well as foreign travelers.
When Does Sapa Get Snow?
Snow is a common weather condition that happens when the temperature drops too low. It is universally seen as a calamity for farmers. It is, nevertheless, a wonderful opportunity for travelers on Sapa excursions to see snowfall in Vietnam, which is a tropical country. It will snow if the sky is clear and there is no fog or rain, and the temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius. Snow usually falls between December 15 and January 1, depending on the weather conditions each year, which is Sapa’s coldest season. Snowfall usually lasts one to two days.