Vietnam Sapa Hill Tribe Trek
2-12 September 2010
Fast Facts:
Min Age: 18
Registration fee: £495pp
Remaining cost to Challenge Company (which can be paid for by participant or raised in sponsorship):£1563
Mininum additional sponsorship to be raised for Autistica: £432
Total Distance: 75km
Fitness Level:
Vietnam is a country filled with captivating natural beauty and tranquil village life. Its highlands continue to yield new species and team with exotic wildlife. Its islands and beaches are among the finest in all of Southeast Asia, and its cuisine is excellent. Vietnam borders Cambodia, Laos and China and stretches over 1,600kms along the eastern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula.
The Sapa Hill Tribe Trek will start in the capital city Hanoi and then head further north to Sapa on the luxury Victoria Express Train. Sapa is a typical rugged northern Vietnamese area with lots of terraces, large rolling hills, deep valleys and rice fields. Unlike other treks passing over similar terrain this expedition has the essence of a challenge without the discomfort, making culture shock less ‘shocking’ and the enjoyment factor higher! Each daily trek will be up to 17kms a day, through local villages of Black H’mong, Red Dao, Tay & Sa Fo minority People experiencing first hand, their culture and tradition of thousands of years. Night times will be spent camping in valleys, staying in local home-stays and in the beautiful Ban Ho eco-lodge with its organic cuisines and vital atmosphere.
Itinerary
Day 1: International Departure
Meet at UK airport check-in desk for the overnight flight to Hanoi. Our airport rep will be there to assist you with thecheck-in and any last minute questions.
Day 2: Hanoi Walking Tour
This morning you arrive in Hanoi and transfer (45mins) to your hotel. You have the rest of the day at your leisure to rest and relax after your long journey. Alternatively you can enjoy a short walking tour with your expedition leader to explore the incredible Old Quarter and charming lakes of Hanoi, (be sure to bring your camera!) Hanoi became Vietnam’s capital in 1010, and still has many preserved ancient architectural works including the One Pillar Pagoda (built in 1042) and the Temple of Literature (built in 1070). It has a lovely landscape of lakes, shaded boulevards, verdant public parks, colonial French houses and astounding modern skyscrapers. Hanoi's enchanting Old Quarter is rich with over a thousand years of history. This evening you will have a general briefing on the expedition ahead and a fantastic welcome dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight in a hotel in Hanoi.
Day 3: Hanoi Sightseeing. Overnight Train to Lao Cai
This morning you will explore the colonial city of Hanoi. Take part in the early morning exercises with the locals around Hoan Kiem Lake - a must for the more active! After breakfast, you will visit the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh and then drive on to the Museum of Ethnology to visit the final resting place of president Ho Chi Minh; his old residence and One Pillar Pagoda. The mausoleum was built on the edge of Ba Dinh Square, the place where Ho Chi Minh delivered the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Vietnam to half a million of his countrymen in 1945, following the surrender of the Japanese. The angular greygranite edifice stands stern and alone against the skyline. The street and square are usually so abandoned that thewhole scene is enormously stately, like a miniature version of Tiananmen Square. The Museum of Ethnology is one of Vietnam’s best with interactive displays and a wide collection of well preserved objects and documents. It is also a great place to learn about Vietnam’s 52 ethnic minority peoples. From the Museum of Ethnology, you will drive back to the centre of town. Lunch will give you the opportunity to sample a typical noodle soup dish. In the afternoon you will take a guided walk to some of Hanoi’s hidden markets and old streets or enjoy free time. In the evening your guide will meet you at your hotel in Hanoi and transfer with you to Hanoi Railway Station to board the luxury Victoria Express Train to Lao Cai (2200hrs). Overnight on board the train.
Day 4: Lao Cai to Sapa through Ma Tra & Ta Phin
Villages – 5hr warm up walk / 7kms
Your train arrives into Lao Cai in the early hours of the morning (0600hrs) and you will transfer by bus (40mins) up the mountain road, winding along terraced hillsides to Sapa; a former French hill resort and home to some of Vietnam's most colourful ethnic groups. Here you will enjoy a buffet breakfast at the Victoria Hotel. After breakfast you will commence with a short hike through Sapa, out along a narrow trail through beautiful gardens and lush pine forests. Today you pass through the Black H’mong ethnic minority village of Ma Tra, where the Black H’mong tribal people live. Following this, gear up for another trek through rice paddy fields and spectacular scenery. This lunchtime you will take a rest in a local ethnic school for a light picnic before continuing the afternoon trek to the Red Dao minority village of Ta Phin, home to Red Dao and Black H’mong ethnic minority hill
tribes.
Day 5: Lao Chai to Seomiti via Ta Van village – 6.5hrs
trek / 16kms
This morning you will meet your trekking support team for a full challenge briefing. You will leave Sapa around 0900hrs, where your vehicles drive you (15mins) into the valley south of Sapa. The trekking begins at Lao Chai with a nice warm up hike to the Zay village of Ta Van - where you ascend the mountain (uphill steeply!) and cross a high pass at 1,700m. From here you have a magnificent view to the minority villages and terraced rice fields beneath you. The walk is along the track that the Vietnamese fled along when the Chinese invaded Sapa in 1979. Tonight you sleep in tents near the remote Black H’mong village, Seomiti. Your tents sleep 6-8 people and all camping equipment and sleeping mats / bags are provided.
Day 6: Seomiti to Ta Trung Ho – 6-7hrs / 10kms
After breakfast you start the adventure of the day. Today’s trekking is beautiful; up hills and through valleys and crossing two rivers using a primitive, aerial ropeway and an old suspension bridge. Tonight you stay in Ta Trung Ho village, inhabited by the Red Dao minority. Both the valley and the village received their first foreign visitors in 1996 in connection with a special project in the area. Dinner and overnight in home-stay or tented camp in the village.
Day 7: Ta Trung Ho to Nam Tong. Overnight at Ban Ho- Eco-lodge - 7-8hrs / 11kms
Today you trek along the fringes of the rainforest skirting the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. You will ascend to the Red Dao village of Nam Toong where lunch will be prepared and served in a local school. This afternoon you continue hiking to the beautiful village of Ban Ho, located next to a gorgeous turquoise river. A final haul uphill out of the Sapa valley will bring you to the large roadside villageof Supan. From here the jeeps will transfer you (10kms) back up the valley to Supan and along the ridgeline to the wonderful Bon Ho Eco-lodge. In the evening you will enjoy a home cooked meal and local dance performance at the lodge. Overnight in eco-lodge.
Day 8: Ban Ho Valley through Thanh Phu village to Sin Chai – 5hrs / 14kms
Today’s trek starts by hiking from the eco-lodge into the incredibly scenic Ban Ho Valley along an easy trail. Here you will have the opportunity to visit and explore wooden houses which traditionally belong to the Tay ethnic minority. You follow the river until you meet the road which goes to Thanh Phu village. Lunch will be had in Thanh Phu in a local house. Leaving Thanh Phu you follow the trekking route at the bottom of the valley, offering the best view of the surrounding mountains. The trails will take you to Sin Chai village of Red Dao minority where the night will be spent in bamboo huts.
Day 9: Sin Chai to Nam Ket village and Lao Cai –
7.5hrs / 17kms
Today you have an early breakfast before the long trek heading toward Lao Cai. Once you leave Sin Chai, the expedition takes you into a fabulously mountainous area, another remote region of Vietnam. Red Dao ethnic minority inhabit the entire area. You trek through bamboo forest and lush jungle until reaching Nam Ket village, inhabited by Sa Fo minority people, where you rest for lunch. After lunch, the trek will be mostly downhill. After about half an hour, you will enjoy one of the most beautiful views of the challenge over a green valley lying along the Red River. Eventually you arrive in Ta Thang village of the Tay minority where you will drive (approx 1hr) to Lao Cai. At Lao Cai you will check-in and use day-rooms in a hotel for a hot shower and dinner before taking the night train to Hanoi. Overnight on board train in comfortable softsleeper compartments.
Optional Halong Bay Islands extension
The trip can be extended by another 3 days, visiting the Halong bay islands. Further details on request.
IMPORTANT
The itinerary is there as a guide and may change due to unusual weather patterns, the strength of the group and so on. We will do our very best to keep to the set itinerary, however we cannot be held responsible for any last minute changes that might occur. In all such circumstances, your expedition leader will have the final say.
Included in this trip
Your international flights to and from Vietnam, all meals and drinking water unless otherwise stated in the itinerary, all transfers, all accommodation, group first aid supplies, an English-speaking expedition leader and full local support team, a Charity Challenge T-Shirt, US$20 to the local community project, and discount from Nomad Travellers Stores for personal equipment. We also make a contribution through Climate Care to offset the equivalent CO2 emissions of your international flight.
Excluded from this trip
The following items are not included in your expedition and will be at your own expense - tips for the local support team, activities not mentioned in the itinerary, visa, departure tax (approx US$12), personal spending money and travel to and from UK airports.
Equipment Required
For a list of essential equipment you will need to take on this challenge, please download here.
IMPORTANT
This challenge has been organised by Charity Challenge on behalf of Autistica. To participate in this event you will need to make a registration fee payment to Charity Challenge of £498 a (further details will be supplied once you have registered your interest in taking part). This will secure your place on the challenge. You will then need to either pay or, or fundraise the additional £1563 to allow you to participate in the event. For this challenge you need to raise a further £432 in sponsorship monies. All fundraising monies should be made payable directly to Autistica and will assist in providing further research into autism spectrum disorders. Charity Challenge will be operating this Adventure Challenge but is not responsible for collection of payments from participants. Please read the FAQs on the Charity Challenge website.
If you have any questions about this system of payment and participation please email Philippa Stannard or telephone her on 0118 9016876.
