It's easy to see why the French chose the spot where Sapa now sits when they founded the hillstation in 1922. On the brink of a plunging valley, edged by tumbling rice terraces and watched over by Mt Fansipan, there is no denying how breathtaking this place is.

After Vietnam’s energy-filled cities, Sapa is refreshing both in terms of climate and the slower pace of life that exists here – it is all about getting out into some pretty spectacular nature. Sapa is also the place to meet the colourful, ethnic minority people who call the surrounding hills home – you’ll see them on Sapa’s streets selling handicrafts, or for the more energetic, trekking out to the local villages, through the incredible terraced rice paddies, to get a glimpse at their subsistence way of life is a real must.