Fansipan is a mountain in Vietnam, the highest in Indochina, at 3 143 m. It is located in the Lào Cai province in Northwest Vietnam, 9 km southwest of Sa Pa Township in the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range.
Fansipan is dubbed "the Roof of Indochina"; The topography of Fansipan is varied. Muong Hoa Valley, at the lowest altitude (950 to 1 000m), is created by a narrow strip of land at the base on the east side of the mountain. It can be climbed in a steep and fairly strenuous hike.
Starting from Sa Pa Town in Sa Pa District, Lao Cai Province and going northwards for 15km in the direction of Bac Waterfall, you will arrive at the entrance of Tram Ton forest, which lies 1,700m above sea level. Start the trek to conquer the Fansipan Mountain. After going along a stream, you will be faced a steep slope – the beginning of a difficult adventure. Fortunately, in the forests there are neither terrestrial leeches nor mosquitoes, which are abundant in low laying forests. After one hour of trekking under a low tree canopy then to enter a jungle of tall trees, so big that it took several people joining hands to completely embrace just one. It is a tropical primeval forest with two specific layers of age-old and low trees. According to Bui Ngoc Phu, a forester at HoangLien National Park, the forest is home to various species of Do quyen flowers (Rhododendron) which blossom throughout the year, with each species blossoming for several weeks, making the forest seem to be covered with a colourful silk.
The higher the area, the more diverse the ecological system was. There are nearly 3,000 species of trees and plants belonging to many families, including more than 2,000 species of high-grade plants belonging to 771 orders of 200 families, accounting for 20% of Vietnam’s flora. There are also 337 high-grade plants accounting for 44% of the species listed in Vietnam’s Red Book and 16 species of them have been listed in the world’s Red Book. Of these species, 50% are medicinal plants, timbers, ornamental plants, food crops, latex- and attar-bearing plants.
Hoang Lien National Park has 832 species of wildlife including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. Due to its ecological diversity, Hoang Lien National Park has been recognised as an ASEAN HeritageGarden.
At the altitude of 2,200m and you will stop over at the Park’s Management Board and enjoy with the beautiful scene. The sky is cloudless and there will be beautiful Di thao flowers with its faint perfume pervading the air. After lunch, you will get on the trek again.
Night fell quickly and it become cooler. The difference in temperature on the mountain is great within a year, from 320C at maximum to 70C at minimum.
Early in the morning and full of excitement as you will look forward to continuing the four-hour trek to the summit. At last, you will set foot on the summit of Fansipan, the roof of Indochina after a day of climbing the mountain and a night of sleeping in the forest. While enjoying the scenery of blue sky and cloud above and ranges of mountains and forests below, you will be felt extremely happy and enjoyed for what you have done in couple days.