Fansipan
At 3,143 M The Highest Mountain In Indochina, Called The Roof Of Indochina. A Cable Car Opened In 2016 Takes Visitors To Near The Summit In About 15 Minutes, With A Final 600 Step Climb, Or Fit Trekkers Can Walk It In Two Days. Part Of Hoang Lien National Park, Usually In Cloud · Sapa, Lao Cai
Fansipan, at 3,143 m, is the highest mountain in Indochina and is nicknamed the Roof of Indochina. It rises in the Hoang Lien range above the hill town of Sapa in the far north, inside Hoang Lien National Park. Until the cable car opened in 2016 it was a hard two-day trek. Now a three-station cable car runs from the Sapa valley in about 15 minutes, and the last stretch is a climb of roughly 600 steps, with an optional inclined railway and escalators nearby. At the top are a stupa, pagodas, a large bronze Buddha and a summit marker. Be honest about the odds: the summit is in cloud much of the year, clear views are rare, and it can be cold and windy even when Sapa is mild. The upper area is busy and commercial, with tour groups and many photo stops. Fit trekkers can still walk it over two days with a guide, and that is the real mountain. Sapa town is the base. The Sapa Rice Terraces are a separate place nearby.
Hoang Lien Son range above Sapa, reached by cable car from the Sapa valley station or on foot from Tram Ton, Sapa, Lao Cai, Vietnam
The cable car runs daily from morning to late afternoon, with exact times varying by season, so confirm the current hours. It can be suspended in strong wind, heavy fog or storms, and may close for maintenance. Nothing is FREE on the cable car route, as you pay at the valley station, and it is not closed on a fixed weekday. The summit itself and the trek route are open to trekkers, but the park can restrict trails in wet weather or after storms. Tet (lunar new year) brings the heaviest crowds, not closures. Trekking has no set opening hours: groups start at dawn.