In search of something more than terraced fields and misty mornings? Sapa Tours visit Xa Pho People in Nam Sai invites you to venture beyond the tourist bubble, to one of the remotest and richest cultural corners of Vietnam. Other Sapa Tours don’t come close to opening up the life of the Xa Pho people, an ethnic group hardly met by tourists, whose traditional ways, dances, and lifestyles remain unpolluted by mass tourism. Only a mere 30 kilometers away from Sapa, Nam Sai village is where authenticity is still the norm, and every tourist becomes a part of a living cultural exchange.
Step inside Nam Sai, and you’re stepping back in time. Tucked away from the tourist routes of mainstream Sapa Tours, you’ll discover the Xa Pho people, a village in mere existence, a way of life fading quietly away. Through our Sapa tours visit Xa Pho People in Nam Sai, you get to experience one of the country’s most tenuous cultural heritage, living on in the beat of everyday life, in the curves of hand-woven fabric, and the songs sung around the hearth at night.
For a long time, the Xa Pho have co-existed in balance with the natural environment. Their lives are dominated by the cultivation of terraced rice, and corn, and gathering in the forest of mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and medicinal herbs. On our Sapa tours visit Xa Pho People in Nam Sai, visitors typically observe the pre-dawn journey to the fields, the planting cadence along the bent terraces, and children assisting in gathering the wood for the fire using handcrafted tools.
However, as modernization inches its way in, the traditional ways are under threat. Youngsters are being attracted more and more to urban employment, and traditional farming wisdom can disappear if not passed on actively.
No excursion by the Sapa tours visit Xa Pho People in Nam Sai would be complete without witnessing or even participating in their traditional dances. What is so remarkable about Xa Pho dance is its naturalness. These dances, the demure “mua khan” (scarf dance) or the lively “mua di lay nuoc” (water-fetching dance), are not choreographed at all. They have passed down through watching and doing, naturally unfolding like the mountain streams that nourish the village.
Dancers glide along with elegance and deliberateness, replicating everyday actions and paying homage to spiritual deities, performed typically in a time of ceremonies to venerate spirits of the forests, river deities, or the ancestral spirits of the rice fields.
In contrast to other ethnic minorities who have written scripts or recorded songs, the history of the Xa Pho is passed down orally. They learn traditional songs and lullabies at a young age and sing while working, at celebrations, and in quiet, moonlit moments under the stars. These are not performances, they’re memory, survival, and identity.
While on your Sapa tours, you will come to sit next to a grandmother who sings a song sung by her mother, one of the words and phrases that were improvised at the moment to express a mood, teaching, or a desire. This oral tradition is personal, fleeting, and completely irreproducible.
Xa Pho People in Nam Sai (Sours: craftlink)
Pistachio Hotel Sapa 4* (Sours: booking)
Bac Ha Market (Sours: sapatoursfromhanoi)
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Nam Sang Village (Sours: tplaocai)
Indigo dying workshop (Sours: baodantoc)
Sapa (Sours: xesaoviet)
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The Xa Pho have a strong spiritual connection to the natural environment. Most forest groves, river springs, and rocky outcrops are said to be occupied by spirits of the ancestors or of nature. When you’re hiking around these holy places on your Sapa tours visit to Xa Pho People in Nam Sai, keep your voice low, don’t disturb the animals, and always stick with the directions of your guide when getting close to sites of worship.
Taking pictures is a great way to reminisce about your travels but permission must always be sought before the villagers, and the elderly and children in particular, are photographed. Ceremonies, including dancing or praying to spirits of the forest, are not performances, they’re living traditions. Doing so will keep the Sapa Tours authentic, not intrusive.
Considerate presents do come a long way If you’re overnight in a homestay in the locality as part of the Sapa tours, it is a good idea to bring along small symbolic gifts. School supplies, a book, a postcard of your homeland, or a simple toy are niceties that build warm connections. There should not be a need to splurge too much thoughtfulness is the priority.
The best months to Sapa tours visit Xa Pho People in Nam Sai are:
Steer clear of the heavy summer rains, which can render roadways to Nam Sai slippery or hazardous to travel on.
For travelers opting for the 3-day Sapa tours visit Xa Pho People in Nam Sai: anticipate rustic simplicity rather than high tech. Nam Sai homestays are simple and cozy: wooden floors, communal washrooms, and no internet connection. What you will get in return is true connection, peaceful stargazing at night, and the unusual opportunity to live the way the Xa Pho do.
Sapa tours visit Xa Pho People in Nam Sai is not just a tour, but a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to the living tradition of one of the country’s remotest communities. For a deeper interaction, this is your time. Let us at Impress Travel guide your tour with flair, attention, and insider knowledge.
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We went on a private trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, the whole trip plan was organized for us by the Impress Travel Company from Vietnam, the company did an amazing job, the whole trip was organized in a wonderful way with an amazing match between the various parties, their choices were correct and the quality of the hotels chosen were very high quality and it is important to note that the price was low in comparison To other agencies, thanks to Impress Travel and especially to Daniel who was tolerant and open to changes and organized the route for us.
Impress travel were amazing. Did my bookings with Daniel for our tour of Vietnam and I must say Daniel was very professional and prompt with his services. All the arrangement, plans, pick-up & drop-off services, hotels, vehicles, sightseeing tours and guides were spot on and excellent. Did 4 nights Hanoi, 1 night Hà Long Bay cruise, 3 nights Hoian, 4 nights Saigon and 1 night in Can Tho. It was totally awesome. Every part of the journey was superbly arranged and planned. I will highly recommend Impress Travel for anyone interested in visiting Vietnam. Very organized and reliable!
I booked with Impress Travel in July. My contact person was Tommy Thang. He is an amazing person. He was very helpful. He changed my program twice for me. Very accommodating!
We started our holiday in the north (Sapa)of Vietnam and travelled down to HCMC.
The tour was fantastic, Tommy's arrangements were to the"T".
I will always use them if I have to visit the area again and recommend them to one and all.
Thank you once again Mr.Tommy and the Impress Team.
Sulaiman Pochee
Great value for money with 4 stars hotel accommodation for 4 couples. The tour guide has been very helpful and brought us to amazing places in Sapa. We want to thanks Thuy the tour guide and especially Mark from Impress Travel for his great service and assurance throughout our trip. We’ll definitely use his service for other tour packages in other parts of Vietnam.
This is the second time we travel to Vietnam with IMPRESS Travel. First time, we booked our holiday to Hanoi, Halong Bay & Sapa during Dec 2018 with Impress.
Second time, we travel to Hoi An, Hue & Danang (Central Vietnam) during Jan 2019.
My friends & I are very glad & happy with all the hotels stay in Central Vietnam, the meals provided are delicious. We are greatly appreciated with all the tour arrangement by Tommy & his team (tour guide).
Especially, Mr. NHAT C.V. He is helpful, cheerful, knowledgeable and very professional. He always volunteer to take a nice pictures for six of us (group) .
We enjoyed our holiday with Impress travel. We will definitely come back to Vietnam again with Impress
An amazing sapa tour to admire the dramatic scenery of Sapa Hill Station in the northwest of Vietnam such as imposing rice terraces, stunning green valleys, hills row on hills, mountains of mountains.
Three days of Sapa easy trekking to explore the most iconic attractiveness of Sapa such as rice terraces, lush-green valleys, imposing mountains rows of mountains, the cultural diversity.
To do the athletic activities as easy trekking to visit the rustic hill tribe villages via the stunning rice terraces, to meet at the friendly communication with local ethnic people, enjoy local foods.
The tour bring you to Sapa easy trekking tour to ethnic villages & O Quy Ho Glass bridge where travelers floating experience by the imposing scenery around and the deep smoking bottom.
