Experience Homestay and trekking in Ta Phin Village in Sapa, Vietnam

Where is Ta Phin Village

While other villages in Sapa such as Cat Cat, Lao Chai, Ta Van are located in the south of Sapa center, Ta Phin Village is 12km (7.5 miles) in the north of Sapa. This village is 30km (18.6 miles) from Lao Cai railway station. When traveling from Lao Cai city to Sapa, you can take a turn for Ta Phin Village. 

How to get to Ta Phin Village 

To visit Ta Phin Village, tourists often make their way from Hanoi to Sapa. There are multiple choices of transportation to travel from Hanoi to Sapa such as overnight train, day-time limousine or overnight sleeping bus. From Sapa town, visitors can easily get a private transfer to ride a bicycle to Ta Phin Village. It takes around 30 minutes to drive from Sapa to Ta Phin Village. The transportation normally drops you off at the beginning of the village. You then can begin the walk to the selected homestay or your hiking route if you don’t spend the night there. 

Indigenous ethnic tribes living in Ta Phin

Most of the villagers living in Ta Phin Village are of the Red Dao ethnic group. Red Dao people, along with Hmong and Giay, are three biggest ethnic groups living in Sapa. Red Dao people’s costumes are mainly in indigo and black. However, the beautiful clothes must depict five colors in which you can distinguish them from the outstanding red scarf.

There are H’mong people living in Ta Phin Village too, but make up a small portion only. Despite living in the same village, these two tribal groups are distinctly distinguished from outfits, dialects, housing styles, jewelries and festival celebrations. 

Things to do in Ta Phin

Ta Phin Village is a hideaway from the glittering and crowded Sapa town. If Sapa town characterizes big hotels, restaurants, vibrant night activities, Ta Phin Village introduces a pristine scene and cultural experiences. Here are interesting things to do when travel to Ta Phin Village in Sapa:

Trekking in Ta Phin Village

Sapa one day trek is a must-do to get into the hill tribe villages. Tourists in Sapa can go trekking in Cat Cat, Y Linh Ho, Lao Chai, Ta Van and Ta Phin Village. These villages are close to Sapa and convenient for a half or one day Sapa trekking. There are remote villages that are around 1 hour drive from Sapa such as Nam Cang, Thanh Kim, etc. 

The road for trekking in Ta Phin Village is mostly plain and walkable. There are some slopes and streams as well as bamboo bridges on the way. You will pass by terraced rice fields, the farming fields and local houses. Trekking in Ta Phin Village, along with other hill tribes in Sapa are best destinations for adventure travel Vietnam experience. 

Staying at homestay in Ta Phin Village

The best way to learn about an indigenous culture is living with the local people. We reached Mrs. Man May’s house and lived under the same roof with her family. Instead of living in houses on stilts, Red Dao people in Ta Phin Village live in grounded houses. In each house, there are two to three generations living together. In the house of the Red Dao people, there are two kitchens, one of which is for cooking, and an extra kitchen near the door to warm them up.

We stayed in the guests’ room which is basic but clean. All meals are prepared by Mrs. Man May. During our stay there, we also took a traditional herbal bath of Red Dao people and learnt weaving techniques from her daughter in-law. These experiences at the homestay are so unique to try when staying at a Sapa Village. Is Sapa worth visiting is a question asked recently because the town is getting hustle and bustle, along with the dirt from constructions here and there. However, after staying with a local homestay in Ta Phin Village, you can answer for sure that Sapa is still worth visiting for all the experience and insight on indigenous culture you have learnt.

Take Red Dao people’s herbal bath

Red Dao people’s traditional herbal baths bring up benefits for our health. It helps improve diseases relating to bones and joints. At the end of the year, local people also take herbal baths to remove all unlucky things. Red Dao people collect all the ingredients for herbal baths around their village. They combine over 10 or up to 120 types of plants and medicine plants to cook for a bath. 

Red Dao people’s herb baths is one element that Sapa is famous for beside the Fansipan peak, trekking routes and waterfalls. Therefore, these herbal baths are available in Sapa town and nearby villages. However, it’s great to have this bath in the village of people who process it. A normal duration for soaking yourself in a herbal bath is around 15 - 30 minutes. 

Visit Ta Phin abandoned monastery

There were 12 ascetic nuns expelled from Japan, and accepted by the French to relocate to Ta Phin Village in 1942. They received some cattles and livestocks and began to produce foods from these animals such as butter, cheese, and fresh milk. The nuns also produced fruit jams, planted buckwheat and other plants. The stone monastery was constructed; however the unstable security due to war made them abandon the place and return to Hanoi. The Ta Phin abandoned monastery hasn’t been maintained since then. 

Ta Phin Cave

On your walking route around Ta Phin Village, you will find a 5m high cave entrance. That’s Ta Phin Cave on karst mountain. Visitors can get down for around 30m (98 feet) to explore this cave. Used to be a cave for bats, this cave was the weapon warehouse during the frontier war between Vietnam and China. The cave can be dark; therefore you should get a torch to see the natural stalactite and stalagmite. 

Learn embroidary and brocade weaving skills from locals

When having free time from their farming works, the minority women and ladies do their brocade weaving. As they don’t do it all the time, it takes weeks and months to finish a piece of brocade weaving and embroidery. Look closer to each pattern, you will find a variety of shapes and colors. Red Dao people make their brocade with shapes of square, rectangle, lozenge, pine trees, flowers, etc. The trousers are more colorful with embroidery which can be seen on both sides of the cloth. Red Dao people ‘s costumes include head scarf, hat, shirt, trousers, waist belt, leg wrapping, etc. 

For all the above intriguing experiences in Ta Phin Village in Sapa, this place is a great option for Where to visit in sapa vietnam, along with other things to do in Sapa. If you wish to include the visit to Ta Phin Village into your travel itinerary in Vietnam, let us know. We'll arrange a customized package as per request. Contact Bonzer Tour now for further consultancies!