A place you must visit many times in your life.

(To Quoc) - Fansipan is called a once-in-a-lifetime destination, a place one must visit many times in a lifetime, because each time one reaches the "sacred peak" - where humans, mythology, and mountains coexist - visitors will experience a different emotion, a different experience.

Vietnam doesn't have a mountain that symbolizes the entire nation like Mount Fuji in Japan or the Matterhorn in Switzerland… But if we had to choose one mountain that Vietnamese people could proudly talk about forever, it would undoubtedly be Fansipan – the highest peak in the three former Indochinese countries (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos). It's no coincidence that the Vietnamese have a saying, "Everyone has their own Fansipan peak," to describe the greatest dream in each person's life.

Fansipan has always been a popular tourist destination - Photo: Minh Tú

Fansipan, also known locally as Hua Xi Pan, means "giant, precarious rock slab." According to the Vietnam Institute of Geology, the entire mountain is a magnificent granite massif that emerged from deep within the earth more than 250 million years ago.

Northwestern Vietnam is renowned for its rugged terrain, among the most challenging in Southeast Asia, but Fansipan is part of the Hoang Lien Son range—the most complex mountain range in this region. According to many sources, the Hoang Lien Son range is also the southeasternmost part of the majestic Himalayas.

The year-round cloud cover and rugged terrain have enveloped Fansipan in a mesmerizing and surreal beauty. Strangely, this beauty appears differently to each person. When the French first explored this place 120 years ago, they compared Sa Pa to the famous Alps of Europe.

A Vietnamese person raised on folklore might believe that Fansipan is the gateway connecting the sky and the earth. An adventurous traveler might believe that the beauty of Fansipan evokes a sense of the majestic Himalayas. Whatever the association, Fansipan, beyond its grandeur, also possesses a close connection and creates a feeling of familiarity for everyone.

The rugged terrain meant that the journey to conquer Fansipan peak was once only for those passionate about adventure, courageous, and healthy enough to trek through the dense jungle, taking 2 to 5 days and nights of arduous climbing and sleeping on the mountain to reach the summit.

Mentioning Fansipan, many tourists have thought of it as an unattainable dream. Fansipan is like a sleeping paradise, a promised land for many who have visited and fallen in love with Sa Pa, but cannot reach it due to the long travel time.

In 2016, the cable car system, constructed by Sun Group and implemented by the world's most renowned cable car manufacturer, Doppelmayr Garaventa, opened up opportunities for tourists of all ages to conquer the highest mountain in Indochina. The journey, which used to take 2-5 days and nights, was shortened to just 15-20 minutes of flying through the clouds.

The swirling sea of ​​clouds as seen from the Fansipan cable car cabin - Photo: Minh Tú

When the doors of the Fansipan cable car cabin open, visitors see the sky and earth merging into one, a sea of ​​clouds swirling and flowing, and sunlight brighter than anywhere else in Vietnam. And if you visit Fansipan on a cloudy day, you'll feel like you're traveling back in time, half real, half dream, amidst the mist and clouds, glimpses of spiritual structures resembling ancient Vietnamese temples from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Fansipan is renowned not only for its breathtaking natural beauty but also for its four distinct seasons and the vibrant blooms of flowers throughout the twelve months of the year. Many of these flowers have been brought back by local tourism professionals, who meticulously cultivate, nurture, and care for them.

Springtime on Fansipan sees flowers blooming amidst the clouds, leading the way to the Heavenly Gate. Forests of cherry blossoms and Himalayan cherry blossoms weave a tapestry of serene spring colors, captivating the majestic mountains where morning dew gently calls the birds to return. Spring is also the time when 300-400-year-old rhododendron arches awaken, displaying their vibrant blossoms and weaving exquisite patterns on the centuries-old mountain landscape.

Summer on the mountaintop is a symphony of flowers and wind, when Vietnam's largest rose valley, located in the Sun World Fansipan Legend tourist area, dons a new coat of red climbing roses, a specialty found only in Sa Pa. The slopes of the hillsides are also in full bloom, as beautiful as fluffy purple clouds in the mist and sunlight.

Autumn in Fansipan is the season for "cloud hunting." At an altitude of 3,143 meters, swirling clouds flow like rivers enveloping the sacred peak. Terraced rice paddies cling to the mountain slopes like golden waterfalls, cascading from the clouds. In any area of ​​Sun World Fansipan Legend, visitors can also see fields of red wildflowers dyeing the mountains a mesmerizing red. It's still autumn, still red, but this red is truly different from that in temperate countries.

In winter, temperatures on the summit of Fansipan can drop to -9 degrees Celsius, making it one of the rare places in Southeast Asia where you can see ice and snow. At times, the snow cover can be more than half a meter thick, creating a breathtaking scene that looks like something out of a fairy tale from beautiful Northern Europe.

In every moment, in every season, Fansipan and Sa Pa have a very different, very unique beauty - Photo: Minh Tú

Choosing Fansipan as your destination also means choosing to explore Sa Pa - a place where the diverse ethnic groups of Northwest Vietnam converge.

There's a beautiful song that describes the people of Sa Pa: "The sun rises from your cheeks," referring to the radiant smiles of the people of Northwest Vietnam and their rosy cheeks from the sun. Only when meeting the ethnic minorities of the highlands—H'Mong, Giáy, Tày, Dao, Xa Phó—in the peaceful Northwest cultural space, like a small village at the foot of Fansipan mountain, can visitors truly imagine the radiant beauty, as if embracing the sun itself, reflected in their colorful brocade dresses.

The sounds of the vibrant bamboo pole dances and the haunting melodies of the bamboo flute create the quintessential sounds of Sa Pa. These are the things that make visitors fondly remember this land.

Visiting Sa Pa also offers a unique culinary experience with wild vegetables, thang co (a local stew), and drinking rượu (traditional Vietnamese rice wine) with the locals. You can also participate in characteristic festivals such as the Rose Festival, the Golden Harvest Festival, the Winter Festival, and watch horse racing in a race with a very poetic name: "Horses on the Clouds".

Each time visitors come to Fansipan or Sa Pa, they will never find the same experience repeated. Because in every moment, in every season, Fansipan and Sa Pa possess a very different, unique beauty. That's why Fansipan is called a once-in-a-lifetime destination, a place one must visit many times in their lifetime, because each time they reach the sacred peak – where humanity, mythology, and mountains coexist – visitors will experience a different emotion, a different experience.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/fansipan-noi-phai-den-nhieu-lan-trong-doi-20241118170208346.htm