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Location: Fansipan Mountain is
located 9km south-west of Sapa
Townlet in the Hoang Lien Mountain
Range.
Characteristics: Fansipan is branded
"the Roof of Indochina" at the
height of 3, 143m; Fansipan is to be
approved as one of the very few
eco-tourist spots of Vietnam, with
about 2, 024 floral varieties and
327 faunal species.
The topography of Fansipan is
varied. Muong Hoa Valley, at the
lowest altitude (950-1, 000m), is
created by a narrow strip of land at
the base on the east side of the
mountain.
Geologists say the Hoang Lien
Mountain Range, with Fansipan as its
highest peak, did not emerge in the
mountainous North West of Vietnam
until the neozoic period (circ. 100
million years ago). Fansipan, a
rough pronunciation of the local
name “Hua Xi Pan” means “the tottery
giant rock”. The French came to
Vietnam and in 1905 planted a
landmark telling Fansipan’s height
of 3, 143m and branded it “the Roof
of Indochina”. Very few people
climbed to the top of Fansipan at
the time. Then came the long years
of war and Fansipan was left
deserted for hunting and savaging.
The trail blazed by the French was
quickly overgrown by the underbrush.
It takes six or seven days to reach
the 3, 143m summit, the highest peak
of the Indochina Peninsula.
In 1991, Nguyen Thien Hung, an army
man returned to the district town
and decided to conquer Fansipan.
Only on the 13th attempt did Hung,
with a H’Mong boy as his guide,
conquer the high peak by following
the foot steps of the mountain
goats. Scaling the height was meant
to satisfy his eager will and
aspiration to conquer the mountain
without expecting that his name
would be put down in the travel
guidebook. After that the Sapa
Tourism Agency started a new package
tour there. It seemed the Fansipan
Tour was meant only for those who
wished to test their muscular power.
The summit of Fansipan is accessible
all year round, but the best time to
make the ascent is from mid-October
to mid-November, and again in March.
Foreigners like best to book
Fansipan tours between October and
December, as this period is more
often than not free from the heavy
rains that obstruct the jaunt. But
the Vietnamese prefer their tours to
the peak of the mountain from
February to April, as it is not so
cold then. However, the best time
for the trek to the mountain is from
the end of February to the start of
March, when the flowers all flourish
and the climbers may behold the
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