Topas Ecolodge, a tour operator based 18km from Sa Pa, takes customers on a hike through the entire Muong Hoa Valley (in the northern highlands), which is home to many ethnic minority communities.

Customers take a night train from Ha Noi to Lao Cai and then a Topas bus to Sa Pa for breakfast before a full-day walk through the town and along a dirt trail through vegetable fields, paddy terraces, and along a river at the bottom of the valley.

They have dinner and spend the night at Topas's bungalows overlooking the valley. The next day, they spend some time in an ethnic village to experience daily life there.-VNS