Lào Cai Province

A mountainous province in northwest Vietnam, famed for the Sa Pa rice terraces and Fansipan peak, with the golden terraces of Mù Cang Chải spectacular in autumn.

Lào Cai lies in northwest Vietnam on the border with China's Yunnan Province, and was merged with the former Yên Bái Province in the 2025 administrative reorganization. Sa Pa is one of Vietnam's best-known mountain destinations: you can trek through terraced-field villages, experience the cultures of the Hmong, Dao and other ethnic minorities, and ride a cable car up Fansipan, the highest peak in Indochina. The Sunday market at Bắc Hà is also a highlight. In the former Yên Bái area, the Mù Cang Chải terraces are at their most spectacular in September and October, when the rice ripens. Spring and autumn bring pleasant weather, while the mountains are cold in winter. Lào Cai can be reached from Hanoi by overnight train or express bus.

Destinations

• Sa Pa
• Mu Cang Chai

Itineraries

• Northwest Vietnam Terraces: Mu Cang Chai to Sa Pa – Travel through Nghia Lo and Tu Le, cross the Khau Pha Pass, explore the Mu Cang Chai rice terraces, and trek in Sa Pa.
• Kunming to Hanoi by Rail: 7 Days Along the Yunnan–Vietnam Line – From Kunming, through the southern Yunnan old towns to the Hekou border, then via Sa Pa and an overnight train to Hanoi.