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Fansipan Mountain
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 |
