Climbing Fansipan Mountain, in Sapa, Vietnam

Fansipan Mountain is probably one of the most known attractions in Sapa, other than the beautiful terraced rice fields of course. In fact, as the highest peak in Indochina, at 3,143 meters (10,312 feet) above sea level, it’s quite well known throughout Vietnam.

And while climbing to the top would have required a steady pair of legs and a multi-day trek in the past, these days you can take a few cable cars to the top, and experience the peak in a fraction of the time - although trekking up the whole way is still an option if that’s what you’re looking for.

In this post, I’ll give you a bit of an overview of what you can expect when you visit Fansipan Mountain, and what you can do when you get there.

Fansipan Mountain Info

• Address (starting point): Sapa Station - Ga Tàu Leo Núi
• Hours:
  • Monday to Friday: 08:00 - 18:00
  • Saturday and Sunday: 07:30 - 18:30
• Time needed to visit:
  • If hiking: 2-3 days
  • If taking the cable car: ~ half a day
• Entrance fee:
  • ~900,000 VND for a return ticket, including the Sapa Station funicular to Muong Hoa Station and back, and the cable car from Hoang Lien Station to Fansipan Station and back
  • additional 800,000 VND if you opt to take the 2nd funicular to the peak
• Official website: fansipanlegend.sunworld.vn
• Official Facebook page: facebook.com/SunWorldFansipanLegend

The Start Point: Sapa Station

If you’re doing the typical funicular + cable car route, then the starting point for Fansipan mountain is Sapa Station, which is in a shopping complex in the center of Sapa Town. This is the station that leads to the funicular ride.

Now despite the trip to Fansipan mountain starting in Sapa, the actual mountain is about 9 km away from the town. The funicular ride takes you from Sapa Station to Muong Hoa Station, which is the base of the cable car ride up to Fansipan Station.

The funiculars, cable car, and various aspects of Fansipan mountain are actually run by Sun World, which is a company that operates a number of amusement parks and attractions throughout Vietnam. And similar to other Sun World attractions I’ve been to in Vietnam, there’s quite a long walk from the main entry point to the actual funicular station.

The decor though is really well done and quite beautiful, especially the actual funicular station and train itself.

The Funicular Ride

The ride on the funicular takes you through part of Sapa Town, during which you’ll get to see some of the beautiful rice fields and terraces that the area is known for.

The ride is a bit on the slow side, and takes about 8 minutes to get you to the Muong Hoa Station.

Below is a sped-up video I took of the ride from Sapa Station to Muong Hoa Station. I wish in retrospect that I’d brought my gimbal with me, as the video is quite rough, but it still gives a decent idea of what the ride is like.

Muong Hoa Station

Muong Hoa station is even more beautiful than Sapa station, with an old-world European feel to it. It’s really nicely done.

Once you make your way out of Muong Hoa Station, you’ll need to walk a bit and take a few escalators to get to the cable car station.

Before you do though, there’s a nice little garden area you can explore a bit just after exiting the funicular station.

There are various flower arrangements, a few sculptures, and a couple of other things to see here. Might make for some fun pics for your 'gram.

There’s also a slightly dishevelled looking stairway leading to a doorway that goes … nowhere. Well, not really nowhere, it brings you higher up so you can get a nice view of the surrounding nature.

The views get much better at the peak though, so don’t spend too much time here! 😁

Hoang Lien Station

After spending a quick minute getting some pics at Muong Hoa Station, we continued on to Hoang Lien Station to get to the cable car.

Hoang Lien station, like Sapa station, is quite beautifully decorated, and quite large to accommodate a lot of tourists. Thankfully though when we visited, it wasn’t too busy and so we had almost no wait at all.

The Cable Car Ride

I think cable car rides in Vietnam have quickly become one of my favourite experiences here. The rides themselves are quite smooth and relaxing, but the views … man oh man! The views are just spectacular.

In fact, some of the most stunning views of the rice terraces and mountains in Sapa are probably from the cable car ride up to Fansipan mountain.

So if you enjoy seeing the rice terraces, you have to take the cable car ride up to Fansipan mountain. It’s just breathtaking.

The cable cars at Fansipan mountain are of the 3-wire variety, which means they’re quite stable and can handle a lot of wind, and weight. As such, they fit quite a few people, but are still pretty spacious and give good views from all sides of the car.

The Pre-summit Pagoda Area

After the cable car ride, you’ll arrive at Fansipan Station, which is the base of the final area before heading up to the peak of Fansipan mountain.

From the cable car station it’s a short walk, where you’ll then have to climb up a steep set of stairs to get to the pre-summit pagoda area.

Already at this point you’ll be quite high up, which means you’ll literally be in the clouds. So while the views are quite spectacular, you might have to wait for the clouds to blow past to get a clear view.

The pagodas looked quite nice, but I didn’t want the hassle of taking off my shoes, and I was more interested in getting to the peak… so I only took a few pics from the outside while my wife paid her respects.

There’s a tower a bit off in the distance, which I’m not entirely sure how you’d access, but it was quite tall and looked like it might offer some really nice views.

But never mind, we were here for the peak, so we continued on!

Hiking to the Peak

To Funicular or Not Funicular

Now there’s a funicular at this level that you can take to get you close to the peak, which I thought would be easier since our little one was getting pretty tired. But it’s an extra 800,000 VND or so per person, which after already paying the main tickets is frankly, stupid.

So we said screw it, and decided to just hike up the rest of the way, which is what most people opt for.

And that’s where I’d say this visit becomes a bit tougher if you’re not in decent shape, as it’s quite a climb up to the peak from here.

The hike up starts with some granite steps which lead up to a big bronze buddha statue.

At this point, our little one had fallen asleep, so we stopped to take a few pics and let him rest a bit, before continuing on.

The day was passing quick though, so we tried to hurry to get on our way.

When you make your way up to the peak from the pagoda area, there’s a lot of winding steps, meaning you’ll be doing some climbing up, but then climbing back down a bit as well as you make your way up to the peak along the mountainside.

The good news is that there are a few rest areas along the way, where you can relax and take in the views, and catch your breath.

A Fork in the Road

When you’ve almost reached the peak, there’s a split in the path. Heading left will take you to a Lady Bodhisattva statue, and heading right will continue towards the peak.

I wanted to check out the Lady Bodhisattva if there was time, but first I had to get to the peak!

So up we continued to the final platform area before the peak…

At this platform, you’re first greeted by a stupa, behind which are a few small temples and other structures.

My wife and daughter were too tired to keep going at this point though, so I left them and our little one to rest while I continued on alone to the final flights of steps up to the peak…

The 3,143 Meter Peak

… and finally, after a total of about 1.5 to 2 hours of hiking at a slowish pace, I reached the summit of Fansipan mountain!

As I noted above, at this height, there’s quite an abundance of clouds, so the views are quite obscured if there’s no wind to blow them away.

I stuck around at the peak as long as I could hoping to get a perfect clear shot down the peak, but alas, it wasn’t to be. 😩

The bell was now ringing, which meant it was now time to head back down to the cable car, so I couldn’t wait any longer for better pics.

Regardless, the views were still quite spectacular, and I was glad I was able to made it to the top without the rain the weather forecast had predicted earlier.

So I high-tailed it back down to the pagoda area to meet up with my wife, daughter, and son, and then we made our way back down to the cable car where my wife and daughter promptly collapsed from exhaustion. 😂

Final Thoughts

Fansipan mountain was a really fun hike, with some absolutely stunning views along the way.

The hike up after the initial cable car ride is a good workout, and especially if you’re young and fit, won’t take you too long to get to the peak on foot. We spent a total of about 4 hours at Fansipan mountain, but that includes the time spent on the initial funicular and cable car rides, as well as the time spent at the pagoda area and peak.

On the other hand, if you’re not in the best shape, or have young kids with you, the final funicular, although expensive, might be a better option to get to the peak quickly and easily.

All-in-all I really loved the experience, and would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Sapa. It’s a great way to see the beautiful terraced rice fields from above on your way up, as well as get some fantastic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys at various points along the way to the summit.