Tribal culture of Muong Hoa Valley

There's an old traveller's principle: "take a map and a guidebook, cross out on the map everything mentioned in the guidebook, and visit all the rest". It works more often than not, and in Asia, the further east you go, the more it applies. But the vicinity of Sapa, surprisingly, is an exception to this rule - despite having gone through rapid commercialization, it's exceptionally beautiful, as good as the visually and topographically similar off-the-beaten-track destinations. By moving 10 or so kilometres away from the town, you can mostly avoid this commercialization happpening in Sapa. This is definitely true for Muong Hoa Valley: scenic rice terraces and a variety of tribes as you progress eastwards. 

Hau Thao

Despite its relative proximity to Sapa town, the village of Hau Thao maintains its countryside charms. The population here is mainly H'mong, and traditional costumes are the norm, at least among women. Hau Thao is known for its blacksmiths; with luck, you can come across a smithy hammering new knives and sickles. Mountain slopes just east of Hau Thao have been chiseled into an endless array of stepped rice terraces. This area is often put on the list of the most beautiful landscapes around Sapa, and rightfully so.

Ta Van

Ta Van is  a stop more frequently visited by tours. The bright side to the more foot traffic is that the "costume factor" is even higher here - local women dress in their tribal finest for the sake of marketing their trade. Showmanship aside, the people are as hospitable as everywhere in Vietnam. The general area of Ta Van includes a couple of H'mong settlements and a Red Dzao village. There's a seasonal waterfall in the vicinity with a cafe at the bottom. Rice terraces are also lovely, and the panoramic views of Muong Hoa Valley from the higher trails are gorgeous. 

Thanh Kim

This is one of the most remote locations in Muong Hoa Valley. Its official claim to fame, and the only source of commercialization, is a fancy eco-resort straddling the access road. The village belongs to Red Dzao. Once you reach the village itself, people are curious and nice. Bends in the serpentine road before and after Thanh Kim provide scenic panoramas of the valley - on a clear day, you can see the terrain all the way to Lao Cai highway. A network of trails connects Thanh Kim with Hau Thao - this may well be the best one-day trek in Sapa area.

Practicalities

If you have a motorbike, any spot in Muong Hoa Valley can easily be visited as a day trip from Sapa. If you don't, things get more complicated. There's no public transport in the valley, and your hitchhiking chances are low due to it being an uncommon practice. For the same reason, using a motorbike taxi is hardly an option: the prices are outrageous. Get ready for prolonged hiking, and if you intend to explore the valley in detail, consider staying in local guesthouses along the way. The most usual type of accommodation here are traditional tribal houses on stilts converted into dormitories or partitioned to make tiny private rooms - for example, Hmong house Sapa in Ta Van or Chapi Dreamy Home in Hau Thao. This implies trading comfort for cultural ambiance. Another possible choice is to use a hotel in the middle of Muong Hoa Valley as a base, and make radial forays from there - Ngua Bay Hotel has the best position for this strategy.