Sa Pa is a town in the Hoàng Liên Son Mountains of north-western Vietnam. A popular trekking base, it overlooks the terraced rice fields of the Muong Hoa Valley and is near the 3,143m-tall Phang Xi Pang peak, which is climbable via a steep, multiday guided walk. Hill tribes, such as the Hmong, Tay and Dao, make up much of the town’s local population.Hoàng Liên National Park is home to many native animal species, forested slopes and dwarf bamboo on the highest ridges. Local waterfalls include the Love Waterfall, flowing down Phang Xi Pang, plus the tiered Thác Bạc (Silver) Waterfall and Cat Cat Waterfall, in the Hmong village of the same name. Sa Pa itself has a French colonial church, a museum of local culture and a market with food stalls and hill- tribe handicrafts. Sapa overlooks a plunging valley of cascading rice terraces, with mountains towering above on all sides.