Picture Perfect - It was rainy morning and we are not trekkers. We had actually called our guide and called off from the trek. We just wanted to laze at the hotel and enjoy our coffee with view of rain kissed street and mountains at the distance. She actually convinced us to join and waited back at some point where she directed the cab driver to drop us. From there our journey to this heaven began. It was treacherous for someone who has not been to actual treks. The rains had made it more difficult as the paths were slippers with a lot of muck, Add to this newer streams emerged due to the downpour making it more difficult. Thankfully some of the local villagers helped us in the journey downhill thru the shrubs, rocks and streams. What sites we got was the terraced rice fields, locals at work and beautiful views of the valley and Mt.Fansipan. Some of the locals kids did try to make a fast buck by selling some nick nacks it was difficult to get them off us until the guide intervened. The journey uphill was equally treacherous but the paths were good and some parts were roads with bikes plying by locals. Few folks opted to get dropped by the bikes while we endured the whole trek by feet. It was beautiful experience. The trek ended with hearty fixed meal at one of the local restaurants.

Must see if you travel to Sapa. - Every post card and tourist brochure does not do this justice. My only regret was the weather, which was heavily overcast with periods of rain, but even then it was spectacular. Pleasant walk around the valley, meeting the local craftspeople and making a batik souvenir. All an experience well worth the trip out and the long walks. Pretty sure this is only suitable for relatively fit and able-bodied people, but there may be a company in Sapa that can drive you around all the tracks that I am not aware of.

Absolutely Stunning, but Be Prepared! - tl;dr: If you're in Sapa, you must do this. Bring super-rain gear. We booked a tour through a travel agency, but realized that the agency just booked the tour through the hotel. If interested, the tour was through the Sapa Relax and Spa hotel, and it was a 2 day group tour, with one day being the Muong Hoa Valley and the other day being Cat Cat village. First and foremost - the valley is absolutely stunning. The first half of our trek was cloudy and overcast, and really hid a lot of the views. This was disappointing, but as you descend further into the valley, and as the day went on, it cleared up, providing some amazing views of the entire valley. I loved it. Many of the professional, "touristy" advertising pictures really capture the beauty of the valley, and I was not disappointed. Obviously, my cell phone pictures don't do justice, but this is probably a more realistic version of the pictures a tourist would get unless you are set up with more expensive landscape cameras. However, it was incredibly rainy and muddy - my partner and I had our shoes completely muddy, fell a couple of times on the slippery slope (which got the seat of our pants and our jacket muddy), and was overall just wet and dirty. Please remember to bring good hiking shoes, adequate rain gear (ponchos/rain jackets), and clothes that you don't mind getting dirty to the hike. We hiked 12 km, most of it being hills, and so also be sure to bring plenty of water and some snacks to keep your energy up. Umbrellas are not recommended here since it occupies one of your hands and limits your movement to catch yourself (we learned the hard way). We also stepped in huge puddles/had to cross some large streams, so your shoes should be waterproof. The locals (Black Hmong ethnic group) are pushy and persistent when trying to sell their wares. It doesn't take away from the experience, but just be prepared. One fun fact - the Black Hmongs make cloth from marijuana plants, so you can by blankets, table runners, scarves, etc that are made with hemp. They're a little pricey, but very cool. You can ask any of the tour guides about where to buy them, and they're happy to show you. I loved it, and was so happy we were able to do this. Definitely would recommend this to anybody else who comes to Sapa.

Beautiful Valley - I would recommend doing a one day tour to anyone in the area. The valley was beautiful, and walking through the villages and rice fields was a great experience. It was interesting to learn about the minorities and their traditions in the area. One point that I did dislike, was the pushiness of the sales people. While some were very respectful and friendly, others would bother you, literally saying “I’ll leave you alone if you buy something.” This spoiled the experience of the tour a bit, but it was still very much worth it as the views were beautiful. I did the 1 day trekking tour, which I think was enough as many of the views were similar to one another as well as other areas in the North, and included a light hike of about 5 hours as well as lunch.

Sapa day trek - We booked a day trekking tour through Aira hotel in Sapa. The guide picked us up at our hotel in the morning. We drove to Y ling ho to start our trekking. Along the way, the scenary was beautiful as we passed by the Muong Hoa valley and breathed in the fresh air. We reached Lao Chai village for lunch, which was catered for in the tour. After lunch, we proceeded to ta van village, whereby we saw a lot of rice padi fields. The route gradually turned into walking through a village to reach ta van. This part is full of motor cycles and dogs running along the roads. We took a vehicle from ta van back to the hotel. Overall, it was about 11km trek. The first three quarter of the trek was more scenic as you passed through the Muong Hoa valleys, buffalos and padi fields. The final part was walking along paved roads in the village where there were lots of scooters and dogs. A great day out, not to be missed activity in Sapa. Weather was fine and warm . Should I return, maybe in November for a cooler period, I will attempt to discover different routes.

One day trek - Although I did really enjoy the trek, it was a rainy night which made it really difficult to trek. It was very muddy and wet which meant I fell over a few times. Once you get onto flat surface it’s a really nice walk and great to see the village. Wouldn’t say it’s great value for money. Would not recommend for someone who is unsteady on their feet.

Not worth the price - This tour was overpriced. Trekked and had nothing explained to me and none of my questions could be answered. Tour guide didn’t speak English, was only able to say “careful” “rice” and “yes” in response to anything I said or asked. Throughout the entire time I was constantly being surrounded by locals asking me to buy stuff. Overall pretty annoying and I think the views in Dien Bien Phu were just as nice or nicer with the locals being more pleasant to be around.