Scaling Fansipan, Vietnam's highest peak - by cable car

Over the past few decades, travellers wanting to scale Mount Fansipan, Vietnam’s tallest peak, had to allow for a gruelling long day, or a two day trek. Quite a few friends of mine, both Vietnamese and foreigners, took the challenge. I managed to avoid it.

Now, even the most sedentary traveller can reach Vietnam’s highest peak. A cable car opened in 2016 that has made the climb easy. You just need 600,000VND for a spectacular 15 minute ride across the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, followed by a 600 step climb to the top.

Last week I checked out the Fansipan cable car (see the video). It was a weird experience. I’d spent the previous afternoon wandering around Hmong villages and was surprised how unchanged they were from my earlier visits.

But that was old Sapa. And as I looked off in the distance, I was reminded of this. The cable car heading through the clouds towards Fansipan’s peak was a signal of big changes ahead.

Photo: Mark Bowyer Rice terraces from the cable car

Photo: Mark Bowyer Fansipan Legend, Sapa

Photo: Mark Bowyer A grandiose creation - Fansipan Summit

Photo: Mark Bowyer The Fansipan Summit

Photo: Mark Bowyer A patriotic ritual - conquering Fansipan

Photo: Mark Bowyer Building an imperial monument

Photo: Mark Bowyer Vietnamese traditional singer Kieu Mai Ly and her friends.

In future, Sapa’s cable car will define the place. It’s part of a massive project of hotels and tourism developments so imposing and grandiose that it’s hard to imagine how the area’s longstanding market of trekkers and cultural travellers will still find the place interesting.

No doubt they’ll head elsewhere.

Meanwhile, a new market is blossoming. Judging by the flag waving crowds at the top, ascending Fansipan is set to become a patriotic rite for Vietnamese people. At 600,000VND a pop (around $28USD), it might be a while before all 90 million Vietnamese make it. But by all reports, huge crowds of Hanoians are descending each weekend. It’s also proving a hit with travellers from across the nearby Chinese border.