Sapa: Cable car easy way to the top

LAO CAI : A cable car system that will take visitors to the top of Fansipan peak, dubbed the Roof of Indochina, will be completed in time for Vietnam’s 40th anniversary of re-unification, 30 April next year.
The peak is very close to Sapa in the far north of the country.
Construction of the cable car is already ahead of schedule and should be ready for commercial rides, after testing, by September 2015.
Construction of the three-wire cable system, said to be the world’s highest, longest and most complicated system, began in November 2013.
The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam is the main lender for the project, which has an investment of nearly of USD131 million.
Once operational, the system will take visitors to the top of the 3,143 metres Fansipan in 15 to 20 minutes, while a trek to the top would take two days to complete.
Its maximum capacity is 2,000 people per hour and this hints of the potential environmental disaster that could follow once it opens.
The cable car is part of a USD206.8 million Fansipan Sapa complex, a luxury resort with four and five-star hotels, entertainment facilities, restaurants, and a golf course.
The entire project is likely to endanger Sapa’s sensitive mountain environment and the lifestyle of the ethnic groups that live in the area. It will change the mountain for ever, removing its remoteness and turning it into an over-visited tourist spot. It is likely to attract thousands of Chinese visitors who will cross the border at Lao Cai, about 30 km from Sapa and the peak. Today, its remoteness is the peak’s salvation, as access is limited by the number of treks that can be sold to a very small core of travellers ready for the challenge. There are times of the year when heavy rains makes it impossible to trek, but it allows the trek routes to recover.
The cable car will begin in Lao Cai province’s Sapa Town and rise to the Fansipan peak.
Fansipan (3,143 metres) is the highest peak in Indochina (comprising Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia). The highest peak in Thailand, Doi Inthanon, is 2,600 metres high. There are higher peaks in Malaysia, while Myanmar, is home to the highest mountain in Southeast Asia. However, the winding road that climbs the mountain pass just below Fansipan peak is the highest highway in Southeast Asia.
It is located in the Lao Cai province of the Northwest region of Vietnam, 9 km southwest of Sapa in the Hoang Lien Son mountain range.
Fansipan is one of the very few ecotourist spots of Vietnam, with about 2,024 floral varieties and 327 faunal species.
The topography of Fansipan is varied. Muong Hoa Valley, at the lowest altitude (950 to 1000 metres), is created by a narrow strip of land at the base on the east side of the mountain. It can be climbed in a steep and fairly strenuous hike.
Tour companies in the area arrange hikes to the summit taking from one to three days. Most will recommend taking the two- or three-day options and few guides will take tourists on the round trip in a single day.
A small village is located at around 1,500 metres where accommodation and food is offered. Further up, at 2,800 metres, there is an overnight camp.

Sourced: ttrweekly