Snowfall draws over 10,000 visitors to Sapa

More than 10,000 visitors are estimated to have descended on the northern resort town of Sapa on January 24 to catch a glimpse of the snowfall - a rare occurrence in a tropical country like Vietnam.

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Lu Van Khuyen, head of the Sapa culture department, said that popular guesthouses and mid-range hotels were all booked and only rooms in four-star hotels or above were available.

According to the national weather service, a strong cold wave plunged Vietnam’s northern region into temperatures below ten degrees Celsius, with temperatures in many mountainous sites plummeting below zero, triggering snowfall over the weekend.

Ha Van Cong, owner of Mua Xuan Hotel in the centre of Sapa, said the number of visitors began to surge Saturday morning upon news of snowfall in conjunction with the weekend.

It was reported that room rates were largely the same as normal days despite a jump in visitor numbers, averaging between VND500,000 and 1,000,000 (US$22.50-45) a night depending on the type of room.

A constant streams of vehicles carrying travelers to watch the unusual weather phenomenon in Vietnam caused serious congestion on National Highway 4D, according to reports.

In addition to Sapa, visitors looking for a sight of snow also flocked to the area around Phja Oac Mountain and elsewhere in Cao Bang province where the temperature dropped to as low as -8 degrees Celsius.