Silverware on peoples doorsteps, leatherworkers crafting one of a kind goods and traditional H’mong fabrics everywhere – is this TikTok viral hotspot definitely worth the visit or is it just a tourist trap?
Little history:
Cat Cat Village, situated in Lao Cai province, Vietnam is home to the H’mong ethnic minority group (also known as Miao in China). The people here immigrated from China around 200 years ago. Originally an agricultural village, it opened its doors to French tourists during the French Indochina period and now operates as a walkthrough open air museum.
Getting there (and fees)
The village is not that far from Sa Pa town, we walked down from the town centre and it took us about 20mins walking down some steep (and slightly slippery) roads, but you can just as easy get a Grab or taxi down to the site. If you’re staying in Sa Pa town, I would definitely recommend walking, to take in the beautiful sights.
Parking
If you happen to have your own vehicle, following the road all the way to the bottom you will come upon a car/bike parking area with an entrance to the village.
Upon arriving to the first entrance gate, you can buy a ticket to enter the village as well as a map which pinpoints all the points of interest. The tickets cost us 150,000VND (in cash only).
Walking through the village
We happened to visit the village on one Vietnam’s biggest national holidays, being Reunification Day. The village was filled with tourists – with the majority being domestic tourists – that had rented local customary clothing. It was bustling, narrow stone walkways filled with photo shoots and tour guides. If you prefer the quieter experience, we recommend not going on a public holiday.
Entering from the top entrance, you start by following descending walkways down into the village where you will see lots of vendors selling homemade goods such as leather, silverware and H’mong fabrics such as accessories, tapestry and homeware. Examples that we bought include bracelets and headbands.
Traditional H’mong homes line the pathway down for tourists to enter and explore. However, the authenticity of these homes are questioned by travellers. In Sa Pa there is a lot of guided hikes through the region where tourists can visit authentic villages, but we didn’t do any so we can’t comment on comparison between them. Nonetheless, we enjoyed walking around them.
Once you reach the bottom of the valley, you are gifted with a grand view of the bustling valley below filled with cafes/restaurants, natural waterfalls and the flowing river. Stopping on one of the cafes near the top, we enjoyed a spectacular view of photo shoots on horses by the river, bridges that span the river and shows being performed. The performances take place every hour, on the hour except between 12PM-1PM for lunch (I presume).
It could be easy to spend an afternoon in this idyllic valley while enjoying some local lunch dishes or a traditional Vietnamese coffee which I would highly recommend – April in Sa Pa proved still quite cold compared to the rest of Vietnam so it was nice to get a hot drink for a change.
Asides from the shopping and eateries, there is also several waterfalls in the valley, three of which all lead into the one river. Near the bottom of which, is an old decommissioned hydroelectric plant with images and a brief history of the power plant. It was interesting, albeit a bit random in what is considered an open air cultural museum.
Towards the entrance at the bottom of the valley, there is a rainbow slide similar to those found in other tourist hotspots such as Da Lat, Lam Dong province. We didn’t go on but it still looks fun. The price of which was 40,000VND.
Conclusion: Worth the visit or just a tourist trap?
A lot of people question whether Cat Cat Village is just a tourist trap. From our experience I would say, yes. When you walk in, it feels like there is an emphasis on spending money with the amount of shops along the designated path. However, when taking into account the cost of the ticket (~$5.70 USD) and how long you can actually spend here, we are happy to go and enjoy the festivities with the local people. If you want a morning out of the town that isn’t as strenuous as some of the hikes advertised on tour websites, then this is for you.
Have you been on any treks in Sa Pa? And how did they compare to Cat Cat Village? I’d really love to hear some responses, feel free to comment or reach out on my socials. 🙂
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