If you are looking for a journey to explore nature and experience local culture, things to do in Cat Cat Village will definitely satisfy you. Visitors can also try on traditional H’Mong costumes to keep unique photos, visit households to experience brocade weaving, handmade silver carving, and enjoy specialties such as thang co, smoked buffalo meat or warm corn wine. These simple but unique activities will bring you a complete and unforgettable trip to Sapa.
Why Cat Cat is worth your time?
Cat Cat village is located at the foot of Hoang Lien Son mountain range, in San Sa Ho commune, about 2 km southwest of Sapa town center. Thanks to its location near the town, visitors can easily get to the village by foot or motorcycle in just 20–30 minutes. The road leading to the village winds through the mountains and forests. From above, you can see a beautiful panoramic view of Muong Hoa Valley.
Cat Cat village is famous because it is one of the oldest and most well-preserved villages of the H’Mong people. So there are so many things to do in cat cat village. You coming here will admire the traditional wooden houses roofed with Po Mu wood and visit the water wheels, Cat Cat waterfall and many miniature landscapes typical of the Northwest mountains.
Many people ask Lily’s Travel about what to see in Cat Cat village. The answer is the nature. Not only does it have majestic natural landscapes, but Cat Cat village is also famous for its unique culture, such as: brocade weaving, silver carving, jewelry making and traditional festivals imbued with national identity.
The harmonious combination of convenient location, poetic landscape and long-standing cultural values has made Cat Cat village a famous tourist destination, known as “the most beautiful village in the Northwest” and a destination not to be missed when exploring Sapa.
Read more: Cat Cat Village: The beauty of Sapa village houses hidden in the morning mist
Best things to do in Cat Cat village
When coming to Cat Cat village, visitors can experience many interesting activities to make the trip more complete. In particular, Cat Cat village still preserves many unique ethnic community activities so visitors can have more unique cultural experiences.
Walking tour of the village
One of the best ways to explore all the beauty here is to join a walking tour – a very popular activity on the list of what to do in Cat Cat Village. By walking on the winding stone path about 2-3 km long, you will have the opportunity to fully admire the mountain landscape, terraced fields and traditional wooden roofs of the H’Mong people.
Walking tours usually last from 2-3 hours, just enough for you to visit highlights such as the water wheel, suspension bridge, Cat Cat waterfall, and stop to take pictures or chat with local people. This is also a great way to feel the slow, close pace of life and enjoy the fresh air of the village, something you can hardly experience if you just ride by car.
The road leading to the village is paved with stone, winding along the mountainside, with green terraced fields and simple wooden houses on both sides. While walking, you can breathe fresh air and feel the peace of the mountain village.
Visit Cat Cat waterfall
In the list of what to do in Cat Cat Village, a highlight that cannot be missed is visiting Cat Cat waterfall. The waterfall is located at the end of the village, the water flows down from above, creating a majestic natural picture.
The path leading down to the waterfall is paved with stone, interspersed with miniature landscapes such as water wheels, suspension bridges, and flower gardens, making the trip more interesting. Coming here, visitors can stop to take photos, enjoy the cool breeze, listen to the murmuring sound of water and feel the peace of the mountains and forests.
Cat Cat waterfall is especially beautiful in the summer when the water flow is strong, or in the fall when the golden ripe rice fields surround the valley. This is also an ideal place to rest after walking through the village, before continuing the journey to explore the culture and life of the H’Mong people.
Take photos to check in
In the village, there are many beautiful miniature landscapes set up to serve tourists such as giant water mills, suspension bridges over streams, brilliant yellow rapeseed flowers in spring or plum and peach blossoms blooming in early year. These shooting angles help you have an impressive and colorful photo album.
Try on ethnic costumes
In the experience of what to do in Cat Cat Village, an extremely interesting activity that most visitors love is trying on ethnic costumes. Right from the village gate and along the path, you will encounter many shops and homestays that rent traditional costumes of the H’Mong and Red Dao people with bright colors and sophisticated patterns.
The rental price is quite reasonable, only from 50,000 – 100,000 VND/set, with full accessories such as headscarves, silver bracelets, brocade bags. Wearing traditional costumes, you will easily blend into the village space, take impressive photos next to terraced fields, suspension bridges or Cat Cat waterfall.
This is not only a unique “virtual living” experience but also a way for visitors to feel more closely the cultural beauty and traditional aesthetic taste of the highland people. Wearing ethnic costumes, you will easily blend into the village space and have photos with a strong Northwest character.
Experience handicraft
In the list of things to do in Cat Cat Village, an experience not to be missed is the handicraft experience. This is a chance to discover and try out the traditional crafts of the H’Mong people. When walking around the village, you will come across many households working hard on looms to weave brocade, dye fabrics with forest leaves, or make sophisticated silver jewelry.
Visitors can visit families who make brocade to see the process from spinning and dyeing to weaving into colorful fabrics. In addition, you can also witness people forging knives, making farming tools or carving sophisticated silver.
Not only stopping at sightseeing, visitors also have the opportunity to try weaving a few lines on the loom or get acquainted with simple silver carving operations to better understand the ingenuity and patience of the locals. The visit is both a profound cultural experience and brings a close connection between visitors and the daily life of the people here. The tour is also an opportunity to better understand the ingenuity and traditional working life of the H’Mong people.
Enjoy the cuisine of H’mong people
The cuisine in Cat Cat village has a strong flavor of the mountains and forests, both rustic and unique. Visitors can enjoy famous traditional dishes such as Thang Co – a dish of the H’Mong people cooked from horse meat and organs with a characteristic flavor; chewy, fragrant, smoky buffalo jerky; golden-grilled armpit pig with crispy skin; or five-color sticky rice dyed from forest leaves, both beautiful and fragrant.
In addition, warm corn wine is also an indispensable drink in highland meals, bringing connection and hospitality. Many homestays and restaurants in the village serve these dishes in a traditional style, creating a feeling of closeness, like having a meal with the H’Mong family. Enjoying the cuisine here is not only about delicious food but also about feeling more deeply about the culture, customs and spiritual life of the people.
Cultural exchange through festivals or night activities
During traditional festivals or weekends, the village often organizes cultural activities such as Khen dancing, Xoe dancing, and love songs. Visitors can join in dancing with the locals or try folk games such as tug of war, stick pushing, and swallow fighting.
This is also a special highlight in the list of what to do in Cat Cat Village that many tourists do not want to miss. You can chat with the H’Mong people to better understand their customs, habits, and daily life; participate in brocade weaving, silver jewelry making, or forging agricultural tools under the guidance of artisans in the village.
During festivals, visitors can also join in the bustling Khen and Xoe dances, try their hand at traditional folk games or enjoy rustic folk songs. These simple but sincere moments of exchange will help you feel more clearly the hospitality, long-standing cultural beauty, and community spirit of the people here.
Cat Cat village travel tips
Visiting time: Should go in the morning or early afternoon to have beautiful light for taking photos, and avoid the crowded scene in the late afternoon. Spring (February – April) has peach and plum blossoms; summer is cool; autumn (September – October) is the season of golden ripe rice; winter is foggy, sometimes snowing.
- Clothing: Should wear sneakers or soft-soled shoes because the roads in the village are quite steep and have many stone steps. If you want to take beautiful photos, you can rent ethnic costumes at the village gate for a cheap price.
- Cost: Entrance ticket to the village is about 90,000 VND/adult. Ethnic costumes are rented from 50,000 – 100,000 VND/set. Should prepare more cash because there are few places in the village to pay electronically.
- Taking photos: Be respectful of the locals when you want to take photos with them or their houses, ask for permission first to create sympathy.
- Cuisine: You can have lunch or a snack in the village with many specialties. However, if you want to save money, you should prepare drinks and snacks to bring with you.
- Environmental protection: Do not litter, limit the use of plastic bags, and preserve the general landscape of the village.
- Shopping: When buying souvenirs, you can bargain lightly but also respect the efforts of the people who make handicrafts.
- Visiting time: It takes about 2-3 hours on average to visit all the places in the village. If you want to experience more, you can combine staying at a homestay in the village to clearly feel the life of the H’Mong people.
Read more: A Culinary Adventure Awaits: Exploring the Best Food in Sapa
Cat Cat village is known to many visitors thanks to the beauty of the combination of mountains, forests, terraced fields, fresh streams and mountain specialties. This place also preserves many traditional crafts such as weaving, silverware, and forging agricultural tools, giving visitors the opportunity to learn and experience the cultural specialties of the H’Mong people.
When traveling with Lily’s Travel, visitors will have the opportunity to fully explore the most unique experiences on the journey to Cat Cat village. The tour is scientifically designed, helping you enjoy all the things to do in Cat Cat Village such as walking through winding stone-paved roads, admiring terraced fields and Cat Cat waterfall, or checking in at “million-like” photo angles such as water wheels, suspension bridges, and flower gardens. Visitors can also try on traditional H’Mong costumes, visit long-standing crafts such as brocade weaving, silver carving, and enjoy dishes with a strong highland flavor.
With the companionship of a tour guide knowledgeable about local culture, Lily’s Travel brings you not only a sightseeing trip but also a journey to deeply experience the life and culture of the indigenous people.
