Rainbow Slide, Alpine Coaster, and Paragliding Tour in Sapa

Three rides above the Muong Hoa valley in one afternoon, all of them looking out over the rice terraces.

Paragliding from Sapa is the one people remember. You launch from a ridge above the valley and fly tandem over terraced fields that climb the hillsides in steps, with Fansipan, the highest mountain in Indochina, on the skyline. The terraces change completely through the year: flooded and mirroring the sky around May and June, deep green through summer, gold just before the September harvest.

The alpine coaster is a gravity sled on rails through the hillside forest, and you control your own brake, so it is as fast or as gentle as you want it. The rainbow slide is the short, silly one, and it is the reason this works with teenagers who would not otherwise get on a paragliding flight.

Cat Cat Village sits in the valley below, a Hmong settlement a short walk down from Sapa town with a waterfall at the bottom.

Private transport and hotel pickup mean the three activities run back to back rather than with waits between them, which is what fits them all into four hours.

Paragliding depends on the air. Wind and low cloud ground flights, and Sapa sits high enough that the weather turns quickly, so the flight moves rather than launching in poor conditions.

Your place is held with the operator before your booking is final. The price covers hotel pickup and drop-off, private transport, the rainbow slide, the alpine coaster ride and the paragliding activity.

Four hours. Minimum one day's notice.