Attractions of Sapa #2 The Area of Old Carved Stone
The Area of Old Carved Stone in Sapa is an area that covers almost 2,000 acres and contains in excess of 200 mysterious carved stones that have remained for the most part unexplained. It is situated in the Muong Hoa Valley about 7 miles southeast of Sapa Town, the trekking capital of Vietnam. There are many settlements of ethnic minority people in this area which lies about 220 miles to the northwest of Hanoi. In 1925, a French scholar discovered more than 30 carved stones. They contain various images, and are scattered along the banks of a spring.
The engravings represent human beings, ethnic minority stilt-houses and symbols are possibly a primitive form of writing. Many of the images show mountains hills and fields, whilst some of the human carvings are sexually graphic, involving images with their sexual organs enlarged and even couples copulating. Their true meaning has never been deciphered. One group of stones near the Pho village, includes the largest piece. Known as the “father piece” it is 50 feet long and stands 20 feet high. A further group in the fields near the HAU THAO commune alone, has 20 carved stones.
The Area of Old Carved Stone in Sapa is a truly remarkable area and a massively important historical find. It has been recognised internationally and has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site tentative list. If fully recognised it will be a further boost to Sapa’s and indeed Vietnam’s tourist industry whilst at the same time providing greater protection for the stones.
!steemitworldmap 22.332529 lat 103.835619 long The Area of Old Carved Stone D3SCR
See also:
#1 Mount Fansipan https://steemit.com/travel/@inseasia/attractions-of-sapa-1-mount-fansipan
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Seeing and commenting on your post after a while.
Informative for traveler indeed, keep it up..
Thanks mate, always appreciated. Keep on Steemin'
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Hiya, just swinging by to let you know that this post made the Honorable mentions list in today's Travel Digest!
Great post. I went to Sapa and somehow completely missed this on my trek.
So much to see in Vietnam, I've lived here for 5 years and feel like I've just scratched the surface. lol. Thanks for commenting.
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