Sa Pa 15th century and represent local cadastres. Then came the highland minorities of the Hmong and Yao. The township is one of the main market ones in the area, where several ethnic minority groups such as Hmong, Dao (Yao), Giáy, Pho Lu, and Tày live. These are the four main minority groups still present in Sa Pa district today. The Kinh (lowland Vietnamese) never originally colonised this highest of Việt Nam’s valleys, which lies in the shadow of Phan-Xi-Pǎng (Fansipan, 3143 m), the highest peak in the country. It was only when the French debarked in highland Tonkin in the late
Highest unclimbed mountain in Bhutan or on the Bhutan-China border is the tallest mountain in the world that has yet to be fully summited. Gangkhar Puensum has been off limits to climbers since 1994 when Bhutan prohibited all mountaineering above due to spiritual/religious beliefs. Unclimbed mountains are sometimes referred to as "virgin peaks". Many virgin peaks exist because the mountain is unreachable, due to either geographic isolation or political instability. Some mountains remain off limits due to religious beliefs of a country or region that hold such mountains are sacred and should remain inviolate. Additionally, since the endeavor to scale taller mountains of