Binh Thuan

Location: in Binh Thuan Province, on the coast of South Central Vietnam, 200km north of Ho Chi Minh City, 247km from Dalat, 250km from Nha Trang and 1,518km from Hanoi.

Access: 4 hours by car from HCMC, the National Highway 1A passes through Phan Thiet. The express train between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City stops Muong Man station

Main attractions: white sandy beaches and Cape Ne sand dunes (22km from Phan Thiet), beach resorts, Cham vestiges, famous fish sauce factories.

A few kilometers East of Phan Thiet lie some of the most beautiful stretches of beaches in Vietnam, lined with tall coconut trees, leaning against vast red sand dunes. The combination of sun, sand and deep turquoise water of the Pacific Ocean create a breath taking and spectacular site to the visitors. Bai Rang or Rang Beach is probably the most beautiful beach in Phan Thiet.

Located 15km northeast of Phan Thiet, it is nestled in the middle of a coconut palm forest. Other landmarks in the area of Rang Beach are Boulders of the Earth God and Fairy Stream, meandering sand dunes and Mui Ne Beaches located 12 miles East of Phan Thiet.

Phan Thiet possesses a long coast side is convenient for sea economy such as fish catching, salt and fish sauce processing, frozen seafood. It is really worthy to observe the process where anchovy-like fishes are caught, cleaned and placed, in large vats of brine, watch the women and children mending nets and tending to shore related chores. During the period between July and October, the fishing season is at its pinnacle in Phan Thiet as fishermen go out to sea. These boats form a magnificent display of lights at night and can be seen from shore. In fact, the scene bears the image of a floating city.

As other coastal town in the Central of Vietnam, Phan Thiet has a diversified culture of 30 ethnic groups. The stamp of Sa Huynh and Cham ancient cultures have been preserved include clothes, musical instruments, dances, and singings. The ancient architecture, archaeological relics, historic vestiges, traditional festivals of Viet, Cham are together for making the special culture of Phan Thiet. The most famous Cham vestige is Po Sha Nu Tower, an ancient site now recognized as the crowning glory of Cham architecture.

Ta Cu Mount is near 650m high, located by 01A national highway across Tan Lap commune, Ham Thuan Nam rural district. This is an attractive climbing destination as well as the picturesque scenery in Binh Thuan. Around the year, the climate is pure, cool and the average temperature ranges from 180 to 220C. Ta Cu has charming scenery with diverse shaped marble blocks and hundreds of year old trees. This place has Nui Pagoda, a historical architecture built in 1878 - 1880 on a height of 475m. The area of Nui pagodas includes 2 main pagodas, Linh Son Truong Tho and Long Don. The distinctive feature is the Statue of Buddha in Nirvada that is 49m high and considered the biggest Buddhist statue in Southeast Asia. Ta Cu Forest was recognized as a national natural reserve by the government in 1996. It is home to many rare plants such as barian kingwood, pterocarpus trees, medicinal plants, orchids, apricots, and bamboo. Tourists are advised to bring along a packed lunch, as it will take a whole day to visit the place.

The Po Sha Nu group of ancient tower vestiges, or also called Phu Hai tower, belongs to Thanh Hai ward, Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan province. The Po Sha Nu group of ancient tower vestiges is the general tower and temple architecture of Cham people. It is the worship place for the fairy daughters of goddess Po Nagar. The group includes 03 towers and many other tower ruins. The three remaining towers scatter on 02 ground layers and direct toward the east. All the three towers are multi-storey square towers. They have aged since 8th century and have Champa ancient architectural style with some factors such as round pillars at fake doors, door edges..., which is similar to that of Khmer towers and temples. Annually in the 1st lunar month, festivals such as Rija Nuga, Poh Mbang Yang are held at the foot of the towers. People perform praying ceremonies for rainfall and good things.
 

The name "Mui Ne" was created by local fishing people because this is the shelter in stormy season. "Mui" means cape or island and "Ne" means hiding. The combination of sunlight, sand and teeming blue water has created a landscape appealing and fabulous to tourists. In addition to the excursion, tourists also have chance to witness the daily activities of a pure Vietnamese fishing village. Together with the local fishing people to catch sea fish, rock crabs and to draw fishing nets, tourists not only find it relaxing but also integrate into the real fishing life. Whenever mentioning Phan Thiet, everyone often thinks about the sea and seafood. Seeing believes! This place has so many interesting things waiting for our discovery so that we will have more affection to this small beautiful City!
 

Twelve kilometers east of Phan Thiet is one of the famous landscapes - Mui Ne dunes. The dunes in this area are formed by wind; therefore, they are scenery spectacular to tourists. Here, tourists will sink in the integrated beauty of clouds, dunes and the sea .Tourist can also take part in many interesting game such as sand boarding, dune climbing competitions... Climbing on smooth sand hills on bare feet to hear sand sounding to each of their steps, tourists will feel as if they were in their playful childhood, when diving crown from the top of the hills on a board in a soft way, tourists will feel like flying with the immense sky and ground. Over the years, Mui Ne dunes have become a well-known destination as well as a symbol and a wonderful image of Binh Thuan.