Ninh Thuan Province Discovery

 

The curves of the coastline around protruding mountains and deep inland have created beautiful and unique beaches. The pure seawater changes from deep to light blue and the clean yellow sand helps you see through to the bottom. Rocks and rocks in strange shapes make your walk more exciting. In recent years, more restaurants are open to meet the increasing demand of visitors. Ca Na is a transit point to the land of cactus.

 

To have a better look of the scenic beauty, you should go up the Nam Cuong dune in early morning. You should avoid the strong sun at noon as the hot sand may hurt your feet and the wind may blow up sand to your eyes. Crossing the sand forming in the shapes of the waves, you can watch the long coast from Dinh cape to An Hai. The low sun radiates the sand waves and creates a strangely beautiful scene. On the white sand, here and there, appear some cactuses of different kinds and pine trees bending in the wind. Like in legendary story, some Cham girls with water jars on their heads slowly passing through the dunes giving you some sense of Arabian nights. The same scene has been a favourite place for photographers, cameramen and fashion designers to develop their creativity. It is also a suitable place for eco-tourism and adventure tourism.

 

Arriving in Phan Rang, you cannot simply ignore Ninh Chu, a famous beach of Ninh Thuan. The beach remains with its primitive beauty. The sounds of the waves slightly beating the shore and the wind blowing the fine trees form romantic music. Clean water and gradually sloping shore make the beach an ideal place and sea bathing. As a matter of fact, Ninh Thuan people have a good habit of getting up before the sunrise and bathe in the clean and fresh sea water. In the afternoon, children and adults can refresh themselves at the beach after a hot and sunny day. In addition to public beaches, some resorts, recreation and sport centres have been developed in Den Gion and Hoan Cau.

 

Leaving Ninh Chu, crossing Tri Thuy bridge and winding along the coastal road to Vinh Hy bay, visitors again arrive at a tourist attraction: an eco-system with corals of over 120 kinds spreading all over Vinh Hy – Thai An waters to be visited by glass-bottom boats. There is also sea turtle, a rare species of golden turtle found only in Ninh Thuan. Corals and sea turtles are under the supervision of WFF. To visit Vinh Hy Bay, you have to cross a winding and picturesque mountain pass. From the hill top you can have another breathtaking view of a small village lying on a mountain slope and looking to the sea, peaceful and romantic. The area is also part of Nui Chua national park, a network of special forests along the coast with an area of 30,000 hectares, a bio-sphere of dry forest. Along the road, you can find large salt fields of Dam Vua with the scent and shining blaze of the salt.

 

Going inland along Highway 27, you will find a different ecology near Lam Dong province with several cultural and historic relics and natural landscapes. A visit to the Cham tower of Po Klong Grai is a must. The tall tower can be seen from afar and has been classified as a national relic. It was built in early 14^th  and 17^th centuries consisting of many big and small monuments, today remains only three monuments : Gate tower (8.56 m high), Fire tower (9.31 m) and Main tower of King Po Klong Grai (21.59 m high and over 10 m long each side). The structure of each tower is a master piece. All sides and floors are decorated with stone and ceramic motifs of human being, dragon tail, leaf and sacred cow. They are symbols of Cham arts and religion. In the 7^th month of Cham calendar, Ka Te festival, the biggest of Cham people, is organized with traditional celebrations and cultural performance.

 

Next comes My A hot spring tourist centre, a relaxation stop. In a wide area of greenery, you can feel deep in the natural scene with the warm water flowing from the mountain 5 km away, fully refreshing you after a long trip.

Tourism development is regarded as an important strategy of Ninh Thuan. One of the first measures is to develop lodgings and tourist centres to meet the increasing demand of tourists. The province has currently 26 lodging establishments with over 900 rooms for 3,000 guests.

 

The province has planned many tourist projects and is calling for investments in eco-tourism, resorts, hotels, restaurants and other diversified services. 26 projects have been completed and 6 projects are under construction.

 

By 2010, the number of tourists in Ninh Thuan will increase to 4-5 times that of 2005 reaching some 700,000-1,000,000 tourists. The tourist turnover will increase 25 per cent a year, and will be VND400-500 billion by 2010. The tourist turnover makes up 15 per cent of Ninh Thuan’s GDP.