An Hoa Sheep Fields

White sheep move across a field of dry grass. Gold sunlight lies on the ground, and mountains stand faint in the distance behind them. Many people picture Ninh Thuận as a land of sun, wind and cactus. The An Hòa sheep fields add a very different picture to that one.

The fields lie in An Hòa hamlet, in Xuân Hải commune. Today this is Khánh Hòa province. Before July 1, 2025, the land belonged to Ninh Hải, in Ninh Thuận province, until the two provinces merged. The national tourism database places the spot about 16 kilometers northwest of the old center of Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm, along National Highway 1A.

Sheep suit this place, and the reason is the harshness of the land itself. A national news agency report says that sheep adapt to hot, dry weather and cost much less to keep than many other animals. They feed mostly on natural grassland and the leftovers of crops. What many places treat as a disadvantage, a semi-desert land and fierce sun, is here the ideal condition for raising sheep.

A television report records that the sheep fields of the Ninh Thuận region have been tied to open grazing for more than 100 years. Sheep herding did not appear because of tourism. It came long before tourism.

A shepherd following a flock under the midday sun of Ninh Thuận is a scene of real livelihood, not a staged one. The shepherd must go out to the fields at first light, follow the flock to find the right grass and water, and bring it home before dark. In that sun and that dust, shepherds work every day, all year round.

What is worth watching is how the flock moves. Sheep do not walk alone. They go in groups, one following another, alert to every sound and every sudden movement. A gentle gesture from the shepherd is enough to turn the whole flock, like a ribbon of white cotton drifting slowly over dry grass.

This is not a ready-made attraction. It is the grazing land and the farms of local households, who raise their sheep for a living in the conditions of this land. A visitor here looks straight at a part of country life in old Ninh Thuận that few people from the cities have ever seen.

The most beautiful moments usually come in the early morning and the late afternoon, when the flock files out to the field or wanders slowly home. At midday the Ninh Thuận sun burns so hard that people and sheep alike retreat into the shade, and the whole land seems to hold its breath, waiting for the heat to ease.

The photograph that comes home from here shows white sheep, golden dry grass, faint mountains and sunlight spread across the field. It looks like a scene from some far-off country, yet it is alive every day in the sun and wind of Ninh Thuận.