Mui Ne

Photographs of a shore with coconut palms leaning close to the edge of the waves, fine white sand and gently sloping hut roofs may well be photographs of Mũi Né.

Mũi Né lies northeast of Phan Thiết, about 22 kilometers from the city center. The area once belonged to Bình Thuận Province. After the administrative reorganization of 2025, the new Mũi Né ward belongs to Lâm Đồng Province. So older writing still says Bình Thuận, while the present administrative setting says Lâm Đồng.

Mũi Né is more than one bathing beach. In 2020, the government recognized it as a national tourism area. The planned area covers about 14,760 hectares along the coastal strip, from Hòa Phú commune to the edge of Phú Hài ward. The core zone, where tourism is concentrated, covers about 1,000 hectares.

A national tourism database describes the beach as running for tens of kilometers. Names tied to it include Bãi Rạng and Hòn Rơm. Others are Suối Nước and the rocky beach of Ông Địa. Palms, fine sand and resorts, one after another along the coast road, are the picture most visitors remember.

But what makes Mũi Né more famous than any beach is its sand dunes.

The Flying Sand Dunes, called Đồi Cát Bay in Vietnamese, are also known as the Pink Dunes. Research presented at a scientific conference puts their area at about 36.8 hectares. It says wind, the makeup of the sand, the way dunes form, plants, and even tourism keep shaping the dunes without pause. The sand is not one yellow color. It also shows creamy white, grayish white, deep red and pale red, all mixed together. In the early morning or the late afternoon, slanting light brings out different colors on the surface, and this makes the picture that many people liken to the world's famous deserts.

The name Flying Sand Dunes does not mean that the whole hill flies away. It means that the wind keeps redrawing the shape of the sand. After a night of strong wind, the outline of a dune can change completely. In 2019, the People's Committee of Bình Thuận Province ranked the dunes as a provincial monument. The protected area around them covers 57.5 hectares.

Beside the dunes lies a fishing village, whose life has followed the catch of the sea for many generations. Very early in the morning, around four or five o'clock, the boats come in and the fish market begins. Round basket boats, drag nets and the calls of buyers and sellers belong to the shore. They are not found at a resort or a seaside café.

Hòn Rơm is the next stop along the coast road of Mũi Né. It is a natural landscape within the tourism area. The name is linked to the grass and plants on the hill, which turn yellow like straw in the dry season. From here the view of the sea and the dunes comes from a different angle than from the main beach.

The national plan for Mũi Né combines four elements: beach resorts, water sports, dune scenery, and the values of Cham culture together with the culture of the coastal communities. The Cham are a people of south-central Vietnam whose ancestors lived in the ancient kingdom of Champa. So Mũi Né has more than swimming: history, local culture and an ecosystem of its own.

On top of a dune at sunrise, the wind lifts fine streaks of sand and carries them off like smoke. The sun rises from the sea side and turns the whole slope amber. Below, the fishing village has been awake since before light. This is Mũi Né, where wind and sea together rewrite its shape every day.