From the beach…
Twenty-five kilometers from the city of Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan Province, tourists can travel by bus or motorbike along the coastline to Ke Ga Island. At Ke Ga Cape, visitors are able to wander around and clamber over cliffs and boulders piled up all over the place. There are many international and domestic ships and fishing boats coming and going in the area. As there are reefs in the area, French and local people decided to erect Ke Ga lighthouse to warn ships of the danger.
Visitors can also stay on the island overnight to go fishing. Fishing during the full moon is another unforgettable experience. People can taste the baked sea fish they have caught by themselves and then stay up to see the first sunlight.
… to the famous lighthouse
At Ke Ga Cape stands a lighthouse, built in 1899, considered as the tallest and oldest existing lighthouse in Vietnam.
The lighthouse is called Ke Ga by local people. Ke Ga Lighthouse was built on Ke Ga Island top whose total area is about 5 ha in the coastal area of Tan Thanh Ward, Ham Thuan Nam District, about 30km away from Phan Thiet City to the South East. This lighthouse was designed by a French architect named Chnavat to guide ships to go back and forth. The construction started in February 1897 and was completed by the end of 1898, and the lighthouse was put in operation in 1900. To mark the construction period, local people put a big granite panel carved the number 1899 at the lighthouse entry gate. The lighthouse has now been operating for 108 years.
The light house with its unique architecture is about 60m tall. From that height, visitors are able to see a vast expanse of sea and sky, as well as enjoy cool ocean winds. The most beautiful moment to visit the lighthouse is at sunset. People can see a fantastic sight with splendid colours. Sometimes they can not distinguish the boundary of the sky and sea. Only 500m from the coast, people can walk to the island when the tide is out.
Ke Ga Lighthouse was built grandiosely, which can be classified as Vietnam’s tallest lighthouse, built of granite stones brought from France. A unique character of this lighthouse is that the granite stones were carved out of different cells, shapes, sides that are well-fit. So in building, they were put together and stuck by mortar. On the lighthouse, there is a big light of 2000W, which was brought from France and used to give signals ships back and forth. Presently, Ke Ga Lighthouse has become a tourist attraction, not only about art and architecture, but also a beautiful natural landscape.
Up to now, the tour to Ke Ga Cape has been always drawing much attention from international and domestic visitors.
