Mui Dien Cape

Mui Dien, also called Mui Dai Lanh, is a headland in Phu Yen carrying a lighthouse built by the French in 1890, rebuilt after damage and working since, standing about a hundred metres above the sea on a rocky point. The cape is long marketed as the place where the sun first touches the Vietnamese mainland, though the easternmost point is disputed with Mui Doi up the coast in Khanh Hoa, which most surveys put slightly further east; both headlands carry the claim and both draw people before dawn. Bai Mon beach lies below the cape and Vung Ro bay is round the point.

What you actually see

• A lighthouse of 1890 - about a hundred metres above the sea.
• A contested easternmost point - argued with Mui Doi up the coast.
• The dawn claim - the reason people come before first light.
• Bai Mon beach below - and Vung Ro bay round the point.

When to go

February to August, arriving before sunrise. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The pre-dawn drive over the Ca pass is dark and winding. The steps up are steep. Entry is charged and the site is busy at sunrise in the domestic season. There is no shade.

Nearby

Vung Ro bay is south; Tuy Hoa and Ganh Da Dia are north.