Trash from human activity is threatening to deface a scenic coastline in south-central Vietnam as the once little-treaded location now attracts herds of travelers seeking an escape from city life.

The Ke Ga Beach is situated in Ham Thuan Nam District of Binh Thuan Province, 180 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City.

It boasts a broad, sandy coastline decorated with a unique formation of yellow-colored rocks that earns it the nickname of ‘Bai Da Vang’ (Golden Rocks Beach) in Vietnamese.

The beach has a stunning view of the Ke Ga Lighthouse, the oldest and tallest lighthouse in Vietnam, built by the French in the late 1890s.

Better road conditions and the opening of the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway in 2015 have cut travel time between Ho Chi Minh City and the Ke Ga Beach to under four hours.

About 30 kilometers closer to Ho Chi Minh City than the long-popular Mui Ne Beach in the same province, the Ke Ga Beach is emerging as a favorite weekend getaway alternative for residents of the southern metropolis.

The experience of waking up before sunrise, taking a stroll along the untouched beach toward a nearby fishing village where tourists can buy seafood fresh off fishermen’s boats while watching the sun comes up behind the magnificent lighthouse is truly breathtaking.

However, increased human activities have taken their toll on the beautiful beach, which is now littered with trash from beach-goers, campers and local fishermen.

The morning walk to the fishing village has been made less enjoyable by the sight of discarded fishing nets, plastic bottles, beer cans and a range of other litter trashing the beach.

Now and again, one may encounter bodies of dead animals that have washed up on shore, with plastic rings from ocean trash still stuck to their body parts.

As much as 13 million metric tons of plastic trash is discharged into the world’s oceans every year, with Vietnam being one of the top five countries contributing to the problem, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Vietnam has set eyes on completely phasing out single-use plastics nationwide by the year 2025.

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