The Independent newspaper has compiled a top 10 list of the most environmentally clean beaches in Southeast Asia. This list includes the Vietnamese beach named Dat Tham.

This beach is located on Con Dao Island, which is situated in the waters of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. The place is special because almost the entire island is a national park, and its beaches are not widely popular among tourists for specific reasons — it is easier and cheaper to get to any beach on the mainland.

In addition to the journey to the island, after registering at the reserve's checkpoint, visitors need to walk another 6.5 km to the beach itself. The world first learned about this island in 2011, when the media published news about a visit to the island by popular movie stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, also mentioning the unique cleanliness of this place.

Over recent years, the beaches of Con Dao Island have occasionally appeared in various top lists by both Russian and foreign publications. One of the latest lists featuring Dat Tham Beach was compiled by the popular American magazine Time, titled "13 Places on Earth with the Bluest Water."

There is probably another reason why this island is not very popular among tourists. The fact is that during the French colonization of Vietnam and the Vietnam War, the island served as a prison. Today, this place has long lost its former purpose and is now an island-museum. Anyone can visit all the blocks and departments of the former prisoner camp. There are several prisons scattered across the island, each with its own unique name.