Cu Chi Tunnels

Located about 60 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, this is a vast labyrinth of tunnels that extends all the way to the Cambodian border. The network of Cu Chi tunnels was built within 25 years since 1948 during the resistance war against the French. It served as a means of communication between villages and helped the Vietnamese avoid French spying. The tunnel network was expanded over an area of ​​250 km during the Vietnam War. Therefore, it became one of the important parts of the Viet Cong's combat strategy and was also home to thousands of soldiers. Currently, about 120 km of the tunnel is preserved and is an iconic attraction in Ho Chi Minh City.

Visiting Cu Chi Tunnels, visitors have the opportunity to witness the unique structure as well as understand why this place plays an important role in Vietnamese history. Necessary living areas such as hospitals, schools, theatres, kitchens, armories and command centers were all built into this special network of tunnels. The entrance to the tunnels is covered by a secret wooden door with dried leaves camouflaged above. Thanks to its very small size, only enough for the Vietnamese to enter at that time, the tunnel played a key role in the resistance war.

Although the US military made great efforts, it still failed to completely defeat the tunnel system. This is because the tunnels are built separately and have different exits to the Saigon River, fake tunnels and traps. In the tunnel system, there are a number of special buttons that are sealed in different places to prevent enemy troops and toxic gases. Vietnamese soldiers punched many secret ventilation holes in the ground and camouflaged them extremely discreetly. There are also many other dangerous traps cleverly arranged to keep the people inside safe.

For a long time, the Cu Chi tunnels have remained a multi-storey architecture with 3 separate floors: the first floor (about 3m above the ground), the deep floor (about 6 meters) and the deeper floor (more than 12 meters). For safety reasons, visitors can only visit the first floor and a few more meters of these tunnels have been widened. Today, visitors can only visit 2 systems of Cu Chi tunnels that are open to the public: Ben Dinh tunnels and Ben Duoc tunnels.

 - Ben Dinh: Located next to the Saigon River, the Ben Dinh section is a prime location for the Cu Chi District Party Committee to lead the people in the resistance war. And they can also easily hide into the river if they find a position. This place was used for a long time from 1968 to 1975. Visitors will take nearly 1 hour to tour around this area. There are 4 tunnels with examples of underground sleeping quarters, command post and medical station.

- Ben Duoc: With an area of ​​100 hectares, Ben Duoc tunnels are 5 times larger than Ben Dinh tunnels (17 hectares). Therefore, the travel distance is also longer. However, the place where visitors can most realistically experience the war in southern Vietnam is at Ben Duoc. Visitors can see how difficult life in these cramped tunnels can be and try to challenge themselves to overcome the difficulties. While Ben Dinh offers a wide range of recreational activities, Ben Duoc will offer a wealth of fascinating historical sites such as the Ben Duoc Memorial Temple and Hoang Cam Kitchen.

Visit the Cu Chi tunnels for a chance to experience real life in the tunnels. Try to taste the dishes of the past in the Vietnamese army such as sesame, boiled cassava, or go a little down the dark and boundless tunnels to see the fighting, resilience and hardships of the soldiers of Vietnam during the war.

Address: D. Provincial Road 15, Phu Hiep, Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City 733814

Opening hours: daily 07:00 - 17:00

Entrance ticket: 35,000 VND/person