Cu Chi Tunnels | Historical landmark | Ho Chi Minh City

Cu Chi Tunnels | Historical landmark | Ho Chi Minh City

Situated 65 km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the tunnels of Cu Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country.

These tunnels of Cu Chi became legendary in the war for facilitating the local guerrillas to gain victory over the American troops. At its height, these three-leveled tunnels stretched over 250 km.

Now part of a Vietnam War memorial park in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the tunnels of Cu Chi have become a popular tourist attraction, and visitors are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel system.

War in the Cu Chi Tunnels

The Cu Chi tunnels served a key role during combat operations in addition to providing underground shelter. These tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong’s base of operations for the Tet Offensive in 1968.

Soldiers used these underground routes to house troops, transport communications and supplies, lay booby traps and mount surprise attacks, after which they could disappear underground to safety.

Tourism in the Cu Chi Tunnels

There were at least 45,000 Vietnamese men and women are reported to have died defending the Cu Chi tunnels over the course of the Vietnam War. In the years following the fall of Saigon in 1975, the Vietnamese government had preserved the Cu Chi tunnels and included them in a network of war memorial parks around the country.

A well-defined walking track loops around the complex of tunnels at Cu Chi, with things to see spaced at regular intervals, including examples of how people lived and what they ate. There is a 30m section of tunnel which visitors can crawl through, the remnants of bomb craters and examples of traps used during the war.

Some tunnels have been made larger to accommodate the larger size of Western tourists, while low-power lights have been installed in several of them to make traveling through them easier and booby traps have been clearly marked.

Above-ground attractions include vendors selling souvenirs, caged monkeys, and a shooting range where visitors can fire a number of assault rifles, such as the AK-47 or M16 rifle, as well as a light machine gun like the M60.