The Cu Chi Tunnels

The Cu Chi Tunnels are an immense network of hand-dug underground passages northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, used by Viet Cong guerrilla fighters as hideouts, supply routes, hospitals and living quarters during the Vietnam War. Stretching for hundreds of kilometres, the claustrophobic tunnels, with their hidden entrances and grim booby traps, offer a sobering, tangible glimpse into the ingenuity and hardship of the conflict, told largely from the Vietnamese side.

What you actually see

• The tunnels - the narrow, claustrophobic passages, some widened for visitors.
• The hidden entrances - the concealed trapdoors and camouflaged openings.
• The war history - the exhibits on guerrilla life and the conflict.
• The wider story - a sobering context for Vietnam's twentieth century.

When to go

December to April for the drier season; go early to beat the heat and the largest tour groups. Most visitors come on a half-day tour from Ho Chi Minh City, often combined with other sights.

Honest expectations

The tunnels are extremely narrow, hot and claustrophobic, even the sections widened for tourists, so they are not for everyone. The presentation is one-sided propaganda in places, and a firing range where visitors can shoot war-era guns feels jarring to some. It is a sobering rather than enjoyable visit, and a long, hot trip from the city.

Nearby

Ho Chi Minh City with its War Remnants Museum and the Mekong Delta are within reach.