CU CHI TUNNELS
Go there and contact
Tunnels dug in 1940 to escape French patrols during the Vietnamese underground war.
This network is a formidable and poignant testimony to the underground war waged by the Vietnamese against the "Yankee oppressor," as the Americans were then called. The first tunnels were dug in 1940 by peasants protecting themselves from bombs. The Viet Minh later used them to escape French patrols. Like the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the Cu Chi underground tunnels are one of the vestiges of guerrilla tactics, which the South Vietnamese resistance groups opposed to the American military strategy of Search and Destroy (location and destruction). From 1964 to 1975, the Americans dumped the equivalent of 13 million tons of bombs on Vietnam (4 times the tonnage used during the entire Second World War). The Viet Cong, understanding the strategic importance of these underground caches, made them their headquarters. Dug entirely by hand and with shovels, up to 12 m below the ground, without metal reinforcement or concrete, these tunnels formed an underground network that extended over 200 km, with several levels equipped with weapons caches, kitchens and field hospitals. They were designed to withstand the assaults of the most modern weapons. A clever ventilation system evacuated the smoke from the kitchens miles away. Some undergrounds were equipped with generators; the access hatches, very narrow and adapted to the thinness and agility of the Vietnamese, were carefully concealed.
Book the Best Activities with Get Your Guide
Members' reviews on CU CHI TUNNELS
A environ 2 h de Saigon en bus.
Les guides ne parlent pas forcément très bien anglais. Cela rend la visite un peu monotone.
A faire si vous avez une après-midi à occuper...
A associer avec la visite du temple Cao dai qui se trouve sur le chemin