The Tunnels of Cu Chi Reviews (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Crawling through the tunnels

Nottingham, England

November 9, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo One of the things to do whilst at the tunnels, and included in the admission fee, is to crawl the tunnel. Clearly the original dimensions of the tunnels do not lend themselves to the "larger framed gentleman" so a length of tunnel has been widened ...Read more One of the things to do whilst at the tunnels, and included in the admission fee, is to crawl the tunnel. Clearly the original dimensions of the tunnels do not lend themselves to the "larger framed gentleman" so a length of tunnel has been widened and heightened to allow westerners to "enjoy the experience".

Our guide was pretty heavy with his cautionary comments before we even got down to the tunnel entrance indicating that we should not try it if we suffered with high blood pressure, heart problems, bad backs, or claustrophobia. He talked about problems with malaria, cobra and other insects, but with hindsight I think that referred to the perils that the Viet Cong suffered whilst underground.

I decided that despite a dodgy back I was going to give it a try and my friend who’s six foot plus also felt it was something he wanted to experience. Our two wives opted out and repeatedly asked if we thought we’d be OK. "How do I know?" I wondered, but I answered, confidently, "it can’t be any more difficult than descending down the pyramids in Egypt!"

We climbed down three of four steep steps and we were then at the mouth of the tunnel. Our guide had suggested that we could walk in the stooped position but it was soon evident that we needed to be on hands and knees. Having said that our "resident" Cu Chi guide managed to walk in the crouched position, turning to take photographs of us with my camera whilst my friend and I crawled on our hands and knees. We seemed to reach the first exit fairly quickly and we were asked if we wanted to carry on or exit. We decided to progress a little further to try and imagine what it might have been like. By the time we left the tunnel I was dripping with sweat and my knees were a little sore. Or 5 minutes underground were hard work and I just couldn’t begin to comprehend what life must have been like if you were living underground for long periods of time.

After exiting from our mole like crawl we were able to see other man made caves, but for the convenience of the visitor the top of the cave had been removed. Having crawled through the tunnel it wasn’t too hard to imagine what the conditions would have been like in the communal dining area, the hospital, the work spaces and the kitchen. Interestingly the smoke from the kitchen was passed into an internal storage container and released through pipes several metres away from the kitchen. So although cooking was done in the early hours of the morning, when often there was an early mist, if American troops saw smoke escaping from the ground they would be nowhere near the communal kitchen.

We saw that the Viet Cong used to make "reversible" sandals out of old tyres and inner tubes. They were reversible so they could be worn back to front so confounding the troops if they came across footprints.
Every so often we’d hear gunshot from the nearby range. I guess this added some authenticity to the walk through the undergrowth. For 350,000 dong you could buy a round of 10 bullets to fire off using weapons of the war. We decided to give that a miss as we’d shot before and weren’t really sure that it would add anything to the experience.

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From journal Cu Chi Tunnels

inspecting the museum at the tunnels

by MichaelJM

Nottingham, England

November 9, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo Of course no visit to Vietnam would be complete without visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is the tunnel network that dates back to the 1940’s when it was built by the Viet Minh as part of their struggle against the French. It was later extended by ...Read more Of course no visit to Vietnam would be complete without visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is the tunnel network that dates back to the 1940’s when it was built by the Viet Minh as part of their struggle against the French. It was later extended by the guerrilla movement of the Viet Cong during the thirty year wars with America. It was this huge tunnel network of over 125 miles that became the underground village for up to 16,000 local inhabitants, serving as communication and supply routes, hiding places, living quarters and hospital facilities. There are three different level of inter-linking tunnels – "a bit like a spider’s web" our guide explained.

We were told that it had become necessary for all the people in this area to move underground because the Americans troops were unable to differentiate between the local farmers and the fighting forces of the Viet Cong. Of course that would be the case as "becoming" a local farmer would have been the perfect camouflage for a fighting group.

Our young guide led us around the complex where we saw one of the many original tunnel entrances. They were no larger than a sheet of A4 paper and although the Vietnamese, with their smaller body frames, could manage to access it the entrance would be a tight fit for a westerner. A guide was showing visitors how the Viet Cong would hide the entrance when they returned underground, by placing leaves on the cover before disappearing below the jungle’s surface. Very impressive because we’d see where this entrance was and it was still difficult to focus on. We were also told that the disappearing guerrilla would often booby trap the cover if he thought he’d been spotted. The resulting explosion would clearly, at the very least seriously maim a pursuing soldier. We were invited to try the tunnel for size but none of us felt that we’d fit!

Next we saw one of the many trenches that run through the battle area. Once again a small entrance through which the Viet Cong could crawl but it was hard to see that an American soldier would have managed the gap to have effectively pursued the opposition.

I guess the most blood curdling aspect to this visit were the booby traps that were set around the complex. Of course we’ve seen them in films but here, in reality were the pits that were dug out to entrap unsuspecting American Soldiers. The large trap door that swung on a central axis sending the soldier onto sharpened bamboo canes. Often, the guide told us they would be smothered in faeces to ensure that the seriously wounded soldier would also be likely to die from infection. Of course the added "advantage" (if I can call it that) is that the entrapped soldier would be sure to be pulled out of the trap by his colleagues. This act would distract the troop allowing the Viet Cong to appear from the hidden tunnels, fire a few rounds into the Americans before disappearing back in to the tunnel system.

There were various additional traps many of them "manufactured" by underground "factories" out of the debris of war (bombs dropped onto Vietnam). Trying to imagine the trap doors opening on unsuspecting troops and soldiers falling onto the viciously barbed spikes was chilling and the devices were built to pierce the opposition under the armpit, the soles of the feet, knee caps, hips and genitalia. Like the one mentioned earlier these purpose was to injure and slow down the troops so a more devastating attack could be laid on them by the ambushing Viet Cong.

We walked past a number of termite mounds - not thinking too much about them until we stopped by one and our guide asked what we thought they were. At this point we spotted two large holes at the base and then realised that they were man-made mounds. The story goes that the clever Viet Cong constructed these as air shafts and because they were naturally in abundance the Americans would not be aware of their real function. As time progressed the Americans were aware of their functionality and tried to use them to their advantage. They used German Shepherd Dogs to sniff them out and to counteract the dog’s skills the Viet Cong used garlic and pepper to disguise the smell. The dogs would sneeze – another give away – so the Viet Cong stole American clothes and stuffed them near the top to disguise their smell and fool the dogs into thinking they were getting the scent of their handlers. Getting the clothes was easy – either from dead Americans or more often from the American base. You see the Viet Con had direct access to the American stores for clothing or munitions by way of a tunnel that came out in the American Base. You just wonder why that wasn’t discovered earlier!

Of course the tunnel network was well known by the Americans after a time but despite having a volunteer force of "tunnel rats" they were never destroyed nor could the complicated system of tunnels ever lead these volunteers to the Viet Con who could easily hear the intruders and move on before they got close. A real live "game" of cat and mouse must have taken place for many, many years with devastating results for all those involved.
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From journal Cu Chi Tunnels

Tunnels of War

by Essexgirl09

London, England, United Kingdom

September 1, 2010

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Best of IgoUgo The Cu Chi Tunnels are about an hour and a half drive from central Ho Chi Minh City and I accessed them through a tour organised by my travel company. Prices vary, but US$22 seems typical for a half day (5 hour) tour including hotel pick up and ...Read more The Cu Chi Tunnels are about an hour and a half drive from central Ho Chi Minh City and I accessed them through a tour organised by my travel company. Prices vary, but US$22 seems typical for a half day (5 hour) tour including hotel pick up and drop off. The Cu Chi Tunnels were built during the American-Vietnam War by the Viet Cong (liberation army), there was apparently 120km of tunnels at different levels, which the Viet Cong used to traverse the area, they slept there, ate there and prepared for war there.

When you arrive there are toilets (satisfactory) and a shop, before you walk to the main part of the tunnel museum. You walk through an underpass; the pass would be suitable for wheelchairs and for those with a limited mobility. This isn’t always the case here, as you given an introduction in a small hut with three or four very steep steps down. Your guide will show you a map of a cross section of the tunnels and you are shown a propaganda movie made by the Viet Cong. Our guide was keen to emphasise that the movie was made some years ago and that the outlook of the Vietnamese has changed somewhat, as the movie is quite anti-American (as was the feeling of the Viet Cong). The movie is not long, and we then leave to explore the area further. We had an English speaking guide with our party but you will also be accompanied by a local Cu Chi guide, but I am not sure how well these guides speak English. The Cu Chi guide will demonstrate how things worked for you – you will see lots of traps that were laid down by the Viet Cong for any unsuspecting US soldier, and learn how they protected the entrances from any passing troops. As the Vietnamese are a lot slimmer than many Europeans, our guide demonstrated how they slid into an actual hole and disappeared in a matter of seconds. You can have a go if you like, some of our party did, but I was too concerned that my bottom might have gotten stuck!

The tunnels led to a network of rooms where the Viet-Cong spent their days (a hospital, weapons store, kitchens etc), coming up at night (if it was safe), through different traps to either fetch food or to create further booby traps for the US troops. There was also a tunnel exit apparently within a US army compound that the VC used to steal plans and secret information. You do get the chance to go down a tunnel. It has been specially widened to fit Westerners and most should be able to traverse it bent over, or could crawl if they preferred. The tunnel was lit (which our guide didn’t tell us) and quite short, our guide’s estimate of 4-5 minutes was far too long, it took longer to get down the steep, narrow steps into the tunnel. Personally this was too hard for me as I had a foot injury, so I could only poke my head in (where I saw more steps). The whole area of the tunnel exhibits is in forest so there are uneven steps and ground as you are walking on forest paths, so would not be suitable for wheelchair users, and those with limited mobility or foot/leg injuries would find it slow-going.

As well as going in a tunnel and seeing the harsh traps awaiting the unsuspecting soldiers, there were a few huts demonstrating how life would have been for tunnel dwellers and what jobs they did down there. You will struggle to spot tunnel entrances or ventilation shafts but they will be pointed out to you and your guide will inform you as to how they worked and how they thwarted US attempts to find them. You also see craters where bombs had been dropped as part of the US policy to get them out. You do get a chance for a short break to have a cold drink or ice cream or snack and visit a larger gift shop. Drinks seem fairly priced. If you wish to fire an AK-47 or similar you can purchase bullets at the rather pricey rate of $1 a pop. Having visited the War Remnants museum that morning (see separate review), it seemed a bit inappropriate to fire weapons, although you can here them going off as you walk around the area. At the end we got to sit down and try some tapioca (cassava) that they ate regularly in the tunnels, in fact was part of their daily diet. I don’t think I could eat that every day!

If you have your own transport it would no doubt be cheaper to come here directly, but as most visitors will be staying in Ho Chi Minh City, an organised tour seems the best way to get here. I do recommend a visit here, to help add a greater understanding to the life of the Vietnamese during the American-Vietnam War, and a respect for the lengths these resistance fighters would go to thwart their enemy.
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From journal Vietnam Part 1: Ho Chi Minh City

A Rabbit Warren of Tunnels

by garymarsh6

Gravesend, United Kingdom

November 30, 2009

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Best of IgoUgo Chu Chi Tunnels.The Chu Chi tunnels are an amazing collection of tunnels just outside Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) stretching about 75 miles long that were part of a network of tunnels that went all over Vietnam.They were built and used by the Vietcong ...Read more

From journal South Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City

by koh che li

singapore, Singapore

October 30, 2008

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went to saigon in the morning...is actually a huge, unique post office...then we went to visit the cu chi tunnels...the tunnels are a underground network which stretches over 200km!...we went into the tunnel and it was so small thet we had to bend ...Read more

From journal Yishun Secondary School - Vietnam Trip 2008

Exciting Journey

by a5i5_aisyah

singapore, Singapore

October 30, 2008

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i went to the cu chi tunnel . it was seriously interesting. i learn and also experience how the people survive in the olden days. in my opinion , they are really wise . the effective strategies they used to defeat the US army. i also went on a ...Read more

Cu Chi Tunnels

by onesundaymorning

Los Angeles, California

September 14, 2008

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Best of IgoUgo The Cu chi tunnels are a footnote of the war that made it possible for Viet Cong troops to move into the south. These elaborated tunnels, located in the town of Cu chi, the tunnels once covered over 250 km and included everything from firing posts ...Read more
The Cu chi tunnels are a footnote of the war that made it possible for Viet Cong troops to move into the south. These elaborated tunnels, located in the town of Cu chi, the tunnels once covered over 250 km and included everything from firing posts and air-raid shelters to kitchens and infirmaries.
My group turned off into a heavily wooded; I couldn't make out any signs of live let along a museum or a set of tunnels. We were lead to a briefing room which was made up of nothing more then a log wall and a roof to watch a movie on a small TV. Here is where it started to get strange. The movie was nothing more then war propaganda. It started off a little like this "Cu chi the town of palm trees. Cu chi the town of beautiful forests. Cu chi the town of hard working farmers. Cu chi...." and continued on about all the things that Cu chi was. Then it turned to focus on three people and told all about them. It started off with Hung who likes fishing, swimming, hard work, shooting down American helicopters, and riding his bike. It then went to Hoa who loves to cook, sew, kill American soldiers, and bake. All the time the movie showed the the people whom they were talking about running around with various weapons and smiling. The movie stopped and we all sat quietly. Although a word was never muttered we all knew what each other was thinking. The guide got us up and walked us to where the tunnels were located.
As I walked through the woods mannequins stood at various places wearing shoes made of the wheels of American tanks and, as our guide pointed out, clothing taken off of dead American soldiers. Again we all remanded quiet. After passing stacks of bombs and huge craters that was a result of them we made it to the tunnels. Our guide asked us to find the entrance, which was impossible to find since is was a small wooden door covered with grass and moss. Anyone who wanted to try to see if they could fit through the entrance. The smallest people in the group agreed and after several minutes of twisting and turning managed to fit through. However the rest of us used the special, bigger entrance made for larger visitor (and when I say larger I'm talking about anyone bigger then a 10 year-old child. I was lead through three different tunnels most of the time so small that I was crawling on my hands and knees. Some of the guys at the front of the line thought it would be funny to try and scare the girls by yelling bat and stopping. We weren't fooled.
The last tunnel took us into a larger room that I found that I could stand in. It had a large table in the center and was used for planning strategies. Again the boys decided to yell bat to scare everyone. Getting a little peeved the girls took the exit out with the tour guide. However the boys, taking a wrong turn, went down the wrong tunnel that wasn't part of the tour and "haha, bat, haha" quickly changed to "AHHHH!! BATS!" A couple of bats came flying out the exit with a hand full of jittery guys.
The tour ended at a small shooting range where for a $1 per bullet we could shoot AK-47's at targets. Myself and a couple of other people couldn't bring ourselves to shoot the guns. In a strange way, that even the tour guide couldn't understand, we felt that it was a bid to morbid. With the guns blasting in the background we decided to take a walk and ended up in what I couldn't describe as anything other then a cemetery for heavy machinery. Tanks, helicopters with bullet holes in them, and other war-time vehicles were littered through out the yard. When the bus pulled around to take us back to Ho Chi Minh we scrambled back onto it to wait for the rest of the group. Overall the experience was amazing, especially to have an insight into a part of history that is only glazed over in text books, but it asked if I would ever go back? That's not something that I'm sure I would do. The Cu chi Tunnels sparked something in me that I can't explain and I'm not entirely sure that I ever want to feel that way again.

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From journal Vietnam...It's a Country Not a War

The Cu Chi Tunnels

by SeenThat

Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel

April 17, 2008

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Best of IgoUgo Located seventy kilometres northwest of Ho Chi Minh City in an area called the "Iron Triangle," the Cu Chi Tunnels were more than two-hundred kilometres long. Most of that have been preserved by the Vietnamese government, though very short parts ...Read more Located seventy kilometres northwest of Ho Chi Minh City in an area called the "Iron Triangle," the Cu Chi Tunnels were more than two-hundred kilometres long. Most of that have been preserved by the Vietnamese government, though very short parts have been expended to "Tourist Size," as local guides like to joke. The tunnels were the base of operations of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Tet Offensive in 1968. For years they were part of communication and supply routes, hiding spots during combat, hospitals, weapon caches, intelligence operation bases and living quarters. The Ho Chi Minh Trail ended here its tortuous rout that commenced in Northern Vietnam and crossed Laos.

The tunnels history began already in 1948 while the Viet Minh was fighting the French; each village built a segment and those were eventually united into a large, comprehensive network. They included disguised entries and kitchens capable of hiding the cooking smoke, using filters of wet leaves. The Americans were mostly unable to detect the underground communities, but the cost of security was dear: poisonous insects, parasites and malaria posed real threats to the tunnels’ denizens. In spite of that, the National Front for the Liberation won several campaigns against the American conscripted army, in the face of its technological disadvantage.

The Americans launched Operation Crimp (1966), Operation Cedar Falls (1967) and others in order to destroy the tunnels but failed. Due to their size, the American soldiers failed to enter the tunnels even when they found them or fell prey to bobby traps; the operation was preceded by a brutal bombing of the area which destroyed the surrounding jungle. Even nowadays the jungle has not completely recovered due to the huge of highly toxic defoliant agents, like dioxin, which is better known as "Agent Orange."

Explosive booby traps and pits with boards covered with bamboo knives took care of the few soldiers who managed to infiltrate the system; the tunnels’ clever design rendered American technology ineffective. In response, the "tunnel rats" units were created. They were trained to fight within the tunnels only with a gun, a knife, a flashlight and a piece of string; but also these units turned out to be highly ineffective. However, during Operation Cedar Falls, tunnel rats captured many documents which included maps of American bases, lists of political sympathizers, routes maps, and plans for an assassination attempt on Robert McNamara; nevertheless, the tunnels were never destroyed.

From 1969 onwards, B-52 bombers began carpet-bombing Cu Chi, in another futile attempt to destroy them. Simply, they were too large to destroy; the collapse of a section meant nothing since their convoluted design always provided another path. Slowly, they became a sour wound in the American military minds, which were too technology-oriented and concerned too little about their morality. In parallel, the Vietnamese confidence despite their drawbacks, increased constantly.

Reaching the Tunnels

The tunnels can be approached through popular tours offered from Saigon by all tourism agencies. A day tour includes visits to enlarged tunnels, restored kitchens, living quarters, reconstructed bobby traps and underground conference rooms like those in which the 1968 Tet Offensive was planned.

The Vinh Moc Caves

A related site is on the DMZ (the former De-Militarized Zone between North and South Vietnam). Next to the sea, the Vinh Moc Caves are much bigger than the Cu Chi Tunnels, and provide a better insight of the daily life of such a community during the war. Rooms adapted to different activities (dormitories, working rooms, meeting rooms, kitchens) successfully provide the visitor with a feeling of what meant to live underground. The hidden exits to the seashore tell of an immediate element of danger in their lives.
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From journal Saigon’s Straw Skyscraper

Cu Chi Tunnels

by nemo247

Vancouver, British Columbia

December 1, 2005

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If you’re going to the Tunnels, remember to bring a flashlight and a pair of ear plugs. The lighting in the tunnels is completely inadequate (although it does sort of add to the experience), and the firing range is painfully loud and too close to be ...Read more

From journal Ho Chi Minh City

Cu Chi Tunnels

by Heroine

Hong Kong, China

June 2, 2005

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Cu Chi Tunnels is the revolutionary historical vestige and network of underground dugouts over 200km long in Saigon. It’s hard to imagine how the Viet Congs lived inside the tunnels for 10 years performing all the activities, such as meeting, ...Read more

From journal Witness the War in Vietnam

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