Half Day Cu Chi Experience

 

Escape the city for the day and learn about the intriguing stories from the past and present and learn about their lives, culture and customs of the locals as well as discover the eerie Cu Chi Tunnels, which played an important role during the Indochina conflict and the Vietnam War.

Highlights
- Learn about the daily lives of the locals
- Travel back in time with a visit to the haunting Cu Chi Tunnels
- Sample local cuisine that would have been cooked in the tunnels

Leaving the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City behind we journey 2 ½ hours west towards the Cambodian border bound for the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnels were built by local fighters during the Indochina conflict as a base from which the Viet Cong could operate from close to the Southern Vietnamese capital. The location proved of significant strategic importance, at the end of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail and within striking distance of the southern Vietnam capital. Initial construction started in 1948 when the Viet Minh required somewhere to hide from French air attacks and by 1965, the tunnel complex was estimated to consist of 200km's of tunnels.

It included, hospitals, schools, meeting rooms, kitchens and sleeping quarters. Life was difficult for the inhabitants and to protect against outside intruders bobby traps were laid throughout the complex. Today the Vietnamese government has preserved approximately 75 kilometers of the tunnels as a memorial park, in some areas tunnels have been widened and low powered lights installed so that western tourists can now fit through the complex.

Our local guide will take us on a fascinating trip around the Cu Chi Tunnels where we learn more about the conditions the people lived in, the hardships they faced and the amazing ingenuity employed to maintain life in the tunnels. We walk past huge bomb craters , evidence of the heavy bombing campaigns in the region during the Indochina conflict, discover hidden entrances right beneath your feet, wander past tiny little chimneys in the ground that dispersed smoke from the underground kitchens, sample some of the simple cuisine that local fighters would have survived on and have an opportunity to venture into the tunnels and explore the complex. Following our step back in modern history we return to the chaos of Ho Chi Minh City.

Redeem information
Voucher type: Printed
Printed Voucher. Print and bring the voucher to enjoy the activity.

Location
Start point:
Saigon Central Post Office
Next to Notre Dame Cathedral. At 7:30am

End point: Same as the starting point

Schedule
Duration: 5 Hours

Guide options
Guide type: Guide
Group size: 12 People

Recommendations
We recommend to wear walking shoes and weather appropriate clothes