Cu Chi Tunnels (Ben Dinh site)

The Cu Chi Tunnels at the Ben Dinh site lie in Nhuan Duc commune of Cu Chi District, about 40 km northwest of central Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The tunnel network, dug by local villagers and Viet Cong fighters during the war, stretched for hundreds of kilometres and included sleeping quarters, kitchens, hospitals and command rooms hidden beneath the soil. The Ben Dinh section has been preserved and widened for visitors. A guided visit usually begins with a short film and a model of the network, then proceeds along forest paths past concealed trap doors, reconstructed booby traps, bomb craters, and displays of how fighters lived and made sandals and weapons. Visitors can climb into a demonstration tunnel entrance, and a stretch of tunnel widened to roughly twice its original size allows short crawls of 20 to 100 metres with exit points along the way. Those who are tall, claustrophobic or uncomfortable in heat can skip the crawl and walk past. A shooting range on site lets visitors fire rifles for an additional fee, which is noisy and not to everyone's taste. A typical tour from District 1 takes about half a day, with travel of 1.5 to 2 hours each way in traffic and around 1.5 to 2 hours on site. The site is hot and humid for most of the year, so an early morning departure, around 7:00-8:00am, avoids the midday heat and the busiest tour buses. Guides explain the history in English and other languages. Visitors should wear closed shoes, bring water and insect repellent, and expect a mix of historical interest and a somewhat staged presentation of a difficult period.