The 250km underground tunnel network used by Viet Cong fighters during the war — now a 2-hour interactive tour where you can crawl through the actual tunnels.
Entry
Rp 220,000
Hours
07:00 - 17:00
Rating
★ 4.6
Location
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
The Cu Chi Tunnels are an extensive underground network (over 250km) used by Viet Cong fighters during the Vietnam War. Located 1.5 hours northwest of HCMC (Ben Duoc or Ben Dinh entrance), the tunnels housed entire villages, hospitals, kitchens, and weapons factories underground.
The tour (2 hours) includes: a propaganda video, an exploration of trap doors disguised as termite mounds, examples of the kitchens, the weapon factories, and the chance to crawl through a 50-meter section of the actual tunnels (widened for tourists but still tight). Many visitors find the tunnel experience claustrophobic — there's an exit every 10m.
Allow 4 hours round-trip from HCMC including transport. Optional AK-47 shooting on-site (additional fee).
Don't miss
5 things to see & do
🕳️
Ben Dinh Tunnel Section
The wider, more tourist-friendly tunnel entrance — crawl through 50m of the actual tunnel network. Claustrophobic but possible.
🐜
Trap Door Hidden Mounds
Viet Cong trap doors disguised as termite mounds — entrances to underground tunnels. Ingenious concealment.
🍳
Underground Kitchens
Recreation of underground kitchens where Viet Cong cooked meals — smoke was filtered through a special vent system to avoid detection.
⚔️
Weapon Factories
Recreations of underground weapon factories that produced bombs and mines during the war.
🎯
Shooting Range (Optional)
AK-47 and M16 shooting range on-site — additional fee. Controversial but many visitors do it.
Best for
History buffsActive travelersFamilies with teens
Good to know
✓Book a tour with transport — public transport is impractical
<p>The Cu Chi tunnels were begun by <strong>Viet Minh guerrillas in 1948</strong> during the French colonial war, then expanded massively during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). The network eventually stretched <strong>250 kilometres</strong> connecting the district of Cu Chi to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Soldiers lived, slept, ate, treated the wounded, and even gave birth in the tunnels for years at a time.</p>
✨ The story behind
<p>The tunnels feature <strong>kitchen hatches</strong> with ingenious smoke dispersal: cooking fires were built inside sealed compartments with deep water pools to absorb smoke before it vented above ground. The Americans tried every method to detect them — dogs, vibration sensors, even trained rats — but the Viet Cong would use pepper to confuse scent-tracking dogs.</p><p>To enter, soldiers had to crawl on hands and knees for sometimes kilometres. Many who emerged from months underground suffered severe vitamin D deficiency and could barely walk in sunlight.</p>
🏛️ Cultural significance
<p>Cu Chi is the <strong>single most-visited war site in Vietnam</strong>, drawing over 1.5 million visitors a year. The tunnels are a living symbol of Vietnamese determination — when US General William Westmoreland declared "Viet Cong will not survive 6 months," the guerrillas survived for another 11 years underground.</p>
⭐ Fun fact
"Some sections of the tunnel have been widened for tourists (from 60cm to 120cm tall) — even at that height, visitors report intense claustrophobia. The original tunnels were so small that adult Vietnamese men had to enter sidewise."
