6-7 hours
Daily Tour
9 people
English, Vietnamese
A Planetale Journey into Vietnam’s Wartime Underground World
Ho Chi Minh City is a bustling metropolis—motorbikes rushing past, cafés filled with the aroma of Vietnamese coffee, and street vendors selling steaming bowls of pho. But just 70 kilometers away, beneath quiet villages and rubber plantations, lies one of the most extraordinary wartime networks in the world.
The Cu Chi Tunnels.
A massive system of underground passages used during the Vietnam War, these tunnels once housed soldiers, civilians, hospitals, storage rooms—even entire communities who lived beneath the earth to survive.
This tour, guided by a Vietnam War veteran, offers more than sightseeing.
It is a chance to hear real human stories: hardship, resilience, fear, courage, and impossible endurance.
Planetale invites you to travel into the past—into the darkness of the tunnels—to understand how war reshaped the land, the people, and the future of Vietnam.
During the 1960s and 70s, the region around Cu Chi became a strategic battleground.
Its dense forests, rural landscapes, and proximity to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) made it a key area for Viet Cong forces.
To survive overwhelming American military power—airstrikes, artillery, chemical defoliants—the Viet Cong created a world underground:
Tunnels up to 10 meters deep
Narrow passageways only 30–40 cm wide
Ventilation systems disguised as termite mounds
Kitchens that used smoke-dispersing techniques
Entrances hidden by soil, leaves, or rice paddies
American soldiers called this area the Iron Triangle.
No matter how much force was used, the fighters seemed to disappear into the earth.
Understanding these tunnels is crucial to understanding the Vietnam War itself.
Your tour begins in central Ho Chi Minh City, where your guide picks you up and shares an introduction to the region’s wartime history.
As you leave the city, skyscrapers fade into countryside scenes—villages, rice fields, and roadside stalls selling fruit and sugarcane juice.
The landscape is calm today, but beneath it lies a violent past.
Your veteran guide—someone who lived through the war—starts to share memories:
How daily life was during the conflict
The fear of air raids
How tunnels were constructed and defended
The emotional toll on families and communities
No documentary or textbook can replace hearing these stories directly.
The Cu Chi forest feels peaceful, shaded by tall bamboo and rubber trees.
But as soon as the tour begins, the ground transforms from soil to history.
Your guide points out the seemingly ordinary patches of earth—
places where tunnel entrances once existed, hidden under leaves or camouflaged boards.
He explains how fighters moved underground silently, sometimes for days at a time, surviving with minimal food, constant tension, and extreme heat.
Every step reveals a new layer of ingenuity and endurance.
The tour gives you the chance to experience the tunnels firsthand.
Small square openings barely wide enough for a human body to slip through.
These entrances were nearly invisible to enemy forces.
Your guide explains how soldiers slept, ate, planned, and hid from aircraft above.
Complex networks connected villages and allowed fighters to move undetected.
Primitive, dimly lit spaces where wounded soldiers were treated.
Ingenious emergency routes offering quick evacuation.
When you enter the tunnels (several sections are expanded for tourists), you immediately feel:
The narrowness
The dense humidity
The heavy silence
It is a visceral reminder of what life underground must have felt like—survival under impossible conditions.
Outside the tunnels, you will see displays of wartime traps used for defense:
Punji stake pits
Swinging bamboo traps
Doorway spikes
Camouflaged booby traps
These devices were crafted from simple materials but used with devastating effectiveness.
Your veteran guide explains how they worked—not glorifying war, but acknowledging the harsh reality of asymmetric conflict.
Visitors often describe this as one of the most eye-opening parts of the tour.
Some tours include an optional shooting range where guests can try firing historical weapons (AK-47, M16, etc.).
Though optional, many visitors find it interesting to see the equipment soldiers used.
Safety procedures are strict, and participation is based on personal comfort.
At Cu Chi, you can try boiled tapioca root with ground peanuts and tea—the simple staple food that fighters ate during the harshest times of war.
The flavor is plain but symbolic.
It represents resourcefulness and the will to survive when resources were scarce.
The highlight of this tour is undoubtedly the personal stories shared by the war veteran.
He speaks about:
What daily life was like during the conflict
Friends lost and sacrifices made
How communities supported each other underground
The emotional weight of war and the long healing process afterward
This is not just a history lecture—it is lived experience.
Guests often say this storytelling is the most meaningful part of the entire visit.
After several hours exploring the Cu Chi site, you return to the city.
The drive back is a moment of reflection.
The Cu Chi Tunnels are not presented to glorify war or celebrate conflict.
Instead, they remind us:
How far people will go to survive
The complexity of resistance
The human cost of ideological struggle
The resilience of communities and cultures
Planetale sees this tour as an essential experience for understanding modern Vietnam.
Some parts of the tunnels are narrow; you may skip tunnel crawling if you prefer.
Tourist sections are short (20–100 m), though the original system spanned over 200 km.
Veterans share respectfully without unnecessary detail, focusing on learning and understanding.
Morning tours are recommended to avoid afternoon heat.
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