Ben Duoc Tunnels is one of the famous historical relics in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City. This place was once the base of revolutionary forces during the resistance war against the US to save the country. Coming to Ben Duoc Tunnels, visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the heroic history of the Vietnamese people and experience the most authentic feelings about the lives of soldiers during wartime.
General information about Ben Duoc Tunnels in Cu Chi?
Ben Duoc Tunnels is located in Phuoc Thanh Ward, Cu Chi district, becoming an interesting place for tourists to learn history when traveling to Saigon. The tunnels serves as the base of Vietnam Party Committee and headquarters during the war, with the task of coordinating combat activities.
Contact Info:
– Sightseeing ticket price: 45,000 VND/Vietnamese visitor and 125,000 VND/foreign visitor.
– Opening hours: 8:00 a.m – 16:00 p.m, every day of the week, including public holidays.
How to get to Ben Duoc Tunnels?
Ben Duoc Tunnels is about 60km from Saigon center. The means of transport you can choose to get to Ben Duoc Tunnels include: motorbike, bus, taxi…
If you rent a bike and drive by yourself, from the city center to Ben Duoc Tunnels, the most convenient way is to follow the National Highway 15 route, about 2 hours away. Make sure your sim card is running well, so can use follow advice from Ms.Google map.
About the local bus, you need to find the bus number 79 which goes directly to the tunnels. However, to get on this bus, you may take another bus as the bus number 79 departs from Cu Chi bus station. For example, from Ben Thanh Market bus station, you need to take bus number 13 to Cu Chi bus station, then take bus number 79 to Ben Duoc tunnels. The ticket fare quite cheap, just around 15.000 – 20.000VND for a ticket/1 way/1 routine, however, it would takes 3 hours to reach the tunnels.
Bus No.79 to Cu Chi
Taxi or car/bus rental also popular way for tourist, especially when you traveling with a group. To book a car, minivan or big bus to Ben Duoc, you can contact with the tourist agency. The rental fee cost from $60 USD for 4 – 7 seater car/around trip.
Join our daily tour to visit Ben Duoc tunnels with 5% discount!
What attracts tourists to Cu Chi Tunnels – Ben Duoc site?
Compared to Ben Dinh, Ben Duoc Tunnels is much larger with a total area of more than 100 hectares. In addition, this place also preserve the original tunnel system, and was the Party Committee – Base Area headquarters of the Vietnamese army.
Coming to Ben Duoc, visitors will explore the tunnel system of the leaders of the Party Committee and Military Region of Saigon – Cho Lon – Gia Dinh who lived and fought during the war.
However, before entering the ticket gate right at the edge of the forest, visitors will visit a display of bombs and artillery used by the US military on the Cu Chi battlefield and the weapons local guerrillas used to fight back the American army and soldiers of the Republic of Vietnam.
Through the ticket gate, a local tour guide will take visitors deep into the forest to the hall area to watch documentaries and introducing the history of formation and development of the Cu Chi tunnel – Ben Duoc site system.
After that, visitors will visit the actual tunnel with works deep underground such as: living and working tunnels, meeting tunnels, surgery tunnels, A-shaped tunnels to prevent collapse when bombs and artillery explode nearby, food and weapon storage bunkers, secret lids & vents, water wells, public works, military workshop, areas producing clothing, sandal cutting, and homemade weapons…
A guide show how did the local people create a weapon.
workshop making sandals
In particular, visitors will witness with their own eyes a very creative invention in hiding the smoke of Hoang Cam’s stove – used to dilute the kitchen smoke emitted when cooking to avoid being detected by aircraft from above and close by.
Hoang Cam stove
The stove has many grooves to vent smoke, connected to the stove. Above the grooves are placed tree branches and covered with a thin layer of watered soil to retain moisture. Smoke from the stove rose through the grooves, becoming only a strip of vapor that quickly dissipated as it left the ground. Therefore, Hoang Cam stove can cook both day and night without fear of smoke or fire.
Squeezed rice, cassava dipped in salt and beans – the main food of guerrillas in the past has now become a specialty, some of sample dishes be served in here for tourist without service charge.
Away from the tunnels and museum, visitors can visit the souvenirs area with gifts made from bullet shells such as: oil lamps, lighters, ballpoint pens, straps, or sandals made from old tires and lacquer items, high-end handicrafts, typical items of traditional craft villages in Cu Chi which made from rattan, bamboo and leaf.
Going through the forest, there is Ben Duoc Martyrs Memorial Temple which attract many Vietnamese, especially people who served in the war, people who serving in the Vietnamese offices; students…come to burn incense to commemorate their compatriots and martyrs who fought and sacrificed heroically for the cause of national liberation, construction and defense the country.
At the same time, visitor can admire the largest ceramic mosaic in Vietnam on three walls around the main temple and stand on the 9-storey tower to admire the peaceful scenery of the old “Iron Triangle” winding along the peaceful Saigon River.
ceramic painting in Ben Duoc
Leaving the Martyrs Memorial Temple, visitors can use the tram to visit the replica table representing the defeat of the American army’s invasion of Cedar Falls into the “Iron Triangle” area in 1967.
The area re-enacts the war zone. Explore Cu Chi with its peaceful village scenery, shady green bamboo roads, thatched houses that are now only nostalgic, the countryside market with rustic dishes, or witness the ruins of Cu Chi hometown and the ghostly battles of guerrillas in the tunnels.
Visit the landscape lake simulating the East Sea, precious wood forests and 3 miniature models typical of 3 regions such as: One Pillar Pagoda (Hanoi), Hue Citadel (Hue), Nha Rong Wharf (HCMC), or indulge yourself in the clear blue water of the swimming pool with its unique architecture close to nature.
lake simulating the East Sea, farawaw is One Pillar; Hue citadel and Dragon Wharf
An opportunity not to be missed when come to visit Ben Duoc Tunnels is to test your thrills and shooting skills at the National Defense Sports Shooting School, or divide into two teams to fight mock battles with paintball guns.
shooting in Cu Chi
paintball game in Cu Chi
At the end of the tour, visitors will stop at Ben Duoc Restaurant located on the banks of the Saigon River to breathe in the fresh breeze, admire the fields on the other side of the river with white storks fluttering around, and enjoy the rustic country dishes of the Southeast region and the specialties of Cu Chi.
Surely, after the trip, visitors will have an unforgettable feeling, an extremely enjoyable experience at Cu Chi – Ben Duoc Tunnels.
Source: collected by An
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