Ben Duoc Tunnels

The Ben Duoc Tunnels are among the famous historical relics in Cu Chi, 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. 

Overview of Ben Duoc Tunnels in Cu Chi

The Ben Duoc Tunnels are located in Thai My Commune, making it an interesting place for tourists to learn about history when traveling to Saigon. The tunnels served as the base of the Vietnam Party Committee and its headquarters during the war, 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?

The Ben Duoc Tunnels are about 60km from the center of Saigon. The means of transport you can choose to get to Ben Duoc Tunnels include motorbikes, buses, and taxis.

If you rent a bike and ride by yourself from the city center to the Ben Duoc Tunnels, the most convenient route is National Highway 15, about 2 hours away. Make sure your SIM card is working properly, so you can follow the advice from Google Maps.

Regarding the local bus, you need to find bus 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, take bus 13 to Cu Chi bus station, then take bus 79 to the Ben Duoc tunnels. The ticket fare is quite cheap, just around 15.000 – 20,000 VND for a ticket/1 way/1 routine; however, it takes 3 hours to reach the tunnels.

Taxis or car/bus rentals are also popular options for tourists, especially when traveling with a group. To book a car, minivan, or big bus to Ben Duoc, you can contact the tourist agency. The rental fee ranges from $60 USD for a 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 exceeding 100 hectares. In addition, this place also preserves the original tunnel system, and was the Party Committee – Base Area headquarters of the Vietnamese army.

At Ben Duoc, visitors will explore the tunnel system used by 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 introduce 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…

In particular, visitors will witness firsthand a very creative invention for hiding the smoke from Hoang Cam’s stove, used to dilute the kitchen smoke emitted when cooking to avoid being detected by aircraft overhead and nearby.

The stove has many grooves to vent smoke, connected to the stove. Above the grooves, tree branches are placed 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, the 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 the sample dishes are served here for tourists without a service charge. 

Away from the tunnels and museum, visitors can visit the souvenir 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, and typical items of traditional craft villages in Cu Chi, which are made from rattan, bamboo, and leaf.

Going through the forest, there is Ben Duoc Martyrs Memorial Temple, which attracts many Vietnamese, especially people who served in the war, people who serve 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 of the country.

At the same time, visitors can admire the largest ceramic mosaic in Vietnam on three walls around the main temple and stand on the 9-story tower to take in the serene scenery of the old “Iron Triangle” winding along the Saigon River. 

Leaving the Martyrs Memorial Temple, visitors can take the tram to the replica table commemorating the defeat of the American army’s 1967 invasion of Cedar Falls into the “Iron Triangle” area.

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.

An opportunity not to be missed when it comes to visiting 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.

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, extremely enjoyable experience at the Cu Chi – Ben Duoc Tunnels.

Source: collected by An

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