The Cu Chi Tunnels are a rebellious city in Vietnam. Secret of the Viet Cong, underground guerrillas Underground passages during the Vietnam War

The tunnels were first talked about in the late 1940s, when the Viet Minh (Vietnam Independence League) tried to expel the French from the country. Kucha tunnels are excavated on four levels. This work was unbearably hard. It was necessary not only to fight against poisonous snakes, scorpions and insects, but also to constantly strengthen the tunnels so that they would not collapse. At first, the tunnels served only as caches for storing weapons and ammunition, but soon became the place where the Viet Minha fighters were hiding. Patriot detachments regularly attacked the rear of the Saigon troops and invaders from here. To protect themselves from the devastating American bombardment, the guerrillas dug a network of underground shelters in the jungle, connected by tunnels. These structures, created with bare hands, according to some sources, stretched for almost 200 km. One of the tunnels even passed under the American military base located here. The tunnels allowed many groups of Viet Cong army fighters to communicate and even infiltrate Saigon. For several years, neither special forces, nor napalm, nor heavy bombs could do anything with the stubborn "children of the underground." The manholes leading into the depth did not exceed the dimensions of the furnace damper and were easily masked. The underground galleries of Kuchi were also small - 80 cm wide and 120 cm high. It was such a tunnel that best of all withstood the shaking of the soil during the bombardments. The partisans actually lived underground - they cooked food, repaired weapons, sewed clothes and treated the wounded, there were schools in the tunnels, even theaters and a small cinema worked. Chimneys from the kitchens stretched parallel to the ground for several meters. As a result, the smoke had time to cool down and spread along the ground, indistinguishable from fog... Special adits led to streams and supplied the "children of the underground" with water. The meager diet of the partisans was the fruits of plants that do not require special care and grow everywhere - tapioca, peanuts, etc.

Overgrown with bushes, craters from 110-kilogram bombs are still found in abundance in the surrounding jungle. Some of the bombs and shells did not explode. The guerrillas neutralized them and used explosives to make homemade grenades and mines. The lack of weapons forced the Viet Cong to excel in inventing various kinds of traps. The gallery of such devices is one of the most impressive attractions of the Kuchi Tunnel Museum. Infernal devices are laid out against the backdrop of paintings depicting GIs with signs of Down's disease falling into stakes-studded wolf pits...

More than 12,000 people died here during the Vietnam War, but the Tet offensive discussed in these tunnels may have made the Americans realize that they would never win this war.

Now in Kuchi you can see the military inventions of partisans, shoot from military weapons in a shooting range, and most importantly, go down to one of the underground galleries. Here you can fully understand what difficulties and hardships the Vietnamese patriots had to endure in order to win. The shooting range presents a variety of types of small arms, from a pistol to an easel machine gun. Shooting will be quite expensive: at a price of 20,000 dong per shot, the owners do not sell less than 10 rounds. At the same time, all the weapons on the firing line are tightly attached to the parapet, designed for the growth of the average Vietnamese. The galleries open to the public stretch for about 100 m. Underground there is pitch darkness and unbearable stuffiness. You can only crawl forward. On the way to the finish line, two "emergency exits" were made for those who cannot bear to stay at depth. Not far from the exit, a washbasin is very prudently arranged, and even further away, tourists are offered to taste the daily dish of the Vietnamese partisans - boiled tapioca seasoned with crushed peanuts.

One day tour in a group (8.30-18.00) with a visit to the Cao Dai shrine and Kuchi partisan tunnels can be purchased at any travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City for 5 USD. In Teining, the group is brought in for lunch, which costs an additional 40-50 thousand dong.

A suburban area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City called Cu Chi during the war with the Americans became the center of the guerrilla movement in South Vietnam. The hard-working and savvy Vietnamese, realizing that they would not be able to repulse the heavily armed Americans on the ground, went underground. In the literal sense of the word. Although this was not the first time for them, under the French they also went underground, but it was under the Americans that multi-level, complex networks of tunnels were created.

The Kuchi tunnel network stretches from Ho Chi Minh City itself to the Cambodian border, and the total length is approximately 190 kilometers. They dug tunnels for 15 years, by hand, with the help of the most ordinary hoe. But these were not just “manholes” underground, but almost a whole city. The depth of the tunnels ranged from 1.5 to 15 meters, and had three levels. The tunnels housed kitchens, hospitals, warehouses, workshops, classrooms and just living quarters. At the same time, a network of labyrinths-moves was created, many of which went to a dead end, while others contained various traps on their way for enemies trying to get inside.

Our tour of the territory of the Kucha tunnels began with a visit to the museum, where a documentary film about the war with the Americans was shown with Russian translation. The film itself was filmed in 1967 during the war. Also here we considered a visual diagram of what these tunnels were like.

Encounter with the first entrance to the tunnel

There is a crowd of foreign tourists around a small clearing and, as if bewitched, they look at one point on the ground. And then a piece of earth rose, and under it the head of the guy stuck out. Everyone applauded happily and began to take pictures of a friend. Indeed, the passages were hidden from view so that they are almost impossible to detect, only if you know exactly where he is.

Many passages and manholes, by the way, were deliberately expanded for well-fed and strong tourists. And during the war, the Americans had problems with this, a strong soldier could not squeeze through a narrow hole, so the American command created a special detachment called "tunnel rats". Only small, thin boys were selected for this detachment, but with iron nerves. God alone knows what horrors these guys endured, because the Vietnamese were very smart at the cunning and ruthless traps.

The Americans bombed the tunnels, flooded them, released poisonous gas into them, but could not destroy them. Now, even a small open section of the CuChi tunnels gives tourists a little idea of ​​the war years. The most daring and courageous can crawl a 100-meter section, but it is not so easy, the legs quickly become numb, and the lack of air makes itself felt.

Let off steam at the shooting range

Also here you can shoot from AK-47, MK-16 and other weapons. One cartridge for the M-16 costs 35,000, but they are sold in dozens.

In addition to the tunnels themselves, you can see the most common traps used by the partisans, how they rested, how they ate, how American shells were converted into bombs, and much more.

Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam is one of the most popular excursions. In Ho Chi Minh City, you are unlikely to find a Russian-speaking guide, the vast majority of them are English-speaking. We agreed on excursions back in Nha Trang. Both "Zoya" and "Pasha" are Vietnamese, but their Russian was on the level.

When planning our trip to Vietnam, we decided to visit several very different corners of this interesting country, in my opinion. We are on the island of Phu Quoc and the next stop was one of the largest cities in Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City is a very noisy and vibrant city with a very interesting history, but I will talk about this in more detail in another article. And now I want to talk about the Kuti tunnels. For any traveler who wants to get to know the history of the country better, I advise you to definitely visit this place on your own or with a guided tour. This will be especially interesting for fans of military history.

The Ku Chi Tunnels are not just a tourist attraction, they are part of Vietnam's military past, and to this day, many older generations remember those terrible years of the war with the United States with a shudder.

In Ho Chi Minh City, we planned to stay only a couple of days, and therefore it was necessary to immediately decide on the time - where and when we would go. As for travel agencies where you can buy tours, there are not so many of them as in Nha Trang. We purchased a tour in the nearest to our hotel, so that later, in which case, we would not have to run far for clarifications. We agreed on the purchase of the tour practically on our fingers, because they did not understand our English, and we did not understand them.

On the tour, it was instructed to expect the bus at 8.00 near the entrance of the hotel. As a result, we waited for him for about an hour and did not know what to think. To our question to the sellers of the tour, we received only one answer that the bus would arrive soon. There was nothing to do and we had to wait patiently. After waiting, we finally hit the road.

The tour cost us $20 per person. Duration - half a day.

How to get there

Ku Chi Tunnels (some call them Ku Chi Tunnels) are located in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City, at a distance of 50-55 km from the city center.

My advice to you: if you decide to get there on your own, it is better to do it by taxi. Agree on a fixed payment, and not on a meter, it will be much cheaper.

There is no direct bus to your destination, you will have to make transfers and this will greatly lengthen your journey.

Maritime transport is also long and problematic.

And in any case, it is better to plan a trip in the morning, so there are less traffic jams.

One way trip takes about two hours.

Wear comfortable sportswear and running shoes. Do not bring bags or heavy backpacks with you. Then you will have to carry it all with you.

Google coordinates: 11.144455, 106.464276

Entry price

We were brought to a forest area, then we got off the bus and waited for our guide to purchase tickets for our group.

Prices are very cheap:

• For an adult 3.5 dollars.
• For a child 1 dollar.

What are these tunnels?

Then we proceeded to the tent, where we were shown a 20 minute documentary about the history of the creation. In place, everything is as close as possible to a real military atmosphere.

Kuti tunnels are underground labyrinths dug by partisans during the war, 200 km long, up to 10 meters deep. Almost all residents took part in the construction of the tunnels, including women and children. They rummaged with the help of improvised material, mostly with hoes. Thanks to this resourcefulness of the Vietnamese, thousands of lives were saved.

There is also a layout of the entire multi-level tunnel system. Now you will be surprised at the skill and diligence, as well as love for your homeland. The first level - a depth of about 3 meters - these are various premises (kitchen, hospital, rest room, etc.), at this level they practically lived, at the second level, 6 meters - they hid during the American bombing, and then climbed back to the first level (on the second there was not enough oxygen and it was possible to hold out only for a short time) and the third, the deepest level of about 12 meters - here people hid from gas attacks.

Deep wells were dug to get water. The ventilation system is well thought out. The Americans for a long time did not suspect the existence of guerrilla tunnels.

Start of the tour

We were met by people in uniform and throughout the tour there was a guy with us who showed and told everything.

There is no one around and thinking that all this is not just models, but military history, it becomes really uncomfortable and terribly interesting. Looking around, I realized that it was better not to lag behind. Otherwise, it's very easy to get lost.

At first, they tell how the tunnels were dug and fortified, how difficult it all was, but still the Vietnamese people are resourceful and they succeeded.

Various military shells and bombs of that time were also presented here.

Then we saw a real bomb crater. Of course, you can’t say for sure whether it’s true or they dug it especially for tourists, but it’s still impressive.

We are inside

Having gone a little further, they showed us the descent into the tunnel, it was impossible to see anything there, it was a complete haze. It is so narrow that you simply don’t understand how it is possible for an adult to crawl through it. It was a variant of a real military tunnel. Currently, all other tunnels have been specially expanded for tourists, otherwise it would be simply impossible.

Then we had to descend into the next tunnel. The guy who works there was the first to go and demonstrate. It was more like a short and very low underground passage. We stooped slightly and passed it in a few seconds. I was disappointed, if I may say so, that all subsequent ones will be like that. As soon as I thought we were going to be underground for a longer time.

We went underground and walked bent over. Here we were shown an underground well. Despite the fact that we were underground, there was no lack of air.

Emotions overwhelmed me, at the same time it was scary and interesting. The reality of what is happening adds the presence of bats and spiders. A terrible and disgusting sight. Being in such a place really perceives reality in a different way. Climbing the stairs and once at the top, you catch yourself thinking how happy you are with the sunlight. It is impossible to imagine what a nightmare these partisans experienced during the war years. Having stayed at the bottom for only 5 minutes, but already I want to quickly get to the surface.

Description of tunnels

Everything is so thought out to the smallest detail, everything is carefully disguised, that an ignorant person will never really find where the beginning and where the end of the tunnel is. It turns out that some tunnels had exits to local reservoirs.

We were shown how the Vietnamese during the war followed the enemy, looking into a small crack that goes to the surface. The guy went down into the tunnel from one side, and while we were thinking how long he would stay there, he was not noticeable to everyone behind our backs, got out from the other side.

We were also shown a ditch for opponents with sharp iron tips, when an enemy hit there, death occurred instantly. Then, after walking a few steps, we again descended into the tunnel, here we saw a very small room underground, with two beds and a table, very similar to a rest room, then we had to go through the tunnel again in a half-bent state.

This time it was lower than the previous one and we had to walk with bent knees, after which we ended up in a military hospital. A picture of the operation is shown here, all mock-ups are made in full size, and taking into account the weak lighting with small flashlights, it generally gives the impression that you are present at real events, it becomes even creepy.

Yes, I forgot to say, the Vietnamese equipped all the tunnels for visitors with small lanterns, and even under such tourist conditions it is still not pleasant to be there. Now imagine that during the war the partisans crawled in complete darkness, and the tunnels were so narrow that they had to push with their hands to crawl through and they could not see the light for many days.

At the exit from the tunnel, a mock-up was installed, as two partisans carry a wounded man on a stretcher.

And of course, when you move forward, no one warns you what will happen next and the element of surprise makes the picture come alive.

For camouflage, all descents into the tunnels are hidden under a roof with straw.

The steepest narrow tunnel

And again we had to go down, for the plausibility of what was happening in this tunnel, speakers with the sounds of a military rumble were built in, our legs already ached decently, but the most interesting thing was waiting for us ahead. For tourists, the Vietnamese made the last tunnel the closest to reality, it was lower than all the previous ones, here we already had to walk in a half crouch, after a minute of travel (although underground time goes much slower than it really is), we ended up in a room with 4 partisans at a large long table, inside the tunnel was divided into two paths to the right and left. We had a choice where to go, people from our group were in both directions, but which one was right was not clear. We chose the path to the left.

We walked half-crouching, then the tunnel narrowed even more and we had to crawl on our haunches. The air in the tunnel was damp and stuffy. Moving forward, we did not see the end of the tunnel, and even from afar we could not see the light on the surface, and then two girls in front of us stop and ask if we are going in the right direction and where the exit is. And then I began to panic, it did not last long, a few seconds. But even with the knowledge that there is a way back and we are very close to the surface, I was seized by fear, and I do not suffer from claustrophobia. We crawled back and took a different path and ended up on the surface.

During these 5-10 minutes underground, we really felt as close to reality as possible. When you are underground, and even in such a narrow space, it becomes really scary and the greatest desire is to leave this place as soon as possible.

Once on the surface, I no longer wanted to go underground.

We continue to marvel at the skill of the Vietnamese

At the end of all the crawls, we were offered to try the food of the partisans. It was boiled cassava root and some kind of seasoning poured separately on a plate. Some tried, but we had no desire to try.

The next thing we saw was a small gazebo with various traps. The Vietnamese heroically defended their country without having special weapons for this.

Their sophistication can only be astonished. Looking at them, you understand that you should not get involved. The Vietnamese are very proud and cheerful people.

On the way to the exit, you can see the life of the partisans, various workshops are shown, how partisans made shoes from tires, cleared mines.

Photos of exhibition copies

If the local population can visit the tunnels for free, then everyone else will need to pay to enter. Inspection of the tunnels is possible from two sites: near the village of Bendin and near the town of Benziok. In Bendin, the entrance to the tunnels costs $3, while in Benzioka it costs a dollar more.

You can book an excursion to the tunnels at any travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City: it will cost from $25. The price includes both travel and guide services.

Count the time in such a way that acquaintance with the underground city will drag on for almost the whole day: the round trip and the tour itself.

When to come to Kuti: opening hours of the underground city

Kuti tunnels are open to the public from 8 am to 5 pm all days of the week.

History of Kuti

The tunnel system in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City (once Saigon) was laid in the 50s of the 20th century. Members of the Viet Minh Resistance Union, who fought against the French colonialists, began underground work. In the nearby villages, the locals dug their own tunnels. Then all the parts were connected, forming an underground city.

Passages have a width of 0.5-1 meters. Only people of modest build could climb through the tunnel. Some part of the subway had to be expanded so that the "heroic" tourists could squeeze through the catacombs.

Tunnels go deep into 3-5 meters. This depth made it possible to withstand the explosions of shells, light bombs, guns, and even a 50-ton tank.

The US 25th Infantry Division deployed near the village of Kuti in 1965 to suppress the center of Vietnamese resistance. American soldiers experienced the acts of "ghosts" in this area. Shots inside the camp and killed officers, mystical raids with sabotage - all this led to a massive cleansing of the territory. The jungle was demolished by bulldozers, poisoned water and food, carried out gas attacks.

Soon the partisan city was found, but it was hard to get into the "burrows". The "Iron Triangle" (the so-called place near the village of Kuti) did not succumb to destruction. The Viet Cong were nimble, their traps "invisible", and their underground dwelling impregnable.

The Americans let into the holes of "tunnel rats" - specially trained soldiers, but only a small part of them got out. To get a better idea of ​​this war for the tunnels, we recommend watching the movie "Tunnel Rats".

The search for entrances and exits with dogs did not bring good luck: the partisans used pepper to bring down the scent of dogs, dressed in American military uniforms, and washed with their soap.

Only when the Americans connected serious military equipment and began the "carpet bombardment" of the B-52, making funnels up to 20 meters deep, the Vietnamese were defeated.

The underground city was destroyed, but did not surrender. The US Army had to leave the territory as the final phase of the war began.