Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Vietnam → DMZ

Location: Near Hue, Central Vietnam

Time Required: 1 hour to all day (depending on how many sites are visited)

Red Tape/Notes: You probably want to get a guide if you’re going to explore the area; unexploded ordinances are still present outside the marked areas

What’s Nearby?: Hang Son Doong, Hue

There are various war settings than can be visited on a tour of the DMZ (the demilitarized zone) including the Khe Sanh Combat Base, The Rockpile, and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, but we were somewhat pressed for time so we only visited Hien Lung Bridge and the Vinh Moc Tunnels. Hien Lung Bridge crosses the Ben Hai River, and was bisected by North and South Vietnam. The Vinh Moc Tunnels is an underground complex built when the village was forced to seek shelter from American bombs (the US had hoped to drive the villagers away from the area, where they were believed to have been aiding the North Vietnamese, but the villagers had nowhere else to go). Three levels of tunnels were built, and they included wells, kitchens, healthcare spaces, and living areas for families. As many as 17 children were born inside the tunnels, and no lives were lost. Conditions in these tunnels appear to have been markedly better than those experienced by the Viet Cong in Cu Chi.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Vietnam → DMZ