Vinh Moc Tunnels

One of the most intriguing sites that we visited during our tour of the DMZ was the Vinh Moc Tunnels, located on the northern side of the DMZ along the coast of the South China Sea.  The village of Vinh Moc found itself tragically positioned in one of the most heavily bombed areas of North Vietnam.  In order to escape this bombardment, the villagers constructed approximately 2.8 km of underground tunnels which they used as a refuge to survive the bombings.  The tunnels were built in three levels (12, 15 and 23 meters deep) and took thirteen months to complete.  Three hundred people lived intermittently in the tunnels during 1966 to 1971.  Sixty-two families made the tunnels their home and amazingly seventeen babies were born here and spent the first years of their lives underground.
 

The remarkable tunnel of Vinh Moc are yet another monument to the tenacity of the North Vietnamese to preserve and triumph - at all costs and despite some incredible sacrifices in the war against South Vietnam and the USA. A visit to the tunnels can be combined with bathing at the beautiful beaches which extend for many kilometres to the North and South of Vinh Moc.

The 2.8km of tunnels here, all of which can be visited, are the real things and unadulterated for viewing by tourists (unlike the tunnels at Cu Chi). Vinh Moc's underground passageways are also larger and taller than those at Cu Chi, which make for an easier (and less creepy) visit.