The Vinh Moc Tunnels

On the way to Hue with the Phong Nha Farmstay bus, we stopped in Vinh Moc village to see the Tunnels, which during the Vietnam War was strategically located on the border of North and South Vietnam. Vinh Moc is the remains of a costal North Vietnamese village that literally went underground due to heavy American bombings (9,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped).

The villagers didn't want to lose their land or leave the area, and the Viet Cong found it useful to have a base here, so they encouraged the villagers to stay. After 18 months of tunnelling, an enormous complex was established, creating new homes on three levels from 12m to 23m below ground. More than 90 families disappeared into the tunnels, and 17 children were born there during the six years the villagers lived in the tunnels.

They also dug 21km of trenches, so they could get to and from their rice and vegetable fields to get food as well as transport war materials.

Their longest sojourn lasted 10 days and 10 nights.

The tunnels were a success and no villagers lost their lives. The only direct hit was from a bomb that failed to explode; the resulting hole was utilized as a ventilation shaft. The Vietnamese are resourceful people.