This labyrinth of tunnels between what were North and South Vietnam during the war is a testimony to the defiance and ingenuity of the Vietnamese resistance. Vinh Moc was a village that the U.S. troops believed to be sympathetic to the Communist North, so when the Americans planned to remove the villagers, the locals dug tunnels to relocate their abodes underground. What resulted is a tight warren of underground paths stretching more than a mile in total, some as deep as 100 feet below the surface. The subterranean village included kitchens, rooms, and wells, and was home to more than 50 families; a number of children were even born in this subterranean hamlet.
DMZ Zone (Vietnam): entrance to one of the Vinh Moc tunnels
Pietro Scozzari/age fotostock
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Going Underground
Vinh Moc is the remains of a coastal village that went underground in response to severe American bombing. The tunnel complex is highly impressive and is testament to the endurance and the ingenuity of the Vietnamese. Most of the tunnels are open to visitors and are kept in their original form. There’s also a museum.
