The Cu Chi tunnels, located some 30 miles from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam were dug just after World War II during Vietnam’s fight for liberation from French colonization. 

They became of significant importance during the Vietnam War when they were used as hiding spots and supply routes for the communist Vietcong soldiers to combat American forces in the south of Vietnam. 

Life in the tunnels was tough. Air, food and water were scarce and the tunnels were infested with venomous snakes and scorpions. Commonly, the fighters would spend the day in the tunnels resting and come out at night to scavenge for supplies and engage the enemy in battle. During periods of heavy bombing, the Vietcong would be forced to remain underground for days on end; sickness was rampant among those living in the tunnels, especially malaria.

Mike emerging from a tunnel where we had to bend double just to inch along the floor. American soldiers used the name Black Echo to describe the conditions within the 70-mile network of tunnels.

A fellow traveller testing out a trap door on the jungle floor which leads down into the tunnels. Closed and camouflaged, it is almost undetectable.