Vinh Moc tunnels, Vietnam

Vinh Moc tunnels, Central Vietnam - darkometer rating : 3 - Another network of tunnels and underground dug-outs near the DMZ , in Central Vietnam . Unlike the more famous Cu Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City, the Vinh Moc tunnels were less for combat during the Vietnam War and more for actually living in. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: During the Vietnam War , esp. between 1968 and 1972, Vinh Moc found itself in what the USA had designated "free fire zones", where anything that moved was treated as a legitimate target. Constant carpet bombing by B-52 s made life above ground impossible. So while some inhabitants fled, others dug in. Thus a whole village was relocated underground at Vinh Moc. Using only primitive tools, a network of some 2 miles (3 km) of underground passages was dug out. The heavy clay earth made it possible to dig deep into bomb-proof levels. The inhabitants only ventured outside to tend their fields (or what US bombing had left of them). Village life otherwise continued in the tunnels, which were comparatively comfortable (in contrast to the combat tunnels of e.g. Cu Chi ). The tunnels were not purely for civilian purposes, however (the distinction between combatants and civilians is notoriously blurred in the context of Vietnam anyway), but were also used to transport weapons and other equipment, brought in from Con Co Island, a North Vietnamese base off the coast near Vinh Moc in the South China Sea.. During the ca.