Hue - Vietnam Travel Information

Vietnam - Destiations

The city Hue used to be in the past the royal city of Vietnam and was the capital during 1802 until 1945 under the Nguyen dynasty. Unfortunately big parts from the remnants were destroyed in Vietnam’s wars, but there are still a lot to see.

The city’s main attractions are the graves of Nguyen’s Caesars dynasty that are scattered in the area.

In 1993 UNESCO declared Hue as a world heritage site.

Tu Duc Tomb

The grave of the Caesar Tu Doc was build between 1864 to 1867. The grave was planned for a perfect harmony of nature, temples and even a harem for the 104 wives of the Caesar.

The exact place where the Caesar was buried remains confidential and the heads of all the 200 servants that buried the Caesar were decapitated in order to prevent grave-robbery.
The grave is situated about 5 km southern to Hue city.

Technical Details

55,000 Dong (about $3.5).

Getting There

The tomb is about 5km south of Hue.

The demilitarized zone - DMZ

Hue is the most convenient place to arrange an organized tour to Vietnam’s demilitarized zone.

In 1954, after the defeat of France in the India-China war, the French reached an agreement with the Vietnamese that the cease-fire line will be along latitude no. 17, along Ben Hai River.
5 km from both sides of the latitude were defined as an area that is forbidden for army entrance (demilitarized zone – DMZ).

This division was supposed to be temporary until the elections, but those did not occur. Thus Vietnam was divided to two countries- northern and southern. The area was used as a border until 1975, when Vietnam was reunited.

With the entrance of the Americans to Vietnam at the 60s, this area became the front line of Vietnam’s war. The Americans built few army bases that their name has become another word to the war, like Khe Sanh Combat Base.

The tour to the demilitarized zone is actually historical tour, since in all those visited places there are hardly any evidence to the events that happened there. All there is to see is hills and grass grounds with nothing on them, and all is left is the famous name.

The only interesting part (in my opinion) in the tour to the demilitarized zone is the visit in the Vinh Mic Tunnels. In this place there was a village that due to its closeness to the demilitarized zone, became a base of the Vietcong warriors. The Americans bombed the village without a stop, which forced the village inhabitants to live in the tunnels they dug underneath the village (94 families lived here!)

The tunnels spread along 2 km in 3 different layers. The first is 13 meters depth, the second is 15 meters depth and the third is 23 meter beneath surface.

The tunnels were dug in 2 years and included a meeting hall, a delivery room (17 babies were born here during the war), a surgery room, food warehouses, toilets, water wells, kitchens and bedrooms.

Technical Details

DMZ Tour - $13
Vinh Moc Tunnels Tour - $6