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'Mix & Match' Tours
§ City of Hanoi
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§ Ancient Capitals
§ Northern Highlands
§ Cao Bang & Lang Son
§ Central Highlands
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§ Mekong & the South
§ Cu Chi & Tay Ninh
§ Ho Chi Minh City


Tell us about your particular interests, and we'll take you to places only the local guides know. Whether it's active travel, sun worship, study tours, Vietnam War sites, or satisfying your culinary curiosity, Mikeland welcomes a challenge!

 

   

Home > "Mix & Match Tours > Cu Chi & Tay Ninh

This popular day trip heads from Saigon to the northeast province of Tay Ninh, with a morning stop at the Cu Chi Tunnels.

During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong built this elaborate underground network of tunnels to shelter thousands of guerillas and their supporters. Today, you can explore the restored tunnels and view displays of this historical site that show how the guerillas built the tunnels and how they lived in them.

Cu Chi is quite different than any exhibit that you'll see in the city museums, as most visitors go 'underground' for part of the tour. Even though the tunnels have been enlarged a bit for western visitors, it is an unforgettable experience. If you want to really get the sound and feel of Cu Chi, you can even take a turn at the rifle range. The tour, led by uniformed guides, ends with a surprisingly refreshing snack of tapioca, one of the few treats enjoyed by the residents of Cu Chi during the war. Congratulations, you're now a "tunnel rat"!

 

The Cao Dai "Holy See"

The province of Tay Ninh is home to the spectacular Cao Dai Cathedral, the "mother church" to a unique Vietnamese religious sect founded in 1926. The Cao Dai faith is a blend of Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and other religions. It numbers among its saints Buddha, Christ, Confucius, Lao-tse, Victor Hugo, and Sun Yat-Sen. If you left Saigon early enough in the morning, you can watch the elaborate ritual of the noon service from the upper gallery.

The novelist Graham Greene was very interested in the Cao Dai and mentions them in his famous novel, The Quiet American. Since that time, describing the Cao Dai temple has become almost a contest among western writers. A notable recent entry into the sweepstakes is Larry Heineman's observation that it is "like being inside a giant banana split." (Black Virgin Mountain, 2005)

 

Mountain of the Black Lady

The final destination of the day is the scenic "Mountain of the Black Lady," or Nui Ba Den (pictured at the top of this Web page). The pagoda near the summit of the mountain is a very popular destination for religious pilgrims, who either hike up the slope or take the 'ski lift.'

The views are spectacular, and you may want to take a breather at the upper "Cave Temple" and just enjoy the views.