Morning, transfer to Tay Ninh province, 99 km Northwest of Ho Chi Minh City to visit the Great Temple also known as The Holy See Temple of a rare religion named Cao Dai native to the province. Cao Dai was established in 1926 as a monotheistic religion with its name meaning is “Way of the Highest Lord” and its symbol of the left eye standing for Highest Lord’s clairvoyant power and wisdom. However, it incorporates some aspects of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and even Catholicism. The Great Temple, which was built in 1933, has a unique cross-architectural style akin to the religion’s blended nature. Players are conducted for times daily in the Great Temple (suspended during Tet). It is worth visiting during prayer sessions at noon that is most popular. There are about a few hundred prayers participate in weekday but up to several thousand may attend during festivals.
Transfer to a local restaurant for lunch and relax
Afternoon, we transfer to Cu Chi, the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base of Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and the Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate network of interlinked multilevel passageways at times stretched as far as the Cambodian border and totaling over 120 km in length. Its complexity was beyond imagination containing meeting rooms, kitchens, wells, clinics, schools, depots, trenches and emergency exits all aimed for guerrilla warfare. The tunnels were deep and strong enough to withstand destructive bombings and self-contained enough to outlast prolonged sieges. At the present, the section of the tunnel system open to visitors is a few hundred metres only. It is 50m length and about 1.2m high and 80cm across. Some travelers find them too claustrophobic for comfort but experience to know more about the war in Vietnam.
Note: Please wear respectfully inside the temple; no shorts or sleeveless T-shirts.
And in case you want a VC veteran who lived and fought during Vietnam War in this area to know more about the tunnels and their lives during the war. Please request our sales expert to add on the tour for you.