During the Vietnam War, among the tactics used by Vietcong guerrillas to evade capture, was the digging of extensive tunnel networks, protected by hidden entrances. One of the largest of these secret underworlds survives at Cu Chi village,…

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Developed by the French as a refuge from the stifling humidity of Saigon, Da Lat is today Vietnam’s most popular hill resort. Its refreshing climate and faded Gallic ambiance have made it a favourite destination for Vietnamese newly-weds an…

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In the extreme north of the country along the Chinese border, Ha Giang is Vietnam’s most remote and mountainous province. Local markets provide the best opportunities to meet its ethnic minority people, dressed in their dazzling attire, and…

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Rising in majestic fashion from the northern shore of Vietnam, the karst limestone formations of Halong Bay create a unique, spellbinding landscape. Around 2,000 islands, islets, outcrops and towering mountains, draped in vegetation and rid…

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Vietnam’s charismatic capital, on the Red River, may be expanding and modernizing at an extraordinary pace, but it’s a great city to explore on foot. Surrounded by parks and tranquil lakes, the core is a medieval Old Quarter – one of the mo…

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Ho Chi Minh City – or ‘HCMC’ as it’s more often referred to these days – epitomizes the contrasting facets of modern Vietnam. Vibrant, dynamic and evolving at a breathless pace, it also retains strong connections with its past. As ‘Saigon’,…

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A thriving port before it was eclipsed by nearby Da Nang, Hoi An’s Old Quarter preserves a unique cultural legacy spanning more than three-hundred years of colonial trade. Wandering its grid of 17th-century streets, you’ll pass some fine ex…

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During the 143-year reign of the Nguyen dynasty (1802–1945), the last ruling family of Vietnam, Hue was an imperial capital famed for the piety of its monasteries and splendour of its royal palaces and mausoleums. Much damage was inflicted…

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One of the unsung delights of Vietnam’s far north is beautiful Ba Be Lake, focal point of an eponymous national park that preserves a tract of superb limestone mountains and forest. Hills dotted with ancient pines surge from the glassy wate…

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The remote Mai Chau Valley, a couple of hours’ drive out of Hanoi in the lower reaches of the Truoung Son Mountains, makes an excellent base for treks into the nearby hills, inhabited by a mix of ethnic minority communities, including the H…

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This unprepossessing industrial town 59 miles (95km) south of Hanoi yields few hints of the scenic and cultural wonders hidden in its hinterland, but does provide a convenient base. Often dubbed “Halong Bay on land”, Tam Coc is the area’s r…

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French colonials originally founded this hill station, scattered over the eastern slopes of the Hoang Lien Mountains (the ‘Tonkinese Alps’), as a summer retreat. It was badly damaged by the Japanese in the 1940s, and again during the Vietna…

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