Cu Chi Tunnels Ben Duoc, Cao Dai Temple & Black Virgin Mountain

Your guide and driver meet you in your hotel lobby in districts 1, 3 or 4, between 6:30am and 7:30am. If your hotel is outside the pickup area, we meet at the Saigon Opera House. From the city it is about 90 minutes on the road to Ben Duoc.

Vietnam's forests built a woodworking tradition, and the monsoon climate gave it a problem: in that heat and damp, wood splits and insects get in. The answer was the resin of the son tree, brushed over temple doors and statues to seal them. In the 18th century settlers moving south carried the craft down the Saigon River to Thu Dau Mot, just north of Saigon, where the lacquer village of Tuong Binh Hiep still works today. In the 1930s Vietnamese painters turned the same material into a medium for pictures, and son mai painting was born. A board takes ten to twenty layers of resin. Crushed eggshell is set in for white, which lacquer cannot make any other way. Then the whole thing is sanded back with water and stone, and the picture appears out of what is removed rather than what is added. One painting takes months. Here that work is done by artisans living with disabilities, and you can watch every stage.

Leave the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City to explore one of the relics from one of the most significant local historical events in recent memory. Journey takes 2 hours west towards the Cambodian border. Ongoing way to the Cu Chi tunnels, we can see local life in the area, both past and present. Learn about their lives, culture, and customs and get an insight into the recent past through local eyes. The location of the tunnels was of significant strategic importance: they are at the end of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, and within striking distance of the southern Vietnam capital. Initial construction started in 1948 when the Viet Minh required somewhere to hide from French air attacks, and by 1965, the tunnel complex was estimated to consist of 200 km of tunnels. It included, hospitals, schools, meeting rooms, kitchens, and sleeping quarters. Life was difficult for the inhabitants, and to protect against outside intruders, booby traps were laid throughout the complex.

Cao Dai Holy See, founded in 1926, is 4km east of Tay Ninh in the village of Long Hoa. As well as the Great Temple, the complex houses administrative offices, residences for officials and adepts, and a hospital of traditional Vietnamese herbal medicine that attracts people from all over the south for its treatments. While Buddhism and Christianity are well-known in Vietnam, Caodaism remains relatively obscure. Caodaism is the youngest religion in the country, blending elements from various significant religions into its unique practices. Tay Ninh Holy See, also locally known as Cao Dai Temple, represents this fascinating belief system. Prayers are conducted four times daily in the Great Temple (suspended during Tet). It’s worth visiting during prayer sessions (the one at noon is most popular with tour groups from HCMC). Only a few hundred adherents, dressed in splendid garments, participate in weekday prayers, but during festivals several thousand may attend.

Ba Den Mountain, located in the northeast of Tay Ninh City, is a famous and iconic landmark in South Vietnam. Specifically, this gigantic mountain is situated within the cultural and historical relic complex of Ba Den, which is approximately 100 kilometers away from the bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City. This mountain boasts an impressive altitude of 986 meters, making it the tallest peak in the entire South of Vietnam. This soaring height contributes to the allure of the site, attracting visitors from far and wide. The natural scenery surrounding Ba Den Mountain is simply enchanting, with awe-inspiring landscapes that captivate the hearts of all who venture there.

We drive back from Tay Ninh in the late afternoon, about two hours, and drop you at your hotel door. Most days you are back between 7:00pm and 7:30pm depending on traffic.