Ho Chi Minh Trail Travel Information

Ho Chi Minh Trail Description:

Between 1959 and 1975 the Northern Vietnamese Army used a network of winding, mostly dirty roads and paths known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail to ship war materiel and personnel from the Communist held north some 500 miles to the battlefields in Southern Vietnam.

The trail, named after the revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, originally consisted of hundreds of footpaths winding through dense jungles and craggy mountains camouflaged by thick vegetation. The network stretched from the northern city of Hanoi around the Dematerialized Zone near the city of Hue, and beyond. After U.S. blockades of sea shipping lanes all but halted materiel transport along the coast, the Ho Chi Minh trail was extensively widened and improved using heavy equipment, and North Vietnamese Army forces began shipping tons of war materiel along the network of winding roads on a daily basis.

The shifting network of roads and trails was heavily camouflaged by both natural forest canopies and cunning efforts of the North Vietnamese Army. The camouflage protected the Ho Chi Minh Trail from much of the heavy and consistent bombing during the Vietnam War. By the mid-1960s the Ho Chi Minh Trail was so well camouflaged that convoys of military trucks shipping materiel south were only visible from the air when fording rivers on simple bridges hidden below the waters’ surface.

Stopping the Ho Chi Minh Trail’s flow of goods and personnel became a top priority for the U.S. military in South Vietnam in 1965. It was estimated the trail’s improvements had allowed the amount of supplies shipped along the route in 1964 to equal the previous five years’ worth of shipments combined. The U.S. military embarked on a series of mostly failed campaigns to eradicate the trail including building numerous fire bases along choke points, and spreading the infamous Agent Orange to kill the jungle foliage along the paths.

In recent years, large swaths of the former Ho Chi Minh Trail have been converted into a national highway running roughly along the same path as the original clandestine war route. Though U.S. bombings failed to break the trail during the war, there were still massive losses of human life for the North Vietnamese Army. It’s estimated that U.S. planes dropped as much as three bombs for every 10-square-feet in some areas of the Ho Chi Minh trail. Today, decades after the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and the reunification of the entire country into a single communist-led state, the signs of loss are evident in the small shrines and numerous war graveyards that dot the twisting road between Hanoi and Saigon.

Best Time to Visit Ho Chi Minh Trail:

Central Vietnam’s weather is generally the best between October and March when the weather is warm and short bursts of rain are common. The temperatures rise steadily from May until September, but increased rainfall often provides cooling relief during these months.

How to get to Ho Chi Minh Trail:

The Ho Chi Minh Trail stretches some 500 miles across the majority of Vietnam. Portions of trail, and the modern Ho Chi Minh Highway that runs along parts of the original network of trails, are about 50 miles from the city of Hue near the former Demilitarized Zone. Travelers enjoying one of our luxury tours of Vietnam can access the trail using our private vehicle service.

Ho Chi Minh Trail Highlights:

The Ho Chi Minh Trail is considered by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to be a marvel of military engineering largely unmatched in the 20th century. Carefully tended and expanded by some 40,000 personnel using only a handful of heavy machines and plenty of raw determination, the trail has become a symbol of national pride for many Vietnamese. The simple stretch of road is a potent reminder for guests on luxury tours of Vietnam of the indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people.

Appropriate Attire :

Western style clothing options are fine when visiting parts of the Ho Chi Minh trail, and we recommend wearing a good pair of shoes for hiking.