Quang Tri’s ancient citadel

Quang Tri lies on the road linking the central region’s World Heritage sites, with Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park as a World Natural Heritage site to the north, and Hue’s ancient citadel, the ancient town of Hoi An and My Son Sanctuary as the World Cultural Heritage sites to the south.

Quang Tri also has war-related historical sites such as Quang Tri’s ancient citadel, Hien Luong Bridge, Vinh Moc Tunnel, Ta Con Airport and McNamara Line (electric fence) named after former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara who was involved in its creation.

The province has a combination of cultures of the central region and ethnic minority groups like Van Kieu and Pa Co and it enjoys wellknown events such as the Pa Co buffalo-stabbing festival.

Vinh Moc military base is a real highlight. Located about 40 kilometers from Dong Ha City, the tunnel system is like a miniature village which is 10 meters to 23 meters underground. It is more than 1,700 meters long and there is an interlacing transport system underground.

It has three floors. The first is 12 meters deep and the place for daily activities of locals while the second floor is 15 meters deep and used to store food and weapons, and hold meetings. The deepest floor is 23 meters underground and is where locals protected themselves from bombing during the American War. The system has a total of 13 doors, of which seven are linked to the sea and six linked to the hills. Around 180,000 people lived in the tunnel system for over two years.

The tunnel has been recognized as a national historical site and was opened for public viewing in 1995. Ta Con Airport and Khe Sanh Tourist Area are about 60 kilometers from Dong Ha City and give tourists a glimpse of daily life of local ethnic people with colorful traditional cultures.

To attract more tourists, the hotel has launched the tour to explore Con Co Beach where tourists can see splendid sunrise and sunset, enjoy swimming and exchange with local residents and border guards on the island.

The four-star Saigon – Dong Ha Hotel under management of Saigontourist is recommended for tourists in the Quang Tri area. Situated in downtown Dong Ha City by the Hieu River and Dong Ha Bridge, the hotel has 98 rooms, three restaurants, one bar and other facilities such as a conference hall, fi tness center and spa.

To give customers an interesting experience, the hotel is offering many tours to discover Quang Tri such as a two-day-one-night tour of Dong Ha-Khe Sanh-Lao Bao-Vinh Moc, a tour for discovering Con Co Island, and other tours to explore tourist destinations in the central region.

The Saigon – Dong Ha Hotel is located at 1 Bui Thi Xuan Street in Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, tel: 053.35777888, fax: 053.3577889, email: sgdh@saigondongahahotel.com.