Ky Anh Tunnels in Ban Thach Ward (Former Tam Ky): 1965-1967 History, How to Get There from Da Nang and Hoi An, and Tips for Crawling Through

What the Ky Anh Tunnels Are

The Ky Anh Tunnels are a network of underground passages in a coastal sand belt, where villagers and local forces took shelter and ran their command during the war against the United States. According to Tien Phong (26 July 2026), digging started in May 1965 with hoes, shovels, crowbars and baskets, and was done only between about 5:00 PM and 2:00 AM to keep it secret, with the excavated earth carried into the villagers’ own artillery shelters. After nearly two years the network was finished in 1967. It includes command bunkers, medical bunkers, food stores, bomb shelters, fighting positions and camouflaged ventilation holes, and one section runs beneath the Thach Tan communal house.

The site was recognised as a national historical and revolutionary relic in 1997. The official Da Nang tourism site (Danang Fantasticity) describes it as one of the three largest tunnel systems in Vietnam. On length, Danang Fantasticity and Tien Phong both give about 32 km, but a VietnamPlus article (24 July 2026) on the Ban Thach Ward festival says the system is about 3 km long. The two figures differ clearly, so we use 32 km as the most common number and note that visitors walk only a much shorter restored section.

New Address and How to Get There

After Da Nang’s administrative reorganisation from 1 July 2025, 2026 articles place the tunnels in Ban Thach Ward, Da Nang City. Mia.vn (15 June 2026) says the site is about 7 km east of central Tam Ky and that the access road follows National Highway 1A, while Danang Fantasticity puts it about 3 km from National Highway 1A and about 50 km from Hoi An along the coastal road.

• From Da Nang: according to mia.vn, about 70 km along National Highway 1A to central Tam Ky plus about 7 km more, roughly 77 km (adding the article’s two figures, not a measured distance).
• From Hoi An: about 50 km along the coastal road, and Sun Travel’s route list gives Hoi An to Tam Ky as about 50 km, 1 hour.
• By bus: LK21 from the Da Nang southern bus station to Tam Ky (30,000 VND, ~$1.2 USD, per trip, 4:45 AM to 5:30 PM according to mia.vn); from the stop in Tam Ky you need a motorbike taxi, taxi or rented motorbike for about another 7 km.
• Private car with driver: suits groups with older relatives or small children because it avoids several changes, and it makes it easy to add other stops around Tam Ky.

What You Can Visit

Danang Fantasticity lists a restored tunnel section of about 110 m, the Thach Tan communal house, an exhibition house, the medical and command bunkers and traces in the village itself. Village life here also includes sedge mat weaving, folk songs and simple meals of sweet potato and cassava. VietnamPlus (24 July 2026) adds the tourism products now being developed at the site, including kayaking on the Dam River and sedge mat weaving experiences in Thach Tan.

In 2026 Ban Thach Ward held the Ky Anh Tunnels - Dam River Reed Beds Culture and Tourism Festival from 24 to 30 July, with stage performances, ceremonies at the Thach Tan and Vinh Binh communal houses, a village re-enactment and the release of fish and shrimp into the Dam River. If you visit during a festival period, expect the site to be busier than usual.

Tickets and Opening Hours: What We Could Not Verify

We have not found an official ticket price or visiting hours for the Ky Anh Tunnels. Danang Fantasticity, Tien Phong and VietnamPlus give neither, and some tour sites say entry is free but those are not notices from the managing body. For that reason we give no figures: go in daylight, ask the Ban Thach Ward authorities or local residents at the reception point, and do not plan a sunset visit or a very early start before you know the opening time.

Buses and taxis only take you close to the area. If you come by a large vehicle, ask first where it can park, because we have seen no official source that mentions parking for a 16-seat van.

Tips for Crawling Through the Tunnel

Tien Phong (26 July 2026) describes visitors bending over to pass through a narrow, dim passage while listening to commentary at the stops, in a tunnel about 0.8 to 1 m high. Mia.vn advises comfortable, stretchy clothing and sports shoes or flat shoes with good grip.

• Anyone who fears enclosed spaces, has asthma, a heart condition or back pain should look at the above-ground displays instead of going down.
• Bring a phone torch, a small towel and drinking water, because the passage is both narrow and dark.
• Keep small children close to an adult and do not let them run in the tunnel, because the tight passage makes bumps likely.
• This is a historic site and a place of memory, so keep quiet and do not sit on or climb the exhibit models.

Half-Day Itinerary Around Tam Ky

The tunnels lie off the usual Da Nang to Hoi An tourist route, so start early and pair them with one or two stops near Tam Ky. The times below are only a guide because we could not verify the opening hours of each stop.

1. Step 1: 7:00 AM set off from Hoi An or Da Nang. Take the coastal road or National Highway 1A to Tam Ky, and start early to avoid the fierce midday sun while you are crawling through the tunnel.
2. Step 2: 8:30 to 10:30 AM at the Ky Anh Tunnels. See the exhibition house, the Thach Tan communal house and the restored section, and ask about the reception hours when you arrive.
3. Step 3: 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM a stop near Tam Ky. Call at the Vietnamese Heroic Mother Monument or the Tam Thanh mural village, and see our guides to a Hoi An to Tam Ky trip via the Mother Thu monument and the Tam Thanh mural village.
4. Step 4: 12:00 to 1:30 PM lunch in Tam Ky, then head back. The return to Hoi An takes about 1 hour and to Da Nang about 1.5 hours, according to the route list.

Private Car to the Ky Anh Tunnels

The two nearest routes are the Hoi An to Tam Ky private car and the Da Nang to Tam Ky private car, and fares for each vehicle type are in the Da Nang and Hoi An car price list and on the route pages. The tunnels are about 7 km beyond central Tam Ky, so extra stops, waiting time and the added distance are quoted in advance, before you confirm the trip.