Underground tunnels have long attracted people's attention. Because they are always works that require a lot of effort and money to build. Many of them are also associated with historical milestones, demonstrating the will and determination of people to survive. Below is a list of 6 most worth-experienced tunnel tours in the world that you can experience, according to Traveler magazine.
Glasgow Central Railway Station, Scotland
On the surface, Glasgow's largest railway station is a magnificent Victorian castle. It is a busy station, handling tens of thousands of passengers every day.
However, it is the “underground” that is so special about this station! The hour-long tunnel tour is one of the most intriguing and emotional attractions here. The tour is designed to introduce visitors to the history of the station, connecting them to an important part of Glasgow’s history and its people.
During the war, this tunnel area served as a shelter for city residents. The tour guide will tell visitors the tragic and painful stories of this bomb-filled period.
Cu Chi Tunnels - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Built with extremely primitive tools during the anti-French period, Cu Chi tunnels are considered a must-visit destination for tunnel tourism fans. Cu Chi is therefore also one of the "hottest" destinations for foreign tourists when coming to Ho Chi Minh City.
Coming to this relic site, visitors can choose from two different tunnel experience areas. The first area in Ben Dinh has a narrower tunnel system but is more "authentic" and attracts more visitors. Visitors will experience crawling through parts of the tunnel, then visit the fighting areas, kitchens, ammunition depots, sewing workshops and even field hospitals. Meanwhile, the Ben Duoc tunnel system has tunnel sections that are more friendly to international visitors because of their more comfortable size due to later expansion.
Also in this article, Traveller magazine mentioned the tunnel at Reunification Palace and Vinh Moc tunnel - Quang Tri as other great tunnel tours that tourists can visit in Vietnam.
Winston Churchill's bomb shelter, London, England
With one of the oldest and most extensive underground systems in the world, it’s no wonder London is on the list of destinations for tunnel tour enthusiasts. The highlight of the trip will be an abandoned underground station that was once used as a bomb shelter for British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II.
The site, located between Hyde Park Corner and Green Park, Down Street, operated for 25 years before closing in 1932. Eight years later, it was used as Churchill's secret underground headquarters during the 57 days and nights of Nazi bombing of London.
Tours of the tunnels are organised in small groups, starting from Down Street and lasting 90 minutes. They are very popular and often sell out quickly, so if you plan to visit, you will need to plan ahead.
Victoria Tunnel, Newcastle, England
Another famous tunnel in the UK is the Victoria Tunnel. It was originally built to transport coal over a 4km distance from Town Moor to the River Tyne and then loaded onto ships.
This tunnel is quite spacious enough for trucks to pass through. The entire tunnel system is also paved with gravel to help make movement easier. Opened in 1842, this tunnel was only in operation for 18 years. Then during World War II, it was used as a bomb shelter for local people.
A 700 metre section of the tunnel has recently been opened for tourism. Tours last between 1 and 2 hours and include many historical artifacts. The Victoria Tunnel Tour has quickly become one of the most popular activities for visitors to Newcastle.
Demilitarized Zone Tunnel, South Korea
In the 1970s, 20 years after the Korean War, South Korea announced that it had discovered that North Korea had dug a secret tunnel under the demilitarized zone that divided the two Koreas.
Large enough to transport artillery, weapons and 3,000 soldiers an hour, the tunnel is believed to have been used for a southward advance, but North Korea has denied this, insisting it is a disused coal mine.
Today, the tunnel is under South Korean control and visitors can take a tunnel tour of the site, with a 250-meter underground section that extends to a location just 40 kilometers from Seoul.
Fremantle Prison, Australia
This tour of the prison tunnels in Western Australia requires both strength and stamina. After being equipped with safety equipment, visitors will have to descend 20 meters to explore a maze of tunnels dug by prisoners.
One of the purposes of creating this tunnel system was to provide fresh water for daily life, and also as a form of hard labor punishment for prisoners serving sentences here. Since 1992, this place has operated as a museum, attracting more than 130,000 visitors each year.
This expedition is not simple, because visitors will experience both dry and wet tunnels. For the flooded tunnel, visitors will have to board a boat and participate in rowing to explore this system. Visitors who love the feeling of adventure can join the prison exploration tour at night, using flashlights.
