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  • HCM Trail Then and Now

The Ho Chi Minh Trail: Then and Now (Part 1)

The NVA capture a tank during Lam Son 719 near Sepon on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
We've spent more than 20 years exploring and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos, and have compiled this set of images comparing what it looked like then with now.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail

map of the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Laos was the most direct route from the north to the south of Vietnam. There were no US ground soldiers stationed there, and the area was flatter and more densely covered in forest and jungle.
map of US strikes in Vietnam on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Each of the small red dots marks a single US attack sortie of up to eight planes. The Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos was attacked approximately 700,000 times.
detailed map of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
This map gives an impression of the Trail's complexity. It represents only a small section of the Ho Chi Minh Trail network near Sepon.

Historical Photos of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos

an iconic photo of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops passing through the Tha Me area on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
an iconic photo of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops passing through the Tha Me area south of Sepon on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos.
cliff in the Tha Me area on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
You can ride your motorbike bike to the same location. The rock ledge is scared by bomb impacts.
General Giap visits troops stationed at the Phu La Nic canyon on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
General Giap visits troops stationed at the infamous Phu La Nic Canyon, south of Ban Laboy Ford and Ban Karai Pass.
the Phu La Nic Pass on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
This photo is taken just up the hill from where the photo to the left was taken on the way to Ban Laboy Ford.

Jets, Trucks and Tanks

The OV-1 Mohawk flew many missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The OV-1 Mohawk, whose star on the fuselage is very similar in size to the panel used as a window in the photo to the right.
part of an American aircraft fuselage being used to cover a window on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
I came across this aircraft part in a village west of Attepeu. Perhaps it came from a documented OV-1 Mowhawk that was shot down in that area.
PT-76 light amphibious tank used by the NVA during Lam Son 719 on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The PT-76 light amphibious tank fighting during the unsuccessful Operation Lam Son 719 in 1971.
an amphibious tank displayed in Vietnam that went down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A similar tank was used to overrun the Lang Vey Special Forces Base, just to the west of Khe Sanh, in 1968.
Phantom F-4 hitting a target on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A Phantom F-4 in action. All told 671 were lost during the Vietnam War.
wing tip from a downed Phantom F-4 jet south of the Mu Gia pass on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A wing tip from a downed Phantom F-4 jet in the Mu Gia pass area, one of the 40-odd planes shot down in this area.
trucks used by the NVA on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
At any given time there were three to six thousand trucks operating on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
a destroyed truck on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Trucks were the prime target of US interdiction efforts.
camouflaged truck on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Trucks were heavily camouflaged, and typically traveled only at night, back and forth between supply way stations.
Explore Indochina tour members in a destroyed truck on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Notice the bullet holes in the roof.
a row of trucks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Each driver would follow a specific route, night after night.
a destroyed truck near Kaelum on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Truck wreckage found in the jungle north of Kaelum.
a North Vietnamese tank entering Saigon
A NVA tank storms the Presidential Palace in Saigon on the last day of the war.
a destroyed tank on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
This ruined tank, north of Attepeu, was abandoned at the end of the war, and was only revealed when the Ho Chi Minh Trail was widened in 2005.
North Vietnamese tank rolling through Saigon
North Vietnamese tanks driving through Saigon at the end of the war.
Explore Indochina motorcycle tour members sitting on a destroyed tank on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Some 38 cluster bombs were discovered in the area around this tank when it was swept for UXO (unexploded ordinance) in 2016.
The NVA capture a tank during Lam Son 719 near Sepon on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The NVA capture a tank during the Lam Son 719 Battle near Sepon.
an abandoned tank in Ban Dong on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A similar tank, abandoned in Ban Dong Village. South Vietnamse forces suffered 50% casualties during the Lam Son 719 Battle, and some 150 tanks and armoured vehicles were lost.
Thud F-105 jets in formation over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Thud F-105 jets in formation over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos.
F-105 jet and star cut into the side of a house near Sekong on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A local farmer cuts the shape of a jet into the wall of his house north of Sekong.

Jet Fuel Canisters

US aircraft regularly jettisoned their fuel canisters on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
US aircraft regularly jettisoned their fuel canisters on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos.
Many fuel canisters crashed with relatively minor damage on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A fuel canister at a petrol station near Lak Sao in Laos.

HQ of the 559 Engineering Corps

HQ of the 559 Engineering Corps the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The HQ of the 559 Engineering Corps was a multi layered tunnel complex, some 200 metres long, hidden in the hills to the west of Sepon.
visiting the HQ of the 559 Engineering Corps on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The HQ partially collapsed in 1968 and had to be abandoned.
a telecommunications switchboard in the 559 Corps HQ on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The tunnel complex housed over eight offices and some 100 staff, including a telecommunications switchboard.
western entrance to the 559 Engineering Corps HQ on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
The HQ's western entrance is all but lost in the jungle now.
Dong Sy Nguyen instructs the high command about the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Dong Sy Nguyen, the commander of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, instructs staff officers of the 559 Corps in Vietnam.
Explore Indochina tour riders inside the 559 Engineering Corps HQ on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Explore Indochina found the HQ's exact location by talking to a former NVA colonel who commanded the Ho Chi Minh Trail's anti-aircraft forces.

Bombs, Mortars and other Explosives

Vietnamese soldier armed with an RPG during Operation Lam Son 719 on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Russian-made RPGs were a cheap, simple and formidable weapon.
discarded explosive shells litter parts of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
They litter the jungle on certain parts of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, like here in Ban Bak.
a female Vietnamese soldier carrying mortars on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A North Vietnamese porter carrying mortars.
mortar casing being used as a truck turning indicator on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A mortar casing used as a truck's indicator light.
Vietnamese soldiers setting up a mortar on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Vietnamese soldiers setting up a mortar.
mortar shell casing used at a cow bell on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Local farmers often convert mortar casings into cow bells.
An F-100 fires rockets onto the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Some two million tons of ordinance was dropped on Laos, making it the highest per capita country bombed on the planet.
bomb casing found on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A spent 250-pound bomb casing south of Muong Nong in Laos.
bombs being dropped on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Many of the bombs dropped on Vietnam and Laos remain unexploded to this day.
riding past a bomb on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Riding past a bomb on the way to the Ban Laboy Ford.
A formation of Thud F-105 bomber jets releasing their payload on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A formation of Thud F-105 bomber jets releasing their payload.
An Explore Indochina rider taking a photo next to a huge bomb on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
750-pound bomb scrap metal casings in Sepon Laos.
one load of bombs from a B-52 dropped onto the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A B-52 could release up to 100 bombs in one attack.
two live 250-pound bombs in Ban Phanop Village on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Two live 250-pound bombs in Ban Phanop Village.
F-100F Super Sabre escorts a B-52 over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
An F-100F Super Sabre escorts a B-52.
an unexploded 500-pound bomb in the hills above La Hap on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A unexploded 500-pound bomb in the hills above La Hap.
A B-52 bomber over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A B-52 releases its payload over Laos.
2000-pound bombs in Nong on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
2000-pound bombs in Muong Nong.
Phantom F-4 jets attacking the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
Phantom F-4 jets releasing their payload over Laos.
750-pound bombs at the Mu Gia Pass on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
750-pound bombs at the Mu Gia Pass.
A-6 Intruders attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
A-6 Intruders drop their payload on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
750-pound bombs on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
750-pound bombs waiting for pickup at a river crossing near Bualapaha.
Picture of Digby Greenhalgh

By Digby Greenhalgh

Digby Greenhalgh is the founder of Explore Indochina, and a recognized expert on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All motorcycle tours are designed and guided by Digby.
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