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If you have the opportunity to visit Can Gio - the only coastal district of Ho Chi Minh City, do not miss the trip to explore Sac forest, the land that used to be the heroic battle zone of Sac forest special forces.
The country has been unified for 50 years, but the miraculous feats and heroic sacrifices of the officers and soldiers of the 10th Special Forces Regiment of Sac Forest have become a legend about the indomitable will of the Vietnamese people in the struggle for national independence. And Sac Forest today is not only a sacred memory of the resistance war against the US but also a place that marks the birth and heroic fighting of the 10th Special Forces Regiment of Sac Forest - the predecessor of the Sac Forest Special Zone.
During the period from 1966 to 1975, with its rugged swampy terrain, vast mangrove forests and intricate canal system, this place became a secret base of operations, a training ground and the starting point for hundreds of daring battles into the enemy's lair.
With only over 800 soldiers, Regiment 10 carried out more than 1,200 battles, destroying and injuring over 4,000 enemies, sinking 356 military ships, destroying hundreds of vehicles and warehouses. Many famous battles such as the attack on Nha Be fuel depot, Saigon port, Rach La base... made the enemy extremely confused, while the people could not help but feel proud and impressed.
Setting foot in the historical site today, visitors will see a quiet and heroic space amidst the vast forests of mangroves, acacia, and barringtonia... Bamboo paths leading to floating tunnels, camps, and shelters have been restored to their original state.
Tourists can transform into special forces soldiers, wearing a traditional Vietnamese traditional dress and a conical hat, rowing a three-leaf boat through the forest, listening to the tour guides - mostly veterans - tell stories about their comrades, about "walking without traces, cooking without smoke, speaking without sound" in the middle of the swampy forest, where crocodiles, water snakes and mosquitoes are rampant.
Not only has historical depth, Sac forest is also a "green lung" with a mangrove ecosystem recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve.
In the midst of the deep green space, you can see playful monkeys swinging on tree trunks, or brackish water crocodiles sunbathing by the lake. Don't forget to try your hand at paintball, obstacle courses, or climbing the cable-stayed bridge in the middle of the forest - activities that are not only exciting but also help you understand more about the steel spirit of the soldiers of the past.
When you are tired, a rustic meal of braised pineapple fish, boiled wild vegetables with fish sauce, sour snakehead fish soup... will make you unable to forget the taste of the Southern land. The salty, sour, spicy, sweet taste is like the climate, the people here are simple, loyal, and strangely sincere.
The road is very easy, from the center of Ho Chi Minh City, you can go in the direction of Huynh Tan Phat street, cross Binh Khanh ferry (now Binh Khanh bridge under construction), continue along Rung Sac street about 40 km to reach Can Thanh town.
The Sac Forest historical site is located in Long Hoa commune, Can Gio district, about 60 km southeast of the city center. Visitors can travel by car, motorbike or take eco-historical tours organized by travel companies every day.
Leaving the Sac forest war zone as the sunset gently fell. The mangrove trees still rustled, reminding everyone to live up to the generations of fathers and brothers who sacrificed for the Fatherland.
THANH TAM
