Viengxay Caves

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Viengxay Caves are a large network of limestone caves in Houaphanh Province, in northeast Laos.

During the Second Indochina War, about 480 caves were used by the Pathet Lao to shelter from heavy American bombing. As many as 23,000 people lived in the caves, which had a hospital, a school, Pathet Lao offices, bakeries, shops, and even a theatre. The area served as a base for communist forces fighting royalist troops based in Vientiane, and it also held captured U.S. servicemen.

Because the bombing was so intense, people lived and worked in the caves, and locals say farmers even farmed at night to avoid raids. The caves were near the North Vietnamese border, which helped with logistics and political support.

Today the Lao government hopes to promote the Viengxay Caves as a tourism site, similar to the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam or the Killing Fields in Cambodia. It offers a rare chance to explore a largely intact revolutionary base. Plans have been made to develop the site for international visitors, with improved signs and interpretation at the caves. International groups have been invited to help with this development.