Dien Bien Phu

Dien Bien is located in the northwest of Vietnam, south of the Da River. It shares its borders with Laos to the west, the provinces of Lai Chau to the north and Son La to the east. The province has many primitive forests with a rich fauna and flora in a high and steep mountainous region alternating with some narrow valleys and small plateaus.

Dien Bien has historical particularities, particularly the vestiges of the victory of Dien Bien Phu which shook the world in 1954. This small fertile plateau that constitutes the wide basin of Dien Bien Phu is mainly visited by the Vietnamese who come to commemorate their victory. The rare French seem for their part still traumatized by the specter of defeat. Life has resumed and vegetation covers a good number of abandoned artillery pieces on the site. General de Castrie’s shelter is the perfect place for souvenir photos for veterans. The reconstruction of the hill of Eliane II overlooking the Vietnamese cemetery reinforces the feeling of violence that hovers over the site. A poignant visit, which will find a little sweetness in the encounter with the mountain ethnic groups of the region. The particularly rich landscapes, the markets also deserve to be explored.