Hill A1 Đồi A1: Eliane 2: Pú Lạng Chượng
Hill with the blast crater
Walk Hill A1, the crater, the trenches, and the crest bunker. The French name is Eliane 2, and the local names are Pú Lạng Chượng and Đồi Đồn Tây. Fighting here lasted 39 days and nights, and more than 2,500 soldiers died. A tank on the hill is 18 tons. The crater is 960 kg, restored in 2004. Noon is shut. A walk length is check on arrival. Night hours are Friday, Saturday, and official holidays, 19:30–21:30.
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The blast crater on Hill A1, with the crest path and the trees behind it
Photo: Tycho · CC BY-SA 3.0
Walk the hill that watches the basin. The French name is Eliane 2. The local names are Pú Lạng Chượng and Đồi Đồn Tây. Fighting lasted 39 days and nights, and more than 2,500 soldiers died. On the crest you see a bunker, a trench system, and the blast crater. A tank here is 18 tons. The crater is 960 kg, restored in 2004 for the 50th anniversary. The crater’s shape is also described without those two figures. Keep the tank weight and the crater weight beside that description.
Photo: Adam Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0
Day hours, all week including holidays, are 7:00–11:00 and 13:30–18:00 from 1 March to 30 September, and 7:00–11:00 and 13:30–17:30 from 1 October to 28 February. The standing hours match those day blocks, date the winter pattern from 5 October 2022, and add a night opening, 19:30–21:30 on Friday, Saturday, and official holidays. The March 2026 day-hours change does not mention the night. The night window stays. Lighting was finished in December 2024, the night opening started 1 January 2025, and the project cost more than 13 billion VND. A walk length is check on arrival. Do not use the museum’s 21:00 close as this hill’s close.
Adults 18 and over pay 20,000 VND a person a visit a point, day or night. The two 20,000 VND lines do not say whether a day ticket covers the night. Half price for ethnic residents of the province, older people, and people with severe disability. Veterans, people with a revolutionary-service paper, organized students and soldiers with a plan, people under 18, and people with especially severe disability are free. The old ward name phường Mường Thanh sits inside phường Điện Biên Phủ from 1 July 2025.
Getting there and around
Hill A1 is inside the basin, not on the Mường Phăng road. Walk or take a short ride from a hotel in phường Điện Biên Phủ. Check the minutes and a taxi fare inside the ward on arrival.
From the basin ward
In the same ward as the monument and the bunker. Check the minutes on arrival. The hill is shut from 11:00 to 13:30.
From Hill D1
Both points sit in the basin. Walk or ride between them. Check the minutes on arrival. The night gate is a separate opening on this hill, not on D1.
Hours and fees
- Hours
Day: 7:00–11:00 and 13:30–18:00 from 1 March to 30 September, and 7:00–11:00 and 13:30–17:30 from 1 October to 28 February. All week, including holidays. Night: 19:30–21:30 on Friday, Saturday, and official holidays. The March 2026 day-hours change does not mention the night. Check the gate.
- Closed
Shut from 11:00 to 13:30 every day. No weekly close. Night opening is only Friday, Saturday, and official holidays. Last entry, if it differs, is check on arrival.
- Admission
Adults 18 and over pay 20,000 VND a person a visit a point. The night adult ticket is also 20,000 VND. The two lines do not say whether a day ticket covers the night. Half price for ethnic residents of the province, older people, and people with severe disability. Free for veterans, people with a revolutionary-service paper, organized students and soldiers with a plan, people under 18, and people with especially severe disability. The museum’s tickets do not cover this hill.
Also in Dien Bien Phu
Victory monument and Hill D1 Tượng đài Chiến thắng Điện Biên Phủ: Đồi D1
Walk the copper group on Hill D1 and the yard under it.
De Castries bunker Hầm De Castries: Sở chỉ huy Tập đoàn cứ điểm Điện Biên Phủ
Go down into the command bunker in the center of town.
Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum Bảo tàng Chiến thắng Điện Biên Phủ
Walk the campaign museum in the basin, on a ticket of its own.
Muong Thanh bridge Cầu Mường Thanh: cầu Bailey
Cross the Bailey span over the Nậm Rốm in the center of town.
The Nam Rom and the basin fields Sông Nậm Rốm: lòng chảo Mường Thanh
Walk the Nậm Rốm and the rice fields under the hills.
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