The sights
Erawan National Park & waterfalls
Seven tiers of travertine pools the colour of jade, strung along 1.5 km of forest trail. The lower levels are an easy stroll; the upper ones involve rocks, roots and ladders. Small fish nibble at your feet as you swim.
ℹ️ Open daily from about 8 am; the upper tiers close from mid-afternoon. Park fee for foreign visitors. Lifejackets are required for swimming and can be hired. Food and plastic bottles are restricted above the second tier. Allow 3–4 hours.
Bridge over the River Kwai
The steel railway bridge over the Kwae Yai, made famous by a novel and a film that took liberties with the facts. The curved spans are original; the angular ones replaced sections destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945. You can walk across between trains.
ℹ️ Free, always open. About 3 km north of the town centre. Step into the refuges when a train approaches. Quietest early in the morning.
Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre & Memorial Walking Trail
Konyu Cutting, hacked through solid rock by hand in 1943, was named for the torchlit night shifts. A museum maintained with Australian support introduces the history; an audio-guided trail then descends into the cutting and follows the old railbed through the forest.
ℹ️ About 80 km north-west of town. Free; donations welcome. Usually open daily 9 am–4 pm. The walk to the cutting takes under an hour; the full trail needs 2–3 hours and good shoes.
Death Railway & the Wang Pho viaduct
Trains still run on the first 130 km of the wartime line, from Kanchanaburi to Nam Tok. The climax is the Wang Pho (Tham Krasae) viaduct, where the train creeps along a wooden trestle bolted to a cliff above the Kwae Noi.
ℹ️ A few trains a day in each direction; about 2 hours from Kanchanaburi to Nam Tok. Foreigners pay a flat fare of around 100 THB. Sit on the left heading north for the river views.
Sai Yok Noi waterfall
A broad curtain of water over a limestone cliff beside the highway, close to the end of the railway at Nam Tok. A popular picnic and paddling spot, at its best in and just after the rains.
ℹ️ Free or a nominal charge. Easily combined with the train or Hellfire Pass. Can be reduced to a trickle from February to May.
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
The main Allied cemetery, opposite the railway station: nearly seven thousand graves of British, Dutch and Australian prisoners of war, laid out in immaculate lawns. The Thailand–Burma Railway Centre beside it is the best museum on the subject.
ℹ️ Cemetery free, open daily in daylight hours. The museum charges an entry fee and needs about 1.5 hours.
