Kanchanaburi

Lying at the confluence of the Kwai Yai and Kwai Noi Rivers, Kanchanaburi is one of the most beautiful and largest provinces of Thailand with delightful landscapes and charming beauty. It occupies an area of 19,483 square kilometers, almost is covered with timber and evergreen forests, located about 129km from Bangkok and consists of 13 districts.

Archaeology dating back to the 4th century has shown that trade appeared surrounding country even in that time. Originally, the town of Kanchanaburi was founded as a base of defense against the Burmese by King Rama I. It also played a strategical role during the Ayutthaya period. Most historians assumed that the old town of Kanchanaburi was situated near a small village named Ban Lat Ya, 16km to the north of the present town. The present capital of the province is a newer town established by King Rama III in 1833.

Kanchanaburi has become a premier tourist destination with lots of spectacular natural attractions as multi-tiered waterfalls, pristine national parks, caves, virgin forest, tranquil rivers, exotic wildlife and some large reservoirs. You can see beautiful natural sites in Mueang Sing Historical Park, Erawan National Park, Khuean Srinagarindra National Park or Safari Park. Besides, the most famous among War-historians and movie-buffs are “The Bridge Over the River Kwai” and “The Death Railway”, in which there is a large cemetery of war prisoners and a war museum. The province also offers numerous temples, restored fortresses and other historical sites as Nine Army War History National Park at Ladya field with historical evidences from nine army wars, Hell Fire Pass Memorial Museum with a mini-theatre and a collection of documents relating to the construction of the Death Railway, etc.

In addition, along with visiting famous attractions, tourists will have an intriguing experience as joining in a lot of interesting activities as fishing, canoeing, star watching, rafting, forest trekking, mountain biking, bird watching, star-gazing, elephant and jungle trekking and golfing, etc. The province also offers shopping places with a diversity of products in The Night Market with items as shoes, clothes, bags, souvenirs, etc; Kanokhan Department store; Tesco Lotus and Birdland Books, etc.

Kanchanaburi is home rich culture with Ram Yoei, a local dance dating back to 500 year ago, along with several events and festivals held during the year as Mineral Water and Waterfall Bathing Day (November) which aims to push agricultural products, Boat and Raft People’s Day (November) with a lot of folk performances, academic exhibition and water sports; and River Kwae Bridge Week which commemorate the importance of the Death Railway and the Bridge over the Khwae River with many entertaining activities, archaeological exhibitions, etc.