Kanchanaburi
Province
If you look for a place a little move remote, where nature offers the simple
pleasure of sun, unpolluted and beautiful rivers, high mountains, wonderful
caves, wild-animals, waterfalls or the precious blue-sapphire area the
answer lies in this town...KANCHANABURI.
Kanchanaburi is one of the most beautiful provinces of Thailand, with a
very delightful landscape. It os already well-known among War-historians
and movie-buffs as the site of the notorious "Death Railway" and the "Bridge
over the River Khwae" and among archaeolegists for its Neolithic burial
grounds. Yet, the province also has numerous other places of interest for
the nature loving visitor who wants to spend longer time here.
The town of Kanchanaburi is located at the point where two tributaries,
the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai (which have their source in the Ta-Nao-Si Range)meet
and form the Mae-Klong River.
The famous Bridge over the River Khwae, the Death Railway, the Neolithic
burial site at Ban-Kao and several of the area's other attravtions are
all situated along these river banks.
The present provincial capital is a relatively new town buit by King Rama
III in 1833. The old town was 18 kilometers away. On reaching Kanchanaburi
a visitor first stop at the "TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND" local office
on Saeng-Chuto Road near the Bus Station to collect maps, folders and any
other useful information before suarting out on a program of sight-seeing.
Probably, the best known of Kanchanaburi tourist-attractions is the Bridge
over the River Khwae made famous by the movie of the same name; the Death
Railway and the War Cemetry...all of which are reminders of one of the
darkest period of world War II. But among Thais, it is widely known for
its natural beauties such as Erawan National Park, Sai-Yok National Park,
La-Wa Cave.