Kanchanaburi is about 128 kilometres west of Bangkok, approximately 2 1/2 hours drive by car over a good road. The town of Kanchanaburi is located at the point where two tributaries, the Kwai Noi and Kwai Yai meet. Kanchanaburi is well-known among War-historians and movie-buffs as the site of the notorious “Death Railway” and the “Bridge over the River Kwai” and among archaeologists for its Neolithic burial grounds.
Bridge over the River Kwai - Kanchanaburi
Bridge over the River Kwai
The bridge was brought from Java by the Japanese Army and was assembled at the River Kwai by prisoners of war. After being bombed several times in 1945, the bridge was rebuilt again after the war. The curved spans of the bridge are the original sections and it’s still in use today. An estimated 16,000 war prisoners and 49,000 laborers died during the construction of the bridge and Death-Railway line that leads to Myanmar.
River Kwai - Kanchanaburi
Getting to Kanchanaburi (from Bangkok)
By Bus: Buses leave Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal for Kanchanaburi every 15 minutes from 04:00 to 20:30. The trip takes about 2 hours.
By Car: From Bangkok, visitors can take a 2-hour drive along Highway No.4 (Phetkasem) via Nakhon Chaisi, Nakhon Pathom, Ban Pong, Tha Maka, Tha Muang to Kanchanaburi. For an alternative route, visitors can drive along Highway No. 338 from Bangkok to Nakhon Chaisi and then proceed along Highway No.4 to Kanchanaburi.
Bridge on River Kwai
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery