Your Travel Guide to Thailand
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The province of Kanchanaburi
General information about the province of Kanchanaburi
Name in Thai: กาญจนบุรี
Location on map
Province of region Western Thaïlande
Kanchanaburi province is located in the western part of Thailand. A 2-hour drive from Bangkok, it is a popular destination for its history linked to the Second World War and for its nature and temples. Its River Kwai Bridge, immortalized in the film of the same name (even the one shown in the film is not the Kanchanaburi Bridge) is the best-known monument but there are other sites: museums, the Hellfire Pass, the portion of the Railway sadly nicknamed Death Train, military cemeteries and others to commemorate this dark period in the region. Besides that, between rivers, lakes, famous waterfalls and mountains with many caves, encounters with elephants, Kanchanaburi has a lot to offer passing tourists.
The Erawan National Park and its famous waterfalls attract many visitors, the Huay Mae Khamin Waterfalls, from my point of view just as pretty, are much less visited. Add hot springs and the charming little town of Snagkhlaburi and its wooden Mon Bridge and you still have just a small sample of everything the province has to offer!
As for festivals, the most important in the province of Kanchanaburi remains the Kwai River Bridge Week. there are also commemorative ceremonies, particularly for Anzac Day. I also recommend the candle illuminations of the hilltop temple of Thong Pha Phum for the 4 major Buddhist festivals of the year: Macha Bucha, Visakha Bucha, Asahna Bucha Day and Loy Krathong (less interesting on this day).
Whether discovering history, relaxing by the river or exploring the wilderness, Kanchanaburi province offers an unforgettable experience 2 hours from Bangkok.
Destinations to visit in Kanchanaburi
First we want to contest the too much spread idea idea that apart from the River Kwai Bridge, there is nothing interesting to see in the area. It is true that by feet you can only go to the bridge, museums and the war cemetery and the rest is several kilometers far away. But there are many options to get there by bus or train. Otherwis, numerous taxi drivers and travel agencies will offer you their services. Surrounded by mountains, forests, with national parks nearby and magnificent waterfalls,...
Sangkhlaburi is split into two parts, a Thai one and a Mon part called Wangka. The two parts are connected by a wooden bridge. Built by Mons, it is the most famous image of Sangkhlaburi . Many minorities, Burmese essentially settled down in the region. They are tolerated but do not have the same rights as normal Thai citizen and their movements are controlled. You will see many checkpoints and notice that as a westerner, you will never be asked to show your papers because one thing is for sure,...
All COVID-19 restrictions for coming to Thailand lifted from October 1 !
We have been waiting for it for months, hoping it will happen on July 1, but it will finally be October 1, 2022, when Thailand will lift the last COVID restrictions to enter the country. From this date, it will no longer be necessary to show...
