Destinations Menu
RSS
THAILAND | Kanchanaburi, Thailand Travel Guide
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Bridge over the River Kwai at Kanchanaburi, Thailand (cc)
Kanchanaburi Travel Guide
Introduction
Kanchanaburi, a lively and picturesque town on the River Kwai, just to the west of Bangkok, is famous mostly as the locale of the "Bridge on the River Kwai." And while David Lean's 1957 blockbuster film of the same name, The Bridge on the River Kwai, is a fictionalized version of the historical events that unfolded here in World War II, based largely on Pierre Boulle’s novel about the construction of the Thailand-to-Burma railway, and further embellished for entertainment, the epic nevertheless has galvanized millions of travelers over the years to make the pilgrimage to this lovely and serene town to see the infamous bridge. The fact that there never really was a bridge on the River Kwai in the 1940s – only one over the River Mae Klong farther north, which has since been renamed the Kwae Yai River – matters little, for there is a bridge here, and there is history, together with the graves of the fallen. Besides which, Kanchanaburi offers the traveler surprisingly wonderful scenic vistas on its approaches on the highway from Bangkok, and scores of ancient temples, countless lakes, large swaths of jungles, and some of the most captivating waterfalls in Thailand in its vicinity.
Location
Kanchanaburi is situated in western Thailand, some 95 miles (150 km) west of Bangkok, where the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai rivers converge to form the Mae Klong River.
- -
- -
- -
- -
- Best Time to Visit:
- Cost Per Day: US$-US$ (-)
- Currency: (US$1 ~ )
- Electricity: 220-240V - 50Hz
- Phone Code: +66
- Population: 32,000
© Indian Chief Travel Guides
Last updated November 25, 2013
Posted in Thailand | Kanchanaburi
Explore the Destination
Amenities and Resources
Overview
Hotels(57)
Restaurants(10)
Attractions(23)
Activities(3)
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More