Things to do in Kanchanaburi.

Kanchanaburi's signature landmark and free to visit: walk out onto the steel-and-concrete bridge over the Khwae Yai River, rebuilt after Allied bombing raids in WWII on the site of the original structure built by Allied POWs and conscripted Asian labourers on the Thailand-Burma Railway. Time your visit around passing trains — a siren and platform stations along the bridge let you step aside safely — and combine it with the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre a short walk away for the full history before or after crossing.

The most thorough account of the 415km Thailand-Burma ('Death') Railway, built 1942-43 by roughly 60,000 Allied POWs and up to 200,000 conscripted Asian labourers, with tens of thousands of deaths from disease, starvation and forced labour. Multimedia exhibits, a scale model of the railway route and a research centre with individual POW records. Open daily 9am-4pm, 160 baht adults / 80 baht children 7-12 per the centre's own site; sits directly across the road from Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, making the two a natural pair.

The main Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery for POWs who died building the Death Railway, holding 5,085 Commonwealth war graves and a further 1,896 Dutch war graves — just under 7,000 identified casualties in total, immaculately maintained lawns and headstones. Free entry; the CWGC, which maintains the cemetery, publishes its visiting hours as 8am-5pm Monday to Friday and 8am-noon Saturday. Directly opposite the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre in town — no advance booking needed, just a quiet, respectful hour.

An Australian-government-funded interpretive centre and walking trail through the Konyu Cutting, the railway's deadliest section, hand-cut through solid rock by POWs working by torchlight — the origin of the name 'Hellfire Pass.' Free entry, open daily 9am-4pm per the centre's own site, with an annual closure each May for site maintenance (exact dates vary year to year, so check the centre's site if visiting then); about 80km northwest of town. A self-guided audio tour walks the original railbed; go early on a weekday for a cooler, quieter visit.

Two temples sitting side by side atop a limestone bluff over the Mae Klong River, visible for miles: Wat Tham Sua ('Tiger Cave Temple'), named for a small limestone cavern at its base where tigers reportedly once rested, and the neighbouring Wat Tham Khao Noi, a Chinese-style multi-tiered pagoda. A cable car or a stair climb gets you to the top for river and countryside views — a good half-day pairing with the town's WWII sites.

Kanchanaburi's best-known natural attraction: a seven-tiered waterfall cascading through jungle, with turquoise pools you can swim in at several tiers (tier 7 involves a real hike). About 65km from town, roughly 1.5 hours by road. Entrance is 300 baht for a foreign adult and 150 baht for a foreign child — the band-3 rate the Department of National Parks itself sets by Royal Gazette regulation, not a figure that moves year to year; see our dedicated Erawan National Park guide for the fee schedule in full. Open daily 8am-4.30pm; budget 3+ hours to reach and enjoy all seven tiers, and go on a weekday morning to beat tour-bus crowds.

Sai Yok National Park covers 958 sq km around the Khwae Noi River, about 100km northwest of town, with caves (Dao Wadung, Khang Khao, Lawa), riverside raft houses and remaining sections of the Death Railway. Sai Yok Noi (also called Khao Pang) Waterfall sits just outside the park boundary, roughly 38km before the main entrance, and is the easier, more accessible stop of the two — best during the rainy season (August-October) when the flow is at its fullest.

Kanchanaburi is home to some of Thailand's better-regarded no-riding elephant sanctuaries. Elephant's World, founded in 2008 on the Khwae Noi River, cares for old, sick and rescued former working elephants under the principle 'we work for the elephants, the elephants do not work for us' — visitors help prepare food and bathe the elephants rather than ride them. Elephant Haven, near Sai Yok, is a smaller sanctuary in the same no-riding, no-performance model. Worth noting: this is a genuinely different experience from the riding and show camps still advertised around the province — check a sanctuary's no-riding, no-hook policy before booking.

A roughly 3-hour drive northwest of Kanchanaburi town, Sangkhlaburi is a quiet border town on the Vajiralongkorn (Khao Laem) reservoir, home to the Uttamanusorn Bridge — known locally as the Mon Bridge — Thailand's longest wooden bridge at 445 metres and the world's second-longest. Crossing it is free (a donation box near the entrance supports its upkeep). Combine with a look at the flooded Wat Sam Prasop temple ruins in the reservoir during low-water months, but treat this as an overnight trip rather than a day trip given the drive time.

The westernmost Khmer-culture sanctuary found in Thailand — and, despite the Thai word prasat, a Mahayana Buddhist site, not a Hindu one and not a wat. Thailand's Fine Arts Department, which registered it as national monument 0006101 in 1936, dates it on the evidence of its architecture and excavated sculpture (Avalokitesvara, a naga-sheltered Buddha and Prajnaparamita) to the Khmer Bayon style of the reign of Jayavarman VII; the Tourism Authority of Thailand publishes a wider, earlier span for the same site. Set on the banks of the Khwae Noi River with 7-metre perimeter walls, gates on all four sides and several ponds. Entry is around 100 baht plus a small parking fee, open roughly 8am-4.30pm daily. There's no direct public transport, but it's a short walk from Tha Kilen train station, reachable by one of the local trains from Kanchanaburi town. Our temple guide below carries the full documented record, including where the state's own sources disagree.

The Bridge, War Cemetery, Railway Centre and Hellfire Pass can realistically be combined into a single busy day from Kanchanaburi town (or even Bangkok, though it's rushed). Erawan Falls deserves its own half or full day given the hike to reach all seven tiers. Sangkhlaburi and the Mon Bridge need an overnight stay given the drive. A relaxed itinerary — three to four days — lets you cover the WWII history, a waterfall day and an elephant sanctuary visit without doubling back.

Kanchanaburi's Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno) — once one of the province's most-visited attractions, where tourists posed with tigers — was raided and closed by Thai wildlife authorities in June 2016 after evidence of trafficking and abuse surfaced; dozens of tiger cubs and parts were seized on-site. It no longer operates as an attraction. If wildlife interaction is the goal, Elephant's World and Elephant Haven's no-riding sanctuary model is the closer thing on offer near Kanchanaburi today.

The core day is the Bridge on the River Kwai, the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, Kanchanaburi War Cemetery and Hellfire Pass Memorial — all WWII Death Railway sites within a short drive of each other. Pair that with a half-day at Erawan Falls' seven tiers, and if time allows, an ethical elephant sanctuary visit at Elephant's World or Elephant Haven.

Erawan National Park charges 300 baht for a foreign adult and 150 baht for a foreign child, plus a small vehicle fee — the band-3 rate the Department of National Parks sets by its own Royal Gazette fee regulation, which is not a figure that changes with the season. The park is open daily from 8am to about 4:30pm. Budget at least three hours to hike up through all seven waterfall tiers.

Yes. Kanchanaburi War Cemetery (Don Rak), maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, has no entry fee. The CWGC publishes its own visiting hours as 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am to noon Saturday. It sits directly across the road from the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, making the two easy to combine.

No. Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno, widely known as the Tiger Temple, was raided and closed by Thai authorities in June 2016 after evidence of wildlife trafficking and abuse. It no longer operates. Elephant's World and Elephant Haven offer a no-riding, no-performance alternative for a wildlife visit near Kanchanaburi.

Around a 3-hour drive northwest. Sangkhlaburi's Uttamanusorn Bridge (the Mon Bridge) is Thailand's longest wooden bridge at 445 metres and free to cross, though a donation box near the entrance helps fund its upkeep. Given the drive time, it's best planned as an overnight trip rather than a day trip from Kanchanaburi town.