River Kwai & Hellfire Pass
Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Shared | Full-Day | History & Heritage
Drive out of Bangkok to the beautiful province of Kanchanaburi, whose dramatic, lush landscapes have seen the unravelling of turbulent historical events in the last century. After starting your tour in Bangkok, visit Hellfire Pass, a dramatic part of the railway that literally cuts through the mountain. Since the Prisoners of War (POW) and Asian labourers worked relentlessly to build this extremely difficult section of the railway line, they had to burn torchlight to see in the dark, almost resembling a scene from hell, giving this place its infamous name. Walk down into the valley to see the cut in the rock from below, before exploring the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum, which tells the stories of human suffering during the construction of this engineering feat.
Later, have lunch at a local restaurant before taking a journey to the past on the infamous “Death Railway,” a legacy of World War II originally built by Allied Prisoners of War and Southeast Asian civilians coerced by the Japanese military. The railway, which runs across the famous Bridge over the River Kwai, is named for the thousands of prisoners who lost their lives while constructing this link between Thailand to Myanmar (Burma). Wrap up the tour after seeing the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum and the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, home to the remains of POWs who died during the railway’s construction.
What to Expect
• See the traces of WW2 history through many landmarks in Kanchanaburi.
• Explore the valley of Hellfire Pass.
• Local train ride experience on the historic Death Railway.
