Rafting Trips are available from the provincial capital and several holiday resorts. Raft trips leaving from the famous bridge, or the waterfront Song Kwai Road area, cost between 2,000 and 4,500 baht for 10-15 persons, depending on durations and destinations. Trips may entail 7-10 hour return journeys, or include an overnight stay on either the Kwai Yai or Kwai Noi rivers. Visitors are advised to contact TAT's Kanchanaburi office for current information and prices.

Rail Trips. Railway enthusiasts may travel along one of Southeast Asia's most historical tracks, namely the surviving stretch of the 'Death Railway', from the provincial capital to the Nam Tok Railway Station near the Sai Yok Noi Waterfall. The winding track crosses the world-famous bridge and provides a clear indication of how difficult constructing the original track (long since repaired and restored) must have been. One particularly exhilarating stretch sees the line parallel the curving Kwai Noi on a wooden viaduct towering above the river and hugging a steep, cave-ridden cliff.

Golf has become very popular in recent years and can be enjoyed at the courses listed below. Most offer clubhouse, pro shop and caddy facilities, and have rental equipment. Green fees vary widely, weekends generally being more expensive. Unless otherwise specified, courses listed below are each 18-hole, par 72.

Green World Hot Spring Resort & Golf Club. Km.107 Kanchanaburi-Thong PHA Phum Road. Tel: (02) 539-4613, 539-2865-6
Grand Garden & Golf Club. Ladya, Muang, Kanchanaburi. Tel: (02) 243-5816-7, 249-0742-3
Khao Laem Golf Course (9 holes). Thong PHA Phum Tel: (034) 599-077
Sri Nagarind Golf Course (9 holes). Sri Sawat Tel: (034) 513-000
Nichigo Resort & Country Club. Ladya, Muang, Kanchnaburi. Tel: (02) 235-3034-8
Barrington Saiyok & Sports Club Singha, Sai Yok. Tel: (02) 541-4252-6 Fax (02) 541-4257
Mission Hill Golf Club. Nong Tak Ya, Tha Muang, Kanchanaburi. Tel: (02) 222-5514, 226-3390, (01) 312-0711-2
River Kwai Golf & Country Club. Ban Wang Mai, Sai Yok. Tel: (02) 279-5040, 279-5058 (034) 591-037
Evergreen Hills Golf Club. 152 Mu 5, Tha Muang, Kanchanaburi. Tel: (02) 512-0294-6
Home Phu Toey Golf Resort Ban. Phu Toey, Sai Yok. Tel: (02) 280-3488-9

Japanese War Memorial This occupies a small plot of riverside land just south of the bridge.

Around Kanchanaburi.
Essentially, there are two major land routes for exploring main conveniently accessible tourism attractions in Kanchanaburi. The more western Route 323 largely parallels the Kwai Noi River to the Khao Laem Dam reservoir (153 kilometres from the provincial capital). Route 3199 follows the Kwai Yai River to Sri Nagarind Dam (69 kilometres away from the provincial capital).

National Parks Kanchanaburi's a forementioned parks offer opportunities for either camping, and/or fishing, or trekking along nature trails. Camping facilities, which customarily provide cold running water and simple toilet facilities, are available at Chaloem Rattanakosin, Sai Yok and Erawan national parks. Trekking along either well-defined waterfall trails, or nature trails, to visit caves or appreciate local flora and fauna is a popular activity at all national parks.

Phu Phra Cave 15 kilometres from town, this cavern is where a legendary character from Thai literature is said to have studied magic.

Sai Yok Noi Waterfall Also known as Khao Phang Waterfall, 60 kilometres from town on Route 323, this is the first of several waterfalls. The roadside cascade is best visited between July and September, when water is most plentiful, and is located 2 kilometres northwest of Nam Tok Railway Station, the terminus of the branch line originating in the provincial capital and which crosses the world-famous bridge.

The Lawa Cave 75 kilometres from town, this largest cave in the area has stalactites and stalagmites in several chambers. Visitors may take boats from the Kwai Noi River Pak Saeng Pier, at Tambon Tha Sao (southwest of Nam Tok Railway Station and Sai Yok, Noi Waterfall) to explore this cave, and travel afterwards upstream to the riverine Sai Yok Yai Waterfall, 104 kilometres from town.
Sai Yok Yai Waterfall This flows directly into the Kwai Noi River, and is the most popular attraction in the 300-square kilometre Sai Yok National Park. The park contains several interesting caves besides the Lawa. The Daowadung Cave, which also entails a river trip for visits, is the most popular. South of the Sai Yok Yai Waterfall, is another cascade flowing into the river, the Nam Jone Waterfall. Wildlife in Sai Yok's deciduous forests include small mammals such as bats, squirrels, and deer, and numerous bird species, including wreathed hornbills and blue-winged pittas. Human presence at Sai Yok is known to date back to the Stone Age, and the Sai Yok Yai Waterfall has been repeatedly celebrated in Thai poetry and song. Bungalow accommodation, river rafts and camping facilities are available.

Hin Dat Hot Springs 130 kilometres from town, these occupy a hollow some 3 kilometres northeast of Route 323.

Pha That Waterfall The three-tiered cascade, 140 kilometres from town, is some 12 kilometres northeast of Route 323, along the same track.

Khao Laem Dam 153 kilometres from town, this imposing structure has a 9-hole golf course, tennis courts, guest house and motel accommodation, and a scenic reservoir upon which several private raft complexes offer opportunities for boat rides, swimming and fishing.

Areas beyond Khao Laem Dam meriting visits either edge the extensive reservoir or nestle against the Myanmar border.

Pilog Mine 60 kilometres west of Amphoe Thonphaphum, on Route 3272, there was much mining of wolfram and tin in the Tanaosri Mountain range marking the Thai-Burmese border. A temperate fruit and decorative winter plant orchard, Pilog Hill, 32 kilometres from the amphoe, can be visited en route.

Sangkla Buri This petite settlement, some 225 kilometres from Kanchanaburi, edges the northernmost extremities of the Khao Laem reservoir. The scenic 75-kilometre route from Khao Laem largely parallels the reservoir, passes several raft complexes, botanical gardens and roadside cascades, and vistas of partly submerged trees crowding the reservoir banks.

Wat Wangka Wiwekaram This extensive temple on the southern outskirts of Sangkla Buri edges the Khao Laem reservoir. The complex is constructed in an unusual pastiche of Thai, Indian and Burmese Buddhist architectural styles, and the abbot is highly revered among local people, including tribal folk and Burmese.

Sangkla Buri Forest Tours Certain Kanchanaburi travel agents offer one day elephant-trekking and rafting tours in the immediate vicinity of Sangkla Buri. Visitors are advised to contact either local travel agents or the Kanchanaburi TAT office for current details, since the tours are not always conducted on a daily basis.

Thung Yai Sanctuary Park Northeast of Sangkla Buri, this sanctuary occupies a terrain of forested mountains and high plains, and hosts numerous protected wildlife species including tigers, bears, elephants and deer. The area is necessarily rugged, remote, and demands 4-wheeldrive vehicles for exploration. Special permission from the Forestry Department is needed for admittance. Visitors interested in entering the area are required to contact the Forestry Department, either in Bangkok or in Kanchanaburi.

ROUTE 3199 Major attractions along Route 3199 include beautiful waterfalls in three national parks.

Bo Phloi Some 40 kilometres from Kanchanaburi, and just off Route 3086, this area is famed for locally-mined blue sapphires and semiprecious materials such as onyx. A Jewellery Handicraft Centre enables visitors to see how these materials are made into finished jewellery creations.

Kanchanaburi Safari Park This brand new enclave, near Bo Phloi, dominated by a man-made hill adorned with decorative pavilions, hosts numerous African and Asian mammals, including giraffes, zebras, lions, tigers and elephants in carefully landscaped environs.

Chaloem Rattanakosin National Park or Tham Than Lod 97 kilometres from Kanchanaburi, and north of Bo Phloi, along Route 3086, this 54-square kilometre park encompasses peaceful forests, waterfalls and several caves. The 300-metre long Than Lod Noi Cave near the park headquarters is the most popular attraction. Bungalow accommodation and camping facilities are available.

Erawan National Park 65 kilometres from Kanchanaburi along Route 3199, this 550-square-kilometre national park is the site of the 7-tiered Erawan Waterfall, widely regarded as being one of Thailand's loveliest cascades. A mountainside forest setting includes dense bamboo groves which support numerous bird species. The park's other major attraction is the spectacular Prathat Cave which contains monumental stalagmites. Bungalow accommodation and camping facilities are available.

Sri Nakarin Dam 69 kilometres from Kanchanaburi, and just 4 kilometres north of the Erawan national park, this massive structure marks the southernmost extremity of an extensive reservoir, which is part of yet another national park.

Sri Nakarin National Park. This park covers 1,532 square kilometres. Park headquarters are 105 kilometres from Kanchanaburi. Major park attractions include the lovely 7-tiered Huay Kamin Waterfall, boat trips on the scenic reservoir, and encroaching deciduous forest and bamboo groves where kingfishers, parrots, bee-eaters, hornbills, woodpeckers, thrushes, babblers and numerous other bird species are readily seen. Larger, more elusive mammals within the park's remoter areas include deer, elephants and tigers. Phra and Niramit Caves near the park headquarters comprise other attractions.

Bungalow accommodation is available. The park's relative inaccessibility necessitates either a punishing 40-kilometre drive along a dry weather track, and negotiable only by motorcycles, pickups or 4-wheel-drive vehicles, or a 45-75-minute boat ride from the Tha Kradan Pier 24 kilometres north of the Sri Nakarin Dam.

WEST TO KANCHANABURI AND THREE PAGODA PASS - CROSSING INTO BURMA
Three Pagodas Pass This even smaller settlement, 241 kilometres from Kanchanaburi, marks the rugged Thai-Myanmar border, and is the site of a small but thriving border market. Visitors are allowed to enter the neighboring Burmese settlement between 6.00 AM and 6.00 PM. The three miniature Pagodas are memorials to what was over the centuries the invasion route for the Burmese, a station for the Death Railway during World War II, and a stronghold for the Mon and Karen rebels fighting for autonomy. Since it was captured back from the Mon and Karen ethnic rebels in 1990, foreign tourist have made their way up to the border

A one day pass costs US$5 for foreign tourists and Baht 20 for Thai ID cardholders. Once across the border the town of Payathonzu offer the opportunity to buy fabric and cloth from Burma, India and Pakistan to decorative wooden handicraft and, local and foreign cigars (cheroots) and cigarettes.

For those who have an eye for what they want there are the potential bargains of jade carvings, precious stones and ivory carvings in addition to amulets and rings with Burmese rubies.There is an abundance of carved heavy wooden furniture for sale.