Bridge over the River Kwai
A steel railway bridge on Maenam Khwae Road in Kanchanaburi, a Second World War landmark on the Burma-Thailand Railway.
The real bridge behind the famous story
The Bridge over the River Kwai is a steel railway bridge on Maenam Khwae Road in Mueang Kanchanaburi. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) calls it a Second World War landmark and a symbol of the province, and notes that the Thai government renovated the damaged bridge in 1946. It was one of the bridges of the Burma-Thailand Railway, which the Australian Government's Hellfire Pass site says was built by Allied prisoners of war and Asian forced labourers, known as romusha, under the Imperial Japanese Army. DVA describes harsh conditions and says tens of thousands died. The bridge is therefore a place of memory as well as a piece of engineering, and its fame is partly a result of fiction. Pierre Boulle's novel and the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai are works of fiction, and the novel's bridge is invented. The bridge stands at Tha Makham, about 5 km from the town. What TAT states firmly is that the structure is steel and was renovated after wartime damage.
Explore Bridge over the River Kwai on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
Along the mountain trail
One bridge, and the memorials and museums that give it context.
The bridge
- The steel bridge itself, a landmark of the Second World War and a symbol of Kanchanaburi province, in TAT's words.
- Memorial Week exhibitions, which TAT says are held each year in late November and early December.
Context nearby
- Kanchanaburi War Cemetery (Don Rak), which TAT places near the bridge. It is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and holds mainly British, Australian and Dutch prisoners of war who died building the railway.
- The Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, a privately run museum west of the cemetery whose displays cover railway planning and construction, living conditions and deaths.
- Hellfire Pass, a rock cutting on the same railway in Sai Yok district, interpreted by the Australian Government's DVA, which is the better place to read the full account.
How to visit
The bridge is on the edge of Kanchanaburi rather than in the middle of it.
Where it is
- TAT gives the address as Maenam Khwae Road, Mueang Kanchanaburi.
- The bridge is at Tha Makham, about 5 km from Kanchanaburi.
- The war cemetery and the railway museum are in the town.
Beat the crowds
Weather from the TMD Kanchanaburi station, 1991 to 2020 averages.
Rain and heat
- September (219.0 mm, 17.8 rainy days) and October (206.3 mm) are the wettest months; December and January have about 7 mm each.
- Mean maximum temperature is 38.0 C in April and 31.7 C in December.
- TAT lists the annual Memorial Week for late November to early December.
Good to know
Separating the film from the place.
Good to know
- The film and novel are fiction. The real railway and its human cost are documented by institutions such as DVA, which is why it helps to visit a museum or memorial alongside the bridge.
- The bridge you see is not the first one. The bridge was damaged during the war and was renovated in 1946.
- Kanchanaburi War Cemetery is called Don Rak locally; that is the name to use when asking.
Close by
Related places in Kanchanaburi.
Frequently asked
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