Kanchanaburi War Cemetery (Don Rak)
The main Allied cemetery of the Burma Railway, holding nearly seven thousand graves in the centre of Kanchanaburi.
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery (Don Rak)
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery - Don Rak - lies on the main road through the town and is the principal Allied cemetery of the Burma Railway. It holds close to seven thousand graves, most of them prisoners of war who died building the line in 1943, and it is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The layout is the standard Commonwealth form, and that is the source of its effect: flat bronze plaques set in mown grass, laid in long straight rows under frangipani trees, each recording a name, an age and a date. The ages are what most visitors notice. A stone of remembrance stands on the central axis.
A second and much smaller cemetery, Chungkai, sits across the river a few kilometres west and is quieter still. The two are distinct, which matters when navigating - a search for the war cemetery will as readily return Chungkai, or the separate Chinese memorial nearby.
- Thailand-Burma Railway Centre — The Thailand-Burma Railway Centre in Kanchanaburi tells the story of the Death Railway through exhibits and research, next...
- Erawan National Park, Kanchanaburi — Erawan National Park, Kanchanaburi: An Overview Erawan National Park in Kanchanaburi is home to the best-known waterfall...
- The Bridge over the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi — The surviving steel bridge on the Burma Railway, built by prisoners of war and forced labourers in 1943.
- Wat Tham Sua, Kanchanaburi — A hilltop temple above the Mae Klong paddy fields, with a huge seated Buddha and a Chinese-style pagoda alongside.
- Hellfire Pass Memorial, Kanchanaburi — The deepest cutting on the Burma Railway, hacked through rock by hand, and the memorial museum above it.
- Sai Yok Noi Waterfall, Kanchanaburi — A wide limestone cascade beside the Death Railway terminus at Nam Tok.
