Hiking and Railway Tripping When in Thailand

Erawan National Park in Western Thailand is one of Thailand’s most popular parks due to its magnificent waterfalls, abundant wildlife, and amazing caves deep in the forest. The park lies in the Kanchanaburi region of Thailand, about 2.5 hours North West of Bangkok.

Along with its stunning scenery, the park is also a wildlife lover’s dream. The forests surrounding the main tourist attractions are filled with monkeys, monitor lizards, and hundreds of different types of birds. If you venture deeper into the forest, however, you may just find wild elephants, deer, gibbons, and wild boar. The major attraction of the park is Erawan Waterfall, which is an impressive seven-tiered waterfall that falls over beautiful limestone cliffs. Spanning a distance of 2km, this waterfall is nothing short of spectacular. Small pools have been formed on each tier of the waterfall, allowing for visitors to relax and bathe beneath the streams of water.

The route between the waterfall tiers is a fun walk over bridges, up ladders, and through forest paths. The path gets significantly more difficult after the fifth waterfall tier, so make sure to wear appropriate shoes if hiking to all seven tiers. In total, it should take 60 minutes from tier one to seven, so leave yourself plenty of time if you’re set on swimming in each waterfall. Visitors who make it all the way up to the seventh tier are rewarded with a peaceful waterfall pool and an extraordinary view over the jungle.

Halfway between Erawan National Park and Bangkok lies the Thai-Burma Railway Centre, a museum dedicated to a project famously known as “death railway”. Built by prisoners of war and Asian laborers in 1942, the railway coined the name “death railway” after leading to thousands of deaths during its construction. The Centre provides an interesting yet sobering look at what daily life was like for these forced workers during the construction of the railway.

The railway spans a 415-kilometer distance between Thailand and Burma, and was constructed by the Japanese during World War II. Tens of thousands of workers died while working on the railway primarily due to diseases caused from extreme malnutrition, excessive work, and insufficient medical supplies. Those who died were buried in unmarked graves along the side of the railway tracks until their remains were moved to official war cemeteries after the railway’s completion.

Today, you can get a lesson in its history from the Thai-Burma Railway Center, visit the War Cemetery, walk the famous bridge over the river Kwai, or even take a train ride on “death railway”. Only a small portion of the railway is open today, but the ride is quite memorable and will provide you with some unique photographs. The two-hour train ride provides you with beautiful scenic views of the river and mountains, but the remarkable history is what makes the ride so special.

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