Kanchanaburi Erawan Waterfall & Forest Walk
Visit Erawan Falls — the seven-tiered emerald waterfall in Erawan National Park west of Kanchanaburi is considered the most beautiful waterfall in Thailand, with its turquoise mineral-rich pools ideal for swimming surrounded by the tropical forest of the Tenasserim Hills.
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Erawan National Park Gate
Erawan National Park west of Kanchanaburi town is the most visited national park in central Thailand — the park's primary attraction (the seven-tiered waterfall with its characteristic turquoise-green mineral pools) has made it one of the most photographed natural sites in the country. The park entrance at the base of the waterfall trail provides the starting point for the 1.5km walk to the uppermost tier, passing all seven pools and cascades that constitute the complete Erawan waterfall experience. The park's limestone geology (the mineral-rich water dissolving and redepositing the travertine to create the characteristic turquoise pools visible in the photographs that have made the waterfall famous) creates the distinctive pool colour that is unlike any other waterfall environment accessible in central Thailand.
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Tier 1 and 2 Swimming
The lower tiers (1 and 2) of the Erawan waterfall are the most accessible and most developed sections of the trail — the pools at these tiers have the most substantial water volume, the most space for swimming, and the facilities (changing rooms, food vendors) that make them the most comfortable swimming environment. The fish that inhabit the lower pools (the small carp-like species that nibble on visitors' skin, providing a 'fish spa' experience without any commercial infrastructure) are among the most delightful features of the lower tier swimming. The tier 2 pool has a waterfall cascade directly swimable under, creating the most dramatically experiential water encounter accessible at the lower tiers.
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Tier 7 Upper Falls
The seventh and uppermost tier of the Erawan waterfall is the most dramatically beautiful section of the cascade — the 40-minute walk from the entrance to the upper tier (passing tiers 3 through 6 with their progressively smaller but increasingly pristine pools) rewards the physical effort with the most photogenic and least crowded pool accessible at the waterfall. The upper tier's small pool at the base of the final cascade, surrounded by the forest canopy and with the rocky cliff face visible above, creates an enclosed natural space of extraordinary beauty that is completely different from the wide, open atmosphere of the lower tiers. The blue-painted rockskippers visible on the rocks beside the stream above the upper tier are one of the notable wildlife sightings at the top of the trail.
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Forest Trail Wildlife
The forest trail between the Erawan waterfall tiers passes through the secondary tropical forest that has regenerated over the limestone hillsides of the national park — the trail's wildlife encounters (the dusky langur monkeys visible in the tree canopy above the upper tiers, the monitor lizard crossing the path, and the various butterfly species feeding on the minerals in the wet rock surfaces beside the stream) provide a natural environment encounter that complements the waterfall swimming experience. The forest's limestone karst substrate (the same geology that creates the waterfall's mineral pools) supports a different vegetation community from the granite or sandstone hills, with the limestone specialist plant species visible in the rock crevices above the trail.
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Kanchanaburi Forest Caves
The limestone cave systems in the Kanchanaburi province hills (including Tham Than Lod Noi and Tham Than Lod Yai in the Sai Yok National Park area northwest of town) are the most extensive accessible cave systems in western Thailand — the cave rivers flowing through the limestone karst create underground environments of stalactites, cave pearls, and the Kitti's hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai), the world's smallest mammal, whose only known habitat is the limestone caves of the Kanchanaburi area and adjacent Myanmar. The cave tours (by boat through the underground river in the larger caves, on foot through the smaller dry caves) provide the most extraordinary geological environment encounter accessible from the Kanchanaburi tourist base.
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Sai Yok Waterfall
Sai Yok Yai Waterfall in Sai Yok National Park, 100km northwest of Kanchanaburi town, is the most dramatic accessible waterfall directly on the Death Railway route — the waterfall visible from the passing train (the railway line runs within 50 metres of the cascade's base) creates the most cinematically memorable landscape encounter on the Death Railway heritage journey. The national park surrounding the waterfall is also the habitat of the Kitti's hog-nosed bat and the location of several WWII prisoner of war camp sites accessible by short forest trail walks.