Kanchanaburi, located 120 kms away from Bangkok, is set in a landscape of limestone hills. The town lies leisurely on the bank of the Kwai Yai River and has become the take-off point for visits around the area. There is great tourist infrastructure here, from accommodation (the most popular being "raft hotels") to meals and tour packages, with most located along the river.

The attraction that first built Kanchanaburi's reputation is a feature that stretches across the river, north-east of the city centre, and is still used by trains. It is of course, the famous River Kwai Bridge, which grabbed the world's imagination with David Lean's movie in 1957. The bridge itself may be a disappointment - it is anything but spectacular - but the stay in town will more than make up for it.

The JEATH War Museum (Open daily: 8.30am-4.30pm) in the southern part of town gives a much more shocking account of one of the most horrendous episodes of World War II in South-east Asia.

JEATH is an acronym of the six countries involved in the building of the railway: Japan, England, Australia, America, Thailand and Holland. Thirty-eight allied POW died for each kilometer of track laid and many of them are buried in the two cemeteries, the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery that gathers 6,982 graves and the smaller Chungkai Cemetery.

Not all attractions in Kanchanaburi are related to WWII. Located on a hilltop 20 kms away from town, Wat Tham Sua and Wat Tham Khao Noi give an entertaining illustration of the evolution of contemporary Tai religious architecture, together with a stunning view over the valley. The interesting Ban Kao Museum, 35 kms west of Kanchanaburi, displays evidence of a Stone Age community first unearthed by Dutch POW and archaeologist H.R. van Heekeren.

Yet, the main reason for an extended stay in Kanchanaburi may well be the rolling hills covered in thick jungle. Lying between Thailand and Myanmar, the three national parks, waterfalls, reservoir and caves offer plenty of opportunities for jungle trekking, water rafting and fishing.

The Erawan National Park takes its name from a seven-tiered waterfall, one of the most beautiful in the country and famous for its resemblance to the three headed elephant Erawan, Thailand's formal symbol. Srinakarind National Park has a reservoir on the Kwai Yai River surrounded by atmospheric resorts offering lots of water sports activities. The smaller Tham Than Lot National Park has a few bungalows, a pretty waterfall, two caves and a hiking trail linking them.

For a less challenging way to discover the stunning scenery of Kanchanaburi's jungle, go further north-west into the mountains over the aptly named Death Railway. There are three trains leaving daily for a two-hour journey to the little town of Nam Tok. The rail line north of Nam Tok was ripped up soon after the war, but signs of the excruciating working conditions endured by the POW are most visible in Hellfire Pass.

Form there, you will be traveling over Highway 323, which wends its way through the Sai Yok National Park all the way to-the little town of Sangklaburi on the shore of Khao Laem Reservoir, and 18 kms short of the actual border in Three Pagoda Pass. En route, you can marvel at the Khmer ruins of Prasat Muang Singh and the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum, or just unwind and do nothing at the many waterfalls and caves.