Three Pagodas Pass

Three Pagodas Pass is a historic mountain pass on the Thailand-Myanmar border in Nong Lu, Sangkhla Buri District, Kanchanaburi Province. Marked by three small white chedis, it has served for centuries as a natural border crossing through the Tenasserim Hills. Today it is a border checkpoint with a market, known for its historical role, cultural exchange, and as the western terminus of the World War II Death Railway in Thailand.

Visitors can expect a border pass area set in forested hills at about 282 meters elevation, centered on three small, whitewashed pagodas that give the pass its name. The site includes a Thai border checkpoint, a bustling border market with stalls selling goods from both sides, and open views of the surrounding hills. The area is small and walkable, with photo opportunities at the pagodas and market, and interpretive context about its historic trade and wartime railway role.

The pass has been a natural corridor through the Tenasserim Hills for centuries, used as a trade and travel route between the central plains of Thailand and the region to the west. It was historically used as a military route during the Ayutthaya period. During World War II, the Japanese-built Thailand-Burma Railway was constructed to link Thailand and Myanmar, with Three Pagodas Pass as its western pass area on the Thai side.

The three small pagodas are Buddhist chedis and a symbolic landmark of the border. The pass reflects long-standing cultural exchange between Thai and Mon and Myanmar border communities, visible in the market, languages, food, and goods traded. It remains a point of local cross-border community interaction.