What's on in Kanchanaburi (River Kwai), Thailand through the year

Busy — Cool, dry season, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Cool, dry season (1 Nov – 20 Feb (usually))

Busy — Cool, dry season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Burning season haze

  1 Feb – 15 Apr · usuallySmoke season

  Field and forest fires along the western hills and over the Myanmar border grey out the valley for weeks. The limestone ridges you came to look at simply are not there. Source ↗

Still on: Cool, dry season (1 Nov – 20 Feb (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Burning season haze (1 Feb – 15 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Songkran, Long summer break in Thailand

• Festival

  Songkran

  13–15 AprWater-festival New YearCrowdedClosures

  Water in the streets and the raft houses fully booked with Thai groups. The war cemeteries stay open and quiet; almost nothing else does. Source ↗

Still on: Burning season haze (1 Feb – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Long summer break in Thailand, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Nature

  Erawan falls at full flow

  15 Sep – 31 Dec · usuallyHigh water

  The seven tiers run hardest at the end of the rains, when the upper pools are loud and the turquoise is at its strongest. By April the top levels are a trickle over dry rock.

Busy — October semester break in Thailand, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Erawan falls at full flow (15 Sep – 31 Dec (usually))

Peak crowds — Cool, dry season, River Kwai Bridge Week

• Season

  Cool, dry season

  1 Nov – 20 Feb · usuallyCrowded

  The window that makes the province work: raft houses on the Kwai without the humidity, the war sites bearable in daylight, and the road to the western parks dry.

• Festival

  Loy Krathong

  5–30 Nov · usuallyMajor festival

  Floats released onto the Kwai from the town bank on the twelfth full moon, with the bridge lit above them. Source ↗

• Festival

  River Kwai Bridge Week

  25 Nov – 10 Dec · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  A carnival sets up beside the bridge each year and a light-and-sound show re-enacts the wartime bombing after dark. Rooms in town go early and the riverfront road shuts for it. Source ↗

Still on: Erawan falls at full flow (15 Sep – 31 Dec (usually))

Peak crowds — Cool, dry season, River Kwai Bridge Week

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Erawan falls at full flow (15 Sep – 31 Dec (usually)), Cool, dry season (1 Nov – 20 Feb (usually)), River Kwai Bridge Week (25 Nov – 10 Dec (usually))