WWII Memorial Bridge

The WWII Memorial Bridge spans the Pai River about 2 kilometres west of town. Built by Japanese forces using conscripted local labour during the Second World War as part of a supply route toward Burma, the bridge has become one of Pai's landmark sites. The current iron structure is not the original wartime bridge, which was burned by retreating Japanese troops in 1944, rebuilt afterward, and later destroyed by flooding; today's bridge is maintained as a memorial to that history.

The setting is the real attraction: a narrow bridge over the Pai River, with rice fields and mountains on all sides. It is particularly photogenic at sunset, and the approach road passes through open countryside typical of the valley. The bridge is about a 30-minute walk from the centre of town, or 5 minutes by motorbike.

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A story
The bridge was built by Japanese forces using conscripted local labour and elephants to haul timber from the surrounding jungle, part of a wartime supply route toward Burma. The original wooden bridge was burned by the retreating Japanese army in 1944, rebuilt by locals after the war, and then destroyed by flooding in 1973. Unlike the famous Bridge on the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi, which was built with Allied prisoner-of-war labour on the Death Railway far to the south, this bridge has a quieter, more local history — and sees almost no visitors at midday, when you can usually stand on it alone, watching the river below.