Three Pagodas Pass

Three Pagodas Pass (Phlone ကၠံင်သိုင့်ဖၠုံးလါင့်ဆေါတ်ဖိုင်သာ့; Burmese: ဘုရားသုံးဆူ တောင်ကြားလမ်း, Paya Thon Zu Taung Za Lang, Burmese pronunciation: [pʰajá θóʊɰ̃ zù tàʊɰ̃ dʑá láɰ̃]; Thai: ด่านเจดีย์สามองค์, RTGS: Dan Chedi Sam Ong, Thai pronunciation: [dàːn tɕeːdiː sǎːm ʔoŋ]) is a pass in the Tenasserim Hills on the border between Thailand and Myanmar (Burma), at an elevation of 282 metres (925 ft).

The pass is named after three pagodas erected in 1929 by Phra Sri Suwan Khiri, the ruler of Sangkhla Buri, with the assistance of local villagers, and has reputedly served as a route for Indian monks in the 3rd century to disseminate Buddhism in Thailand.

[5] During the Ayutthaya period in Thai history (14th–18th centuries), the pass was the main invasion route for the Burmese, but at times was also used against them by Siamese armies.

There is a memorial to commemorate the thousands of British, Australian, Dutch and American prisoners of war, and Asian forced labourers who died during the construction of the railway.

[10][11] With the rambling strutting roosters of the Buddhist temple of Wat Suwankhiri[12] on a Payathonsu cliff near by, during April, Three Pagodas Pass becomes a site of the Songkran Festival with cockfights, Burmese kickboxing and various folk dancing.

The Three Pagodas