Singkhon Pass (), also referred to as Sing Khon and as Maw Daung after the name of the Burmese town west of the border, is a pass across the

Tenasserim Hills The Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range (, ; , , ; ) is the geographical name of a roughly 1,700 km long mountain chain, part of the Indo-Malayan mountain system in Southeast Asia. Despite their relatively scant altitude these mo ...

on the border between

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, at an elevation of . The pass is close to the narrowest point of

Khlong Wan A ''khlong'' (, ), alternatively spelt as ''klong'' () commonly refers to a canal in Thailand. These canals are spawned by the rivers Chao Phraya, Tha Chin, and Mae Klong, along with their tributaries particularly in the low-lying areas of cent ...

(คลองวาฬ) subdistrict, Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan District,

Prachuap Khiri Khan Province Prachuap Khiri Khan (, ) is one of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It is in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, some south of Bangkok. Neighboring provinces include Phetchaburi province, Phetchabu ...

History

Singkhon pass was important during the wars between Siam and the Burmese, and also during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when the

Mergui Road Mergui Road was a transit route in the area of the Singkhon Pass between Burma and Thailand, built and used during World War II by Imperial Japan. The road connected Prachuap Khiri Khan to Mergui via Tenasserim on the Burmese south coast. It wa ...

was constructed by the Japanese invaders. The pass, on Thai Hwy 1039, about to the west of its junction with Thailand Route 41, was formerly closed, but was informally opened since May 2013 as a result of bilateral agreements. The road on the Burmese side leads to Myeik – via Mawdaung and

Tanintharyi Tanintharyi may refer to: * Tanintharyi (town) or Taninthayi (known during the British occupation as Tenasserim), a town in Tanintharyi Township, Myeik District, in the Tanintharyi Region of Burma (Myanmar) * Tanintharyi Region, formerly Tenasseri ...

– and has recently been repaired. Singkhon Pass has been upgraded since late-2014 with improved public utilities, urban planning, and landscaping. The official inauguration ceremony of the border crossing took place on 23 May 2015 with a crowd of about 2000 from both sides of the border attending the event.

Tourism

The Singkhon Pass border checkpoint is currently also being developed as a tourist attraction with new shops opening in the area by the road on the Thai side. It is also a place whereby traffic from one side of the road must change over to drive on the opposite side of the road. Pattaya Mail - Dan Sing Khon border crossing upgrade under way
/ref>

References

External links

*

{{Border Crossings of Myanmar Tenasserim Hills Mountain passes of Thailand Mountain passes of Myanmar Myanmar–Thailand border crossings Geography of Prachuap Khiri Khan province