Sai Yok district

Sai Yok (Thai: ไทรโยค, pronounced [sāj jôːk]) is a district (amphoe) in Kanchanaburi province in western Thailand and is located northwest of Bangkok.

Sai Yok ไทรโยค
District
A train running through the "Hell Rail Pass""
District location in Kanchanaburi province
Coordinates: 14°6′56″N 99°8′40″E
Country	Thailand
Province	Kanchanaburi
District	Sai Yok
Area [1]
• Total	2,729 km2 (1,054 sq mi)
Population  (2024)[2]
• Total	66,733
• Density	24/km2 (60/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)
Postal code	71150
Calling code	034
ISO 3166 code	TH-7102

Geography

The district is in the valley of the Khwae Noi River in the Tenasserim Hills area. It borders Myanmar to the south. Along the river the Death Railway runs to Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi.

Sai Yok National Park was created on 27 October 1980 and covers an area of about 500 km². The most famous sight in the park is the Sai Yok waterfall.

Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Thong Pha Phum, Si Sawat, Mueang Kanchanaburi of Kanchanaburi Province and Tanintharyi Division of Myanmar.

Administration

Provincial administration

Sai Yok is divided into seven subdistricts (tambons), which are further subdivided into 57 administrative villages (mubans).

No.	Subdistrict	Thai	Villages	Pop.[2]
01.	Lum Sum	ลุ่มสุ่ม	11	10,867
02.	Tha Sao	ท่าเสา	11	14,432
03.	Sing	สิงห์	06	05,318
04.	Sai Yok	ไทรโยค	08	11,235
05.	Wang Krachae	วังกระแจะ	09	09,822
06.	Si Mongkhon	ศรีมงคล	08	08,109
07.	Bongti	บ้องตี้	04	06,950
		Total	57	66,733

Local government

Municipalities

As of December 2024 there are: three municipal (thesaban) areas in the district: Sai Yok subdistrict municipality (thesaban tambon) consists of the whole subdistrict Sai Yok, Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi subdistrict municipality (น้ำตกไทรโยคน้อย) covers parts of Tha Sao subdistrict and Wang Pho subdistrict municipality (วังโพธิ์) consists of parts of Lum Sum subdistrict.^[3]

Subdistrict municipality	Pop.	LAO code	website
Sai Yok	11,235	05710205	saiyok.go.th

Namtok Sai Yok Noi subd.mun.	Pop.	05710201	namtoksaiyoknoi.go.th
Tha Sao	3,914

Wang Pho subd. municipality	Pop.	05710202	wangphocity.com
Lum Sum	2,120

Subdistrict administrative organizations

The non-municipal areas are administered by six subdistrict administrative organizations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon - o bo toh).^[3]

Subdistrict adm.org - SAO	Pop.	LAO code	website
Tha Sao SAO	10,518	06710203	thasao-tmk.go.th
Wang Krachae SAO	9,822	06710207	wangkrachae.go.th
Lum Sum SAO	8,747	06710204	loomsoom.go.th
Si Mongkhon SAO	8,109	06710208	srimongkol.go.th
Bongti SAO	6,9502	06710206	bongti.go.th
Sing SAO	5,318	06710209	singsaiyok.go.th

Education

• Mahidol University Kanchanaburi campus
• 44 primary schools
• 3 secondary schools^[4]

Healthcare

Hospital

Sai Yok district is served by two hospitals:

• Sai Yok Hospital with 58 beds.
• Somdet Phra Piya Maharat Rommani Hospital with 30 beds.

Health promoting hospitals

In the district there are twelve health-promoting hospitals in total, of which;^[5]

1 Bongti	1 Lum Bum	1 Si Mongkhon	1 Sing
2 Tha Sao	2 Wang Krachae	4 Sai Yok

Religion

There are sixty-eight Theravada Buddhist temples in the district.^[6][7]

3 Bongti	8 Sing	9 Mongkhon	11 Sai Yok
11 Wang Krachae	13 Lum Sum	13 Tha Sao

Christians have their thirteen churches and muslims have one mosque.^[8]

Popular culture

• Sai Yok was the location of shooting the Vietnam scenes of the 1978 film The Deer Hunter.
• Sai Yok was mentioned in the song "Mon Sai Yok" (มนต์ไทรโยค - "Magic Of Sai Yok") by the Thai pop rock band The Innocent from an album Yu Hor (อยู่หอ - Stay Dorm) in 1982. The song is about a delightful time in Sai Yok.

Sights

Khwae Noi River, Sai Yok National Park.

Apart from the nature of the Kwae Noi River valley, the other main attraction is Mueang Sing Historical Park, which shows the westernmost Khmer-style temple complex.