The Three Pagoda Pass at the border with Myanmar near Sangkhlaburi, in Kanchanaburi province, is one of the few overland border crossings into either nation, though is open only to nationals of those countries. Besides this, it has been an important corridor in history for the overland Thai-Burmese trade route between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, as well as the spot from where marauding Burmese armies marched into Siam on their historical invasions.

In addition, it was the most plausible route used by the Imperial Japanese Army during WW II to build the Thailand-Burma Railway (fig.). The three pagodas, for which the pass is named, are depicted on the provincial emblem of Kanchanaburi (fig.).