Hellfire Pass is named for the fires that burned through the night as Allied POWs and Asian laborers worked by torchlight, hacking through solid rock by hand. This section of the Death Railway demanded some of the most brutal labor of the entire construction, and walking through the cutting today, still exactly as the laborers left it, carries a weight that no museum display can replicate.

The Australian-run museum provides essential historical context before the trail begins, and the free audio guide narrated by veterans and historians makes the 4km round-trip walk through jungle and rock deeply moving. Allow at least two hours including both the museum and the trail. Early morning is strongly recommended to beat the heat before it builds.