A travel experience that should definitely be on your bucket list is seeing the annual lantern festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Occurring on the last full moon of the Thai lunar calendar, usually around the end of November, the lantern festival in Chiang Mai is actually a combination of two festivals on the same day. The first, Loy Krathong, is celebrated all over Thailand. During this festival, small boats called krathongs made of leaves and flowers are released into the water to send away the bad thoughts and feelings from the previous year. In the second festival, Yi Peng, paper lanterns are released into the air and float into the sky like magic. Yi Peng is uniquely observed in northern Thailand. These traditions are celebrated together during the Chiang Mai lantern festival, and we were lucky enough to participate on our recent trip to Thailand.
Planning Our Trip
I didn’t plan our trip to Thailand around the lantern festival, but when I realized we would be in Chiang Mai on the right dates, I knew we had to go. However, I was surprised as I started researching just how difficult it was to find information on the festival. There were clearly paid events. There were maybe free events. But what and where and when was harder to figure out than you’d think. As I was lamenting this lack of information, Ben made a comparison that totally made sense. He said, “Well, it’s probably like the Fourth of July here in America. You could pay to go see a fireworks show, and there are some local parades, but most people just celebrate with their friends and family.” I’m not sure if this is totally accurate, but the comparison made a ton of sense to me and possibly explains why I couldn’t find much information online.
So let me sum up for you what I could find. Keep in mind that this is my best interpretation of the information available at the time of our visit (November, 2023), and may not be current. For many years, the most popular place to release lanterns was the Nawarat Bridge near Old Town Chiang Mai. However, due to flight traffic, it is now illegal to release lanterns anywhere within city limits. (I believe there are still vendors who sell lanterns at this location, but it is officially against the law, so attend at your own risk.) This means that while it is possible to find small parties releasing lanterns on the outskirts of town, as a tourist, your best bet for experiencing this festival in all its glory is to buy a ticket for a paid event. The biggest (or at least easiest to book) seems to be the CAD Lantern Festival, which we bought tickets to attend on November 27, 2023.
I’ll just mention that this post is in no way sponsored, nor have I received any sort of compensation. I am just putting this information out there because it would have been useful to me as I was planning our trip.
There are several different verified vendors from whom you can buy a ticket for the CAD Lantern Festival. We went with Top Destinations, but I’ve also heard good things about Asia Highlights. The tickets are not cheap, ranging from around $100-$200 depending on the ticket. I really agonized about whether to get the basic, cheapest ticket or the upgraded VIP ticket. Ultimately, we went with the cheaper one, and I was very happy with that decision. Looking at how the day ended up being structured, I cannot imagine the VIP ticket would have been worth the extra money.
Getting There
A.K.A. Chaos
Transportation to the lantern festival is included in your ticket. Be prepared. It will not go smoothly. Our Airbnb was located just a few minutes walk from the pickup point (Maya Shopping Center), and even though we got there around twenty minutes early, it was still crazy. There was a massive line which turned out to be for VIP check in, but no one seemed to know that. Everyone was just jumping in at the end of the line, only to realize after ages of waiting that they were in the wrong place. We skipped right past the long line to the tent for the regular ticket check-in, which was less of a line and more of a cluster. After we picked up our ticket, it was kind of a free-for-all getting on the songthaews. Bring heaps of patience and remember you will all get there in plenty of time.
Once at the festival site, you’ll receive a lanyard with your seat number and a welcome gift, then it’s time to enjoy the festival!
Snacks and Shows
Before the sun went down, we had a few hours to enjoy a huge selection of traditional Thai snacks. There were so many things to try, at first, I thought this was dinner! We both liked the curried potatoes best, which were crispy and savory and delicious. We also got to watch a number of demonstrations such as boxing, Thai massage, and a really cool game that looked like a cross between basketball and hacky-sack.
Releasing Our Krathongs
Once the sun went down, we made our way to the pond where we had the chance to release krathongs into the water. Krathongs are floating lanterns traditionally made from banana tree trunks, leaves, and flowers (although earlier in our trip, we saw some in Bangkok that were made out of fish food!), then decorated with three incense sticks. Offerings of coins and human hair or fingernails are also sometimes included. Releasing krathongs symbolizes letting go of all the negative thoughts, hatred, and anger of the past year, and is an opportunity to give thanks to Ganga, the water goddess.
The festival organizers had made hundreds of krathongs for us to choose from, and after waiting in a short line to get the incense sticks lit, we put them in the water. Clearly, I did not have the technique mastered because my krathong immediately tipped over in the water. This must be some kind of bad sign for the new year!
Dinner
While we had already stuffed our bellies with all the snacks, after releasing our krathongs, we made our way to the dinner area. A number of tents were set up, each one serving a different item. The lines to get food were pretty long but moved quickly. Ben got green curry, and I got khao soi. Then we sat at one of the tables on the ground to enjoy our dinner. We had perfect timing because right after we got our food, a fireworks show started.
While we both got what we wanted, it seemed like some types of food ran out by the time we finished eating, and the rice ran out altogether, so maybe eat on the early side if you have a particular dish in mind.
Traditional Performances
After dinner, it was time to make our way to our seats. Even though the seats are assigned, there was a mad rush when the gates opened, with lots of shoving and flying elbows as people tried to get to their seats. We hung back for a while to let the crowd dissipate before finding our chairs.
The more expensive your ticket, the closer you will be to the central stage, but truthfully, while the show was fine, that wasn’t why we came, and the view of the floating lanterns is equally good from any seat.
There were three performances inspired by Lanna culture: chanting monks, a drum show, and women dancing with lanterns. They were all cool, especially the dancing, but the performers had to deal with some unfortunate technical difficulties. The speakers and microphones kept cutting in and out, which was kind of a bummer. Still, the shows were interesting to watch since they gave a taste for the traditional culture of the area.
The Lantern Release
Finally, it was the moment we came for. It was time to release our lanterns. The custom of sending floating lanterns into the sky is unique to northern Thailand, and especially Chiang Mai, the former capital of the Lanna Kingdom. So if this is something you want to see, Chiang Mai is absolutely the best place!
Each person has two lanterns next to their seat, but we got lucky because the seat next to us was empty, so we got two extra lanterns. The lanterns are bigger and trickier to inflate than I imagined, and we had a hard time getting the first one in the air. You light it, then have to hold it steady while it slowly fills with hot air, all the while keeping the sides from folding in and catching on fire. It is definitely easier with two people. Once the lantern was finally ready to go, we looked up, and the sky was already filled with lanterns! It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!
For the next twenty minutes or so, we took turns releasing our lanterns and watching them fly up into the sky like so many stars. The sight was breathtaking, and we felt so lucky to be there.
Returning to Chiang Mai
While it was tempting to hang around until the very last lantern faded from view, we ducked out a little early to try to beat the crowds back to the shuttle bus. Our strategy worked, and we were lucky to be near the front of an extremely long line of songthaews all heading back to Chiang Mai. Our driver was clearly anxious to get back because he was driving fast! (Not that I’m complaining; by that point, I was exhausted.)
As we drove, I could see that the side of the road was already covered in fallen lanterns. The CAD festival advertises itself as an “eco-friendly” event. The lanterns are made of biodegradable rice paper, and they hire clean-up crews to collect the lanterns the next day. I can’t imagine they find 100% of the lanterns, but I appreciate the effort.
Overall Impressions
Just go!
I had read mixed reviews of the Chiang Mai lantern festival. People said it was expensive (it was), and it was crowded (it was), and that it was chaotic (yep, that too), but seeing those lanterns was worth all that and more! It was one of my favorite experiences from our entire trip to Thailand, and I cannot recommend it enough. It was one of those travel experiences that I will never forget.
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