How to Experience the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai
Discover the magic of the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai: Everything you need to know
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Chiang Mai is famous for its traditional festivals, and none is more enchanting than the Yi Peng Lantern Festival. Held annually in November, this magical event transforms the city into an illuminated wonderland, as thousands of paper lanterns float into the night sky, symbolising the release of worries and the welcoming of new beginnings. If your trip to Chiang Mai coincides with this festival, here’s a comprehensive guide on how to experience and take part in the Yi Peng Lantern Festival.
What is the Yi Peng Festival?
Yi Peng is a traditional Northern Thai festival celebrated in conjunction with the Loy Krathong Festival. It takes place during the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, which usually falls in November. The festival is celebrated with the release of khom loi (sky lanterns) and is deeply rooted in Buddhist and Lanna cultural traditions.
The release of lanterns is believed to symbolise the letting go of past misfortunes, making wishes for the future and bringing good luck. The festival also celebrates the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the cooler months, which in this part of the world instils a sense of renewal and hope after searing heat.
Best Time to Visit Chiang Mai for Yi Peng
The Yi Peng Lantern Festival usually coincides with the Loy Krathong Festival, so plan your visit for mid-November. Exact dates vary each year based on the lunar calendar, so check local listings for the specific dates of the festival during your visit. As Yi Peng and Loy Krathong are popular events, accommodation and flights can fill up quickly – so book well in advance if you can.
Where to Experience the Yi Peng Festival
Chiang Mai hosts several organised events and ceremonies where you can witness the lantern release. These events typically feature traditional performances and plenty of street food stalls.
Mae Jo University
Known for its large-scale lantern release event, Mae Jo University hosts one of the most organised and picturesque celebrations. Tickets are required, and it’s best to book in advance. As evening falls, thousands of people converge on the expansive university grounds, which are transformed into a sea of flickering candles and lanterns. The layout includes designated areas for people to sit, meditation zones led by monks and stalls selling food and souvenirs. The focus of the event is the grand ceremony where everyone releases their floating lanterns — made of rice paper with a bamboo frame—into the night sky. Your ticket not only includes admission but also your own lantern to release. On arrival, you’ll join others in a collective meditation and listen to chants led by Buddhist monks. And then, you’ll light your lanterns in unison, and release them into the night sky.
Old City Temples
One of the most magical ways to experience Yi Peng is to head to a temple in the Old Town, like Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang. These offer more traditional experiences set against the otherworldly backdrop of an ornate temple illuminated by hundreds of candles. People gather in the courtyards, gardens and meditation halls as monks lead chanting ceremonies and traditional music fills the air. Lanterns and candles are often available for purchase at stalls near the temple, and are released into the air in the final ceremony. No tickets are typically required for temple events, but it’s important to dress modestly out of respect for the sacred space—covering shoulders and knees as usual. Like the university, the temple grounds are also home to food stalls and sometimes entertainment, like traditional folk musicians, making this an unforgettable and truly magical experience.
Along the Ping River
As night descends, the banks of the Ping River come alive with colourful lanterns hanging from the trees and music playing. The atmosphere is gently buzzing as people prepare to release their lanterns into the sky, and also krathongs – a small floating offering made from banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense – onto the river. The combination of flickering lanterns in the sky and floating candles on the river make this a mesmerising experience and one you’ll probably never forget. To take part, you can purchase khom loi and krathongs from vendors lining the streets and riverbanks. After lighting the candle and making a wish or prayer, release your lantern into the sky or set your krathong afloat on the river to join hundreds of others as they float downstream. No tickets are required to take part in the celebrations along the Ping River; it’s an open event. As you walk along the river bank, you’ll see families gathered having evening meals, street food stalls will be busy with sizzling grills and sometimes performances take place. It’s amazing to think such an age-old tradition is still shared by so many people today. As you leave, the sight of the Ping River illuminated by countless floating lights, combined with the lantern-lit sky is like something from a fairytale.
How to Participate in Yi Peng Lantern Festival
Purchase your lanterns
Lanterns can be bought at various stalls throughout the city during the festival. You can buy both small hand-held lanterns and larger sky lanterns. Check out markets like Warorot Market or Sunday Walking Street Market for lanterns and festival essentials. Some workshops offer DIY lantern-making experiences if you want to create a lantern as a keepsake. If you buy a ticket to the Mae Jo University celebrations, a lantern is included in the ticket price.
Write a Wish
Traditionally, people write wishes or prayers on the lantern before releasing it. It can be something you want to release and let go of – a difficult time or a challenging situation. Or you could write wishes for things you want to bring into your life. It’s a very personal touch to this festival and completely up to you.
Releasing Lanterns
Releasing the lantern is a ceremonious act that involves lighting the fuel cell inside the lantern and letting it float into the sky. This symbolises carrying your wish to the heavens and the letting go of things you no longer need or want in your life. Lanterns are released at dusk, creating a spectacle as they rise against the darkening sky.
Practical Tips
As the lanterns are being released into the sky en masse, to land in an unspecified place, it’s really important they are not harmful to the environment and that they don’t cause fire hazards. The Thai authorities have rules in place to help protect both the environment and this ancient tradition.
Buying the right lantern
Not all lanterns are created equally, and some commercially produced ones include plastic, metal and wire frames. Only lanterns made of biodegradable materials – rice paper, bamboo and natural adhesives – are permitted. The krathongs that you might buy for release on the river are generally always made from biodegradable materials, such as banana leaves, bamboo and flowers.
Designated release zones
You aren’t able to release the lanterns anywhere you wish, so there are designated zones which is where most of the celebrations take place. You’ll also find that lanterns are released together at specific times, which helps coordinate clean-up efforts.
Things to Do
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