Yi Peng Lantern Festival
Yi Peng Lantern Festival takes place Nov 24 - 26, 2026 (lunar; main lantern nights Nov 24 - 25) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The dress code is Modest and respectful; white or traditional Thai attire is encouraged at ceremonial mass releases. Typical cost ranges from 50 to 500 EUR per person.
The Lanna lantern festival in which thousands of glowing sky lanterns rise over Chiang Mai, coinciding with the Loy Krathong river offerings on the full moon. The image of a sky solid with drifting lights is one of Asia's most famous spectacles, and the city spends three nights in a haze of candlelight, parades and floating krathongs.
- When
- Nov 24 - 26, 2026 (lunar; main lantern nights Nov 24 - 25)
- Where
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Dress code
- Modest and respectful; white or traditional Thai attire is encouraged at ceremonial mass releases
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 50 to 500 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 30C warm days, pleasant 20C evenings, cool-dry season
- When to book
- Ticketed mass-release events sell out months ahead; book Chiang Mai hotels by September
- Getting there
- CNX (Chiang Mai), ~15 min to the Old City
- Where to stay
- 137 Pillars House, Anantara Chiang Mai Resort, Tamarind Village
- Official site
- https://www.tourismthailand.org
How to attend
The citywide celebrations at Tha Phae Gate and along the Ping River are free and open to all - the 2026 official program runs 24 - 26 November. The postcard synchronized mass releases are private ticketed events outside town costing roughly 100 - 330 EUR and selling out months ahead; book those early and confirm dates once the lunar calendar is fixed.
The citywide celebrations at Tha Phae Gate and along the Ping River are free with no ticket - the photogenic mass lantern releases are separate private events run by commercial organisers, not by the city.
Insider tip
If you skip the pricey ticketed camps, the free releases over the Ping River near Nawarat Bridge deliver the same lantern-filled sky, just less synchronized.
Get inside Yi Peng Lantern Festival
Booking matters here: ticketed mass-release events sell out months ahead; book Chiang Mai hotels by September. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
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