Yi Peng Lantern Festival

When is the Thailand lantern festival?

The Thailand lantern festival, Yi Peng, runs for three nights in Chiang Mai, from Monday 23 to Wednesday 25 November 2026. The big night is Tuesday 24 November, Loy Krathong, the full moon of the 12th Thai lunar month, and sky lanterns go up on 24 and 25 November. In 2027 it's expected around Saturday 13 November, Loy Krathong 2027.

Yi Peng is the Lanna festival of lights, which is why people call it the Chiang Mai lantern festival. Its name means the full moon of the second month in the old Lanna calendar, and Chiang Mai marks it by hanging paper lanterns over the streets, lighting candles at the temples, floating krathongs on the Ping River and sending khom loi sky lanterns up in the permitted areas.

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Where can you see the lantern festival?

You can see the Thailand lantern festival all over Chiang Mai. The free city festival's main site for 2026 is the Tonlamyai Market park, moved from Tha Phae Gate, with more events around the city, run by the Chiang Mai City Municipality. For a sky full of lanterns, go to a ticketed release at a permitted site outside the city.

• City streets and temples: lanterns hung over the streets and candles in the temple courtyards, all three nights, free.
• The Ping River: krathongs on the water on Loy Krathong night, Tuesday 24 November, free.
• Outside the city: sky lanterns on 24 and 25 November, 7pm to 1am, at permitted areas and ticketed releases. The city and the flight path around the airport stay sky lantern-free.

On Tuesday 24 November, head for the Ping River after dark: that's where the krathongs go out on the water. The VIP move is a villa near the river and your own driver for the late night. Ask Tanner: he plans where you stay and where you watch.

Can you release a sky lantern?

Yes: at the Thailand lantern festival you can release a sky lantern on 24 and 25 November 2026, from 7pm to 1am, in permitted areas outside Chiang Mai city. The city itself stays sky lantern-free, so the city nights are for the hung lanterns, the parades and the river.

Every lantern release needs its own permit from the province, and there is no official list of release sites. Ticketed releases are separate events, run by their own organisers, outside the city. Read Yi Peng tickets and lantern rules, or see how a sky lantern works in Khom loi: Thailand's sky lanterns. Ask Tanner.

How is Yi Peng different from Loy Krathong?

Yi Peng and Loy Krathong share the same full moon, but Yi Peng is the northern lantern festival and Loy Krathong is the national festival of krathongs floated on the water. In Chiang Mai you get both: Loy Krathong night, Tuesday 24 November 2026, falls in the middle of Yi Peng.

Read Loy Krathong 2026 for the rest of the country, and khom loi for the sky lanterns.

Is the lantern festival free?

The Chiang Mai lantern festival 2026 is free in the city: the parades, the lanterns over the streets and the krathongs on the Ping River cost nothing. You need a ticket only for a ticketed lantern release, a separate event sold by its own organiser at a permitted site outside the city.

Each ticketed release sets its own night inside the permitted window, 24 and 25 November 2026, 7pm to 1am. Ask Tanner to plan the car and the night around it.

How do you get to Chiang Mai for Yi Peng?

Get to Chiang Mai for Yi Peng by air: it's a short flight from Bangkok. Flight times change on lantern nights and Chiang Mai fills up on festival week, so book your flight and your base first. The overnight sleeper train from Krung Thep Aphiwat is the other way in.

• From the airport: meter taxis, shuttle vans and the RTC Smart Bus run from the airport into town.
• Your driver: a luxury van with a driver from ฿6,500 for 10 hours, for up to 4.

Read Bangkok to Chiang Mai, and Loy Krathong 2026 for the other cities. Ask Tanner.

What are the best Yi Peng tips?

The best Chiang Mai lantern festival 2026 tips are about timing: book early, plan the late nights, be at the river on Tuesday 24 November, and pick your sky lantern night, 24 or 25 November.

• Book now: flight times change on lantern nights, and Chiang Mai fills up on festival week.
• Getting around: the RTC Smart Bus runs by day; for the late lantern nights, your own driver.

What should you wear and bring?

For the Thailand lantern festival, wear comfortable shoes for long walks and cover your shoulders and knees for the temples. Bring a charged phone, a light layer for the late nights, and small cash for a krathong at the river stalls.

• On your feet: comfortable shoes; you'll walk the old city and stand for the releases.
• At the temples: shoulders and knees covered; light summer clothes are perfect.
• In your bag: a charged phone, a light layer and small cash for the river stalls.

More ideas: what to wear to a festival in Thailand. Ask Tanner.

Where do you stay for Yi Peng?

For the Chiang Mai Lantern Festival 2026, stay inside or close to the city, so you can walk to the festival and the river. Chiang Mai fills up on festival week, so book your base first.

• Your base: a private pool villa from ฿18,500 a day.
• Airport fast track: ฿2,400 a person at Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang, if you fly in from abroad.

Ask Tanner for a villa near the river. More: Chiang Mai festivals and festival trips in Thailand.

What else is on in Chiang Mai around Yi Peng?

Chiang Mai has a full festival season around Yi Peng. Mycelium Festival runs in Chiang Dao from 20 to 22 November 2026, Chiang Mai Design Week from 5 to 13 December, and Imagine Festival at the Lanna Resort in Hang Dong from 30 December to 1 January.

Want a night out after the lanterns? Ask Tanner to add the nights out.

What's the lantern festival in short?

• The Thailand lantern festival (Yi Peng): 23 to 25 November 2026 in Chiang Mai; Loy Krathong night is Tuesday 24 November.

• Main site: Tonlamyai Market park; the city festival is free.
• Sky lanterns: 24 and 25 November, 7pm to 1am, in permitted areas outside the city; the mass releases are ticketed.
• Book flights early: times change on lantern nights.

Plan it with Tanner.