Yi Peng and Loy Krathong

Two festivals share one full moon in Chiang Mai. Loy Krathong, the festival of floating baskets, is held across Thailand and goes back more than 700 years to the Sukhothai Kingdom. Yi Peng is the northern one, linked to the old Lanna Kingdom around the 13th century. It is the festival of hanging lanterns and lamps and of lanterns released into the sky, meant to thank the Buddha, honour ancestors and carry away misfortune.

In 2026 the main nights are 24 and 25 November, when the city's municipal festival lights the Old City. The tourism authority's programme for 2026 runs over 24 to 26 November: candle trays lit along the moat and at the Three Kings Monument with Lanna dance, an opening ceremony at Tha Pae Gate, and floats on the Ping River with fireworks. The temples and the Old City, Tha Pae Gate and the river are free and full of hanging lanterns and floating baskets. The festival follows the full moon, so the dates move each year; 2027 is expected to fall in November again, and one listing puts it on 13 and 14 November, but this is not confirmed.

Sky lanterns are the part to plan with care. There is no free mass release in the city centre. Releases are allowed only at organised, ticketed events outside the city, such as Horizon Village, Sky of Wishes, Chiangmai Wonderland and the CAD festival. The areas under the airport's flight paths are red zones where releases are banned, each release needs a permit, and a ticket listing does not prove the event has one. Lanterns may go up only on the permitted evenings and hours, and in 2026 the airport cuts its operating day and airlines have retimed many flights from 21 to 28 November.

How to go. Pick one ticketed evening for a release and spend the other in the city. Book rooms months ahead. Check your flights for the festival week, and cover your shoulders and knees in temples. Lanterns and baskets leave debris, so ask the organiser about the clean-up. The Chiang Mai guide covers the city.