We planned our trip to assist to the world famous lantern festival in Chiang Mai on the 27th and 28th of November 2023! Next year it will be on the 15th of November 2024.
First of all, when you google Chiang Mai Lantern Festival the information is quite spread out, often the first pages being private events that are super expensive. However, it's important to know that the Chiang Mai lantern festival is free and you can just enjoy it when you're in the city during the right dates.
Chiang Mai is quite old, from 1296 and it was the capital of the Lanna Kingdom. There are many beautiful Buddhist temples, including the 14th century What Phra Singh and the 15th century Wat Chedi Luang. You can check this post for things to do in Chiang Mai and this one for the famous Mae Hong Loop to discover beautiful places around Chiang Mai by motorbike, car or bus.
Best day to see it
The festival lasts for two days but the first day is the big day, in which all kinds of fireworks are allowed, including the beautiful and majestic Chiang Mai Lanterns (Loy Krathong in Thai)
Next year it will happen on the 15th of November 2024!
Best place to see the lanterns (for free)
There are many places where you can see the lanterns and also fly your own ones but the best and most famous place to see them is at the Nawarat bridge. This bridge is however very full of people and can be a little bit stressful. We liked a lot the next bridge Khua Lek (iron bridge) from which you can actually see the lanterns very well and also the bridge is beautifully decorated with paper lanterns. These places are by the river and you can see many locals and tourists using fireworks and lanterns. It's a very big party that reminded us a lot of the local firework party in Catalonia (La Nit de Sant Joan).
We've also created a short video of some fails of people trying to light up the lanterns during the Chiang Mai festival 2023 that has actually become quite popular in Youtube :D.
Comments