The Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai is an unforgettable celebration that lights up the city with colour, tradition and magic. As thousands of lanterns drift into the night sky and krathongs glide along the river, the festival beautifully captures the heart and spirit of Thai culture.

But firstly, let’s get one thing straight – Yi Peng in Chiang Mai is so much more than just releasing lanterns into the sky. The festival is packed with cultural events, temple ceremonies, parades and beautiful decorations all over the city. Especially considering that there is another festival happening here at the same time called Loy Krathong.

And secondly, with so much happening at once, planning your time can get a bit overwhelming – especially since there’s not much reliable information in English out there. That’s exactly why I created this itinerary: to help you make sense of it all and experience the best of Yi Peng 2025 without the confusion.

Why should you trust me and not ChatGPT? Haha

Because I already spent two Yi Peng Festivals in Chiang Mai and (I hope) I have a pretty good understanding of how it works, what’s worth seeing and what can be skipped.

Jump straight to the schedule of events in Chiang Mai during Yi Peng 2025!
Jump to info about free lantern festival.

But…

It doesn’t mean I’m infallible. While the main events like the opening ceremony or the closing parade tend to stay consistent, smaller celebrations can shift from year to year. So even though this itinerary is based on my experience and the official festival schedule (that last year was posted ONLY one day in advance!), treat it more as a friendly guide instead of rigid schedule and please don’t be mad if something is not happening exactly where and when I said it would be.

Do you want to know where to celebrate Yi Peng and Loy Krathong Festival in Chiang Mai? Check out my other blog post, where I share 11 places worth visiting during the festival. A few of them aren’t mentioned here.

Before we start though…

Let me explain something, because I saw a lot of confusion on the Internet. You read and heard about Yi Peng Festival and Loy Krathong Festival, but you wonder what’s the difference?

What is Yi Peng Festival?

Yi Peng is a centuries-old Lanna festival of light, celebrated mainly in northern Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai, during the full moon of the 12th lunar month, usually in November. It’s deeply rooted in Buddhist tradition and is all about making merit, letting go of misfortune and making wishes for the future while lighting up a candle or releasing a sky lantern. That’s why Yi Peng is also know as a lantern festival, where thousands of paper lanterns (called khom loy) float into the night sky.

What is Loy Krathong Festival?

Loy Krathong is one of Thailand’s most beautiful and symbolic festivals, celebrated nationwide to honor the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha. People float small decorated baskets, called krathongs, made of banana leaves, flowers and candles, onto rivers, canals, and ponds. This act symbolizes letting go of negativity and bad luck from the past year while expressing gratitude to the water spirits. The festival coincides with the full moon of the 12th lunar month (usually in November) and creates a serene, glowing scene across Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai, where it’s celebrated together with Yi Peng.

So if you’re in Chiang Mai during this time you can celebrate 2 festivals at once! So…

What’s the difference between Yi Peng and Loy Krathong?

Yi Peng is a northern Thai (Lanna) tradition where people release glowing lanterns into the sky, while Loy Krathong is celebrated nationwide with floating baskets released onto water. Both happen around the same time and share the same spirit of letting go and making wishes for good fortune.

This year – 2025 – Yi Peng and Loy Krathong Festivals will take place on the 4th, 5th and 6th of November.

Since most of the events start after dark – the city looks the most beautiful then, you still have the mornings and the afternoons to explore Chiang Mai!

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I’m pretty sure that one of the main reasons – if not THE MAIN reason – you’re visiting Chiang Mai during Yi Peng is to experience the lantern festival. So…

You should know that…

For several years now, releasing lanterns in Chiang Mai’s city center has been banned – and for good reason. In the past, a few buildings actually caught fire because of them. Luckily, most people now respect the ban. Last year, I did spot a few lanterns floating above the Ping River, but they were rare and scattered. So the only way for you to release a lantern is by attending specially organized lantern festivals outside the city. Unfortunately, the free lantern festival in Doi Saket has been cancelled this year, leaving you with just one alternative – super overpriced and overcrowded CAD Festival. Or other paid festivals.

Just a heads-up – this is what the queue for the transfer looked like last year. And that’s only one side of Maya Mall! The line actually wrapped around nearly all four sides of the building.

So my big dillema is…

deciding which day to recommend for the lantern festival – November 5th or 6th. I just want to make sure you don’t miss too much of Chiang Mai’s actual celebrations. Based on my 2023 experience, I’d say go on the first day; based on 2024, the second day seems better. And to be honest, part of me wants to tell you to save your money and skip it altogether. Haha! But I know for many of you, it’s a true bucket-list experience.

Update regarding a different, supposedly FREE lantern festival in Doi Saket 2025!

You know now, that the main free lantern festival in Doi Saket has been cancelled. Some other blog posts shared information about a different free lantern festival happening in Luang Nuea subdistrict of Doi Saket. According to my knowledge, based on information from people who speak Thai and actually called there, this festival HAS BEEN ALSO CANCELLED!

You can try your luck of course and go there, perhaps locals will be still releasing lanterns, but there is no official event happening there!

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But ok, let’s roll with my plan.

How to spend Yi Peng Festival 2025 in Chiang Mai

Yi Peng preparations have began with schedule of some events happening in the city this year. It’s not a comprehensive list, but it will help you to plan some of your activities.

As you can see it all starts on 31st of October, when you can go and make candles in Lanna Folk Museum. This event happens daily from the 31st of October until the 2nd of November, from 9am till 3 pm.

This just in! Official Yi Peng 2025 itinerary has been posted!

See below!

Keep in mind though, that this is not officially translated schedule. I translated it myself in Google Translate. Sorry if it sounds weird.

And…

Remember that…

Yi Peng celebrations are primarily outdoor based. Since the weather forecast doesn’t look promising, some events may be subject to cancelation at short notice!

Which brings me to…

Breaking news for Yi Peng festival 2025!

The opening ceremony takes place on the last day of the festival: 6th of November! This is a very weird and unexpected turn of events. In all the years I’ve been interested in this festival, the opening ceremony was always on the first day…well, that makes sense, doesn’t it? Now, there is the opening ceremony and the closing parade on the same day! I suspect it’s due to the weather forecast. Nonetheless, I apologize for misleading you with my assumption that it would happen on the first day.

I updated it the suggest Yi Peng itinerary accordingly.

This is the schedule combined into one image!

3rd of November – day 0

You can go check out the Lanna parade that sets of from…which I believe is this road to the Three Kings Monument. To be safe, you can just wait at Three Kings Monument. The parade is meant to start at 5 pm.

When it gets dark, head to the city walls for a beautiful display of candles dotted all over the ancient structures. It says here that the candles will be displayed around four gates, but from my experience, they will be at the four corners of the city walls. I’d recommend coming to the north-west corner: Jaeng Hua Lin. Last year they were here.

4th of November – day 1

Day one is all about the opening ceremony – usually, not this year though! But it still might be the most fascinating part of the festival. It’s the moment you see the city come to life for the first time with colourful lanterns, glowing candles, and beautiful decorations. This day marks the start of Yi Peng Festival 2025 in Chiang Mai and the city’s transformation into a stunning scene of light and spirituality.

How to organize your day during the first day of Yi Peng Festival 2025 in Chiang Mai

A little heads up before we start: Chiang Mai during the festival time gest super busy. The streets are packed with people, traffic comes to a standstill and getting a Grab or Bolt can feel nearly impossible. So keep that in mind when planning any activities.

You can (in chronological order):

1. Go to Tha Phae Gate Plaza.

Since the opening ceremony has been moved to the last day, at Tha Phae Gate you this year you can witness the Lanna Lantern Contest at 4 PM and Chiang Mai Yi Peng Children Contest taking place at 6 PM.

It might not sound super fascinating, but I’d still check what’s happening out there.

2. Check out the Three Kings Monument and Old Town Temples

While you’re in the Old Town, make sure to stop by the Three Kings Monument. In 2023, the first day featured lively celebrations with traditional dances and music – I loved it there, you could really soak the Yi Peng vibe in. Last year though, the square was fairly quiet on the same day. This year – 2025, the activity of lighting Phang Prathit is planned (traditional Lanna clay candles), so you can go check this event out. Hopefully there also be women dressed in the traditional Lanna attire.

From the Three Kings Monument, it’s just a short walk to Wat Chedi Luang, which is worth a visit as well. Just like at the monument, the vibe can vary – in 2023 the temple was already lively with their laser show on the first day, while in 2024 the main celebrations took place the following day (this year, the 5th).

Either way, it’s so close that it’s definitely worth stopping by and the decorations will already be in place.

There is a cute photo spot in that vicinity as well: a super pretty “lantern wall”. Check out my “ultimate guide to Yi Peng places” blog post, to find out where it is exactly.

3. Go to the Ping River to release your krathong

Well, you can actually do that every day of the festival. But if on the 5th of November you’re going to one of the lantern release festivals, I’d recommend going to the river on the 4th (leave the last day of the festival – the 6th – for the opening and closing ceremony Lol).

Anyway, the Ping River is the main spot for releasing your krathong. You can easily buy one there, make your wish or intention, and set it afloat on the river.

4. Visit Wat Lok Moli

If you still have the strength, visit Wat Lok Moli. One of Chiang Mai’s pretties temples, that during Yi Peng becomes even prettier. It’s (for some reason) my favourite temple to visit during the festival days. I absolutely love the atmosphere there. The decorations, the candles, the monks chanting – you could actually stop for a minute, make intention and give this experience some meaning.

It’s all super pretty, but the real highlight is the ancient chedi, rising majestically behind hundreds of colourful lanterns – one of the most breathtaking sights of Yi Peng. You can even purchase your own lantern and hang it, complete with a handwritten wish or dedication for good fortune.

5th of November – day 2

The second day of the festival is all about lanterns. If you got the tickets to CAD (or any other) lantern festival, you’re pretty much set. Queueing, getting there, finding your seat, waiting, the whole ceremony, coming back… it all starts around 3 PM and finishes at night.

Alternatively, you could try going to Lamphun, around Wat Phra That Hairpunchai Woramahawihan where some sort of free lantern festival is supposedly happening…

Update on Lamphun temple location!

Yes, there are events happening at the above mentioned temple, and it is beautifully decorated, BUT! I don’t think there is any free mass lantern release happening there!

If you’d rather skip the big festivals, that’s completely fine too. There’s plenty happening right in Chiang Mai itself. For example, you could:

• visit Wat Phan Tao – the temple with Buddha placed on a little rock under the tree. During the festival, the statue comes to life, illuminated by hundreds of candles placed by visitors around the Buddha’s platform. I loved it there.

Wat Phan Tao 2025 update!

This year the statue of Buddha is beautifully decorated with colourful lanterns. If you haven’t been there yet, make sure to visit.

• check out Three Kings Monument and Wat Chedi Luang – if you’re already in the area and you didn’t check out this square on the day before, go see what’s happening there. According to the schedule, there should be the candle lighting “ceremony”.

Update for Wat Chedi Luang 2025

There might be some sort of ceremony happening this evening (5th of November) at the temple. I say “might be” because well, that was the information I got after asking the staff of the temple. One person said: yes, candle ceremony at 7PM, the other one: some sort of ceremony between 5 PM and 6 PM. I know, that’s not much to go on, but unfortunately this is how gathering information for Yi Peng looks. Last year (2024) there was a candle ceremony there around 7 PM, so let’s hope they will repeat that, because it was very pretty.

• head to Chinatown along the Ping River to release your krathong – it’s the main spot for this beautiful tradition. And again, if you haven’t done it already. Buy a krathong, make your wish or intention, and set it afloat on the river. Last year, there were also fireworks around 8 PM, but due to the Queen’s Mother passing, all fireworks have been (supposedly) canceled this year. We shall wait and see, ey? Just a little warning: it gets super crowded and some people set off fireworks nearby, so stay alert and be careful!

6th of November – day 3

The final day of the festival is definitely the calmest. Well, usually… This year, as you already read, there’s an opening ceremony and the closing parade happening on that day! So head to Tha Phae Gate for

• the opening ceremony happening at 6 PM – I have to be honest… I don’t know what to write here, because I don’t know what their plan is…it simply makes no sense. But according the the schedule, right after that…

• the Krathong Parade – officially known as the Grand Krathong Competition for the Royal Trophy is supposed to begin. It should start around 6.30 PM from Tha Phae Gate and moves along Tha Phae Road, featuring beautifully decorated floats, lively marching bands and local people dressed in elegant traditional costumes. The parade is always fun, a bit cheesy, but fun and it’s a lively and joyful way to wrap up Yi Peng Festival 2025 in Chiang Mai.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit the temples and spots I mentioned earlier, the last day of the festival is still a great time to do so. Wat Lok Moli, for example, might be a little quieter by then – and often looks even more magical, glowing with countless lanterns.

But apart from that, that’s pretty much it!

You made it through your first Yi Peng festival in Chiang Mai. Hope you enjoyed it.

I’ll do my best to keep this blog post updated – whenever new information about Yi Peng events or celebrations comes up, I’ll add it here. So make sure to save this page, bookmark it, and check back for the latest updates! The schedule this year surprised me, so again, sorry for some of those last minute changes. And let’s hope the weather imporves!

Don’t forget to check out my other Yi Peng blog post where I share the best places to visit during Yi Peng Festival 2025 in Chiang Mai. Yes, some are repeated, but some are not…hahah

For the most up-to-date information during the festival, make sure to follow me on Instagram – I’ll try to be out and about soaking up the atmosphere and sharing real-time updates on Instagram stories. You’ll get a glimpse of what’s happening right then and there – from temple celebrations and parades to spontaneous moments that don’t make it into guides.

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Hi, it’s Aga, the author of this blog. If you found this blog post interesting, entertaining or useful, please think of buying me a virtual coffee to support the site’s running costs. But if you know me, I might actually spend it on coffee. Thanks!

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