In the darkness of the night, the floating flowery lanterns of Loy Krathong Festival float along the Ping River while paper lanterns light up the sky of the Yee Peng Festival. As the floating lanterns slowly filled up the sky, I stood in awe as I ticked off one of my travel bucket list. When one of my friends brought up the idea of going to see the floating lanterns in Chiang Mai we jumped at the chance as our schedules aligned. 

The festivals of Loy Krathong & Yee Peng are celebrated two nights in November. Dates vary each year depending on the full moon so best to check official sites for the exact info. We opted to attend both the public celebrations on the first day at Nawarat Bridge and an organized event on the second day.

The Loy Krathong Festival is mainly held along the Ping River starting from the Thai Phae Gate to the Nawarat Bridge. The main festivities of the public celebration of the Yee Peng Festival also happens here. There are organized celebrations that charge a fee all around Chiang Mai during this week. If you don’t want to pay and just want to join the locals celebrate visiting the Nawarat Bridge is a good option. 

On the first day of the festival, we headed to Nawarat bridge area to celebrate with locals and tourists.  I would suggest arriving early so you can explore around before the crowds. We arrived as the dusk fell and the area already was filled with people. 

Loy Krathong

The Loy Krathong (Loi Krathong) is the festival were floating lanterns are released in the river. The “krathong” are flower floating lanterns with a candle are released with wishes of good fortune and are released in the river when the moon is at its brightest. The lantern’s light is meant to pay respect to the Buddha while the act of releasing the lantern symbolizes the release of one’s anger, hatred or any negativity. It is believed that if it stays lit until you no longer see it as it floats away, your wish will come true. 

You can purchase both kinds of lanterns along the streets and by the river side. There are plenty of designs of flower lanterns with candles you can choose from. If you want something small and simple or something more intricate. There are even one with doll tops.  The lower and flatter candles are believed to work better. 

Bring your own or buy a lighter to light your lantern. 

There are temporary decks along the river you can release your lantern from but they charge a minimal fee. You can also find a spot along the riverside that’s not too steep.Those further from the Nawarat bridge we noticed where less steep.

We squeezed in between the vendors along the river to find a spot to float our lanterns from. It was still a little steep that we had to sit on the ground and reach out our arms to release them on the water. 

You can watch the hundreds of  flower lanterns as it floats down the river and thousands of floating lanterns light up the sky.

Yee Peng

The floating paper lanterns of the Yee Peng festival are also mainly released on the Nawarat Bridge. On the festival dates, the bridge would be packed with tourists and locals lighting their paper lanterns.  We saw several ones even add firecrackers to them. Due to the limited space and lack of experience of some, there are plenty of instances that paper of the lanterns either burn as it is lit or the lanterns fall after take off. Make sure to keep an eye out for these for your safety. 

There are also some other designated areas where you can watch and release lanterns released like in some temples. Make sure to release only in designated areas. 

Most of the paper lanterns are released on the Nawarat Bridge though some also prefer to light theirs along the river banks. It is not advisable along the river as there are plenty of trees where the lanterns can get stuck on and burn. 

You can easily purchase paper lanterns in the festival area. There are also plenty of food stalls around. 

Here are a few tips on how to properly light a paper lantern:

The area around Nawarat Bridge would be packed so prepare to walk and to squeeze in with the crowds. Lanterns were around 50-100 Baht. 

We made sure to book our flights months in advance to get the cheapest rates. As this season is popular due to the festivals you’ll need to book early to get the best value of flights and lodging. We booked our flight as soon as the dates were announced which was about 10 months before the date.   

If you prefer a more organized event, you can join one of the many organized on the outskirts of Chiang Mai. These usually cost a lot more but have designated seats and inclusions like transportation, dinner, and paper lanterns. Make sure to choose a good event and travel organizer. We had issues with our pick up and drop off arrangements with our travel organizer.