Discover the Magic of Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Thailand 2026

Yi Peng is the festival of the Lanna people of northern Thailand, falling on the same night as Loy Krathong — one sends lanterns up to the sky, the other floats them down the water.

Releasing a sky lantern here is not just about how pretty it looks. In Lanna tradition, what the lantern carries off is the past year's ill luck, troubles and the things you can't let go of; watching it rise, shrink and vanish is to hand those things over with your own hands. At the same time, it is also a merit-making wish — the wish you make drifts up to the sky along with the lantern.

What I remember most is the moment of taking the lantern in hand: it is flat and cool, the thin cotton paper a little like a deflated balloon. You crouch down to spread it open, light the fuel block at its centre, and then wait. The lantern begins to swell slowly, the air heating bit by bit, the weight in your palm vanishing bit by bit, the hot air leaking from its base carrying the smell of just-burnt cotton wadding. About ready — let go. The lantern rises, over the people around you, over the rooftops of the old city, into hundreds of lanterns, until you can no longer tell which one is your own.

Yi Peng coincides with Loy Krathong, falling around the full moon of the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar, so the corresponding Gregorian date shifts every year and is not fixed on any particular day.

The logic of the conversion is this: the Thai calendar is a lunar system, and each year's moon phase does not line up with the Gregorian calendar we are used to, so the festival dates differ year to year and are usually only settled once confirmed by the authorities and the temples.

My advice is simple: when planning your trip, go by the official announcement from Chiang Mai's authorities and the organizers, and don't lock in your flights and accommodation on a day you've guessed yourself. Confirm the announced dates first, then go back and arrange the days before and after — that will be far steadier.

There are simply two ways to take part, with different atmospheres and different thresholds.

Free release areas (along the old city moat): People release lanterns all night along the moat of Chiang Mai's old city, no ticket needed, and the mood is very natural — people coming and going, you crouch down to light your lantern, and beside you others are doing the same. That night I released mine right by the moat: no stage, no signal to start, and somehow that felt closer to what this festival originally is.

Ticketed venues (large-scale mass releases): The other kind requires a paid ticket to enter, usually arranging a mass simultaneous release, with a more orderly and spectacular scene, and limited places.

Which is better depends on what you want. If you want freedom, not to be tied to a schedule, and to save your budget, the free release by the moat is plenty; if you want the orderly scene of hundreds or thousands of lanterns rising together at once, then consider a ticketed venue.

I'd say this is a festival best suited to coming with "the people you care about most."

That night there were four of us — my closest friend and I, both mothers raising a child alone, each leading her own daughter by the hand. The two little girls put their heads together and propped open a smaller lantern between them, clumsy-handed, dissolving into laughter; my friend and I stood behind watching, not saying much. These years had not been easy for either of us, and to have pulled off a trip of four like this felt, in itself, like winning a prize.

So: bringing children is completely fine — they can manage the smaller lanterns too, and the process itself becomes a memory; coming with friends or family, that moment of "setting the year's hardship up into the sky together" will stay with you longer than any photograph. Coming alone works too — by the moat there is no shortage of others quietly releasing lanterns.

Put the main stage in Chiang Mai's old city and the trip will flow most smoothly.

Where to stay: Try to find accommodation near the old city moat. By the time you've finished releasing lanterns it is usually late at night, so being able to walk back and not having to leave early for transport is the most practical consideration.

Getting around: The old city is not large, and the free release area by the moat is within walking distance; on the night of the release, moving on foot is the most at ease, with no need to be distracted by parking or hailing a ride.

Budget: The free release area itself charges no admission; the main expenses are accommodation, meals and the lanterns themselves; if you want to try the local street food, the old city area is very convenient. If you plan to go to a ticketed venue, that will be a separate and more clearly defined budget.

Should you book the ticketed venue in advance: Yes. Ticketed venues have limited places, and the festival period draws in a great many travellers, so if you want to go, do it early — don't bet on there still being a spot when you arrive.

Releasing sky lanterns is beautiful, but it involves fire, hot air and falling debris, so different places often have rules and restrictions on "whether you can release them, where, and at what time."

My attitude is this: treat this as part of taking part, not as a hassle. Before you set off, go by the official announcements and on-site guidance, confirm that the spot where you are releasing is permitted and the timing is right, and use lanterns provided by the organizers or locally that comply with the rules.

This is not only about following the rules — it is also about protecting the festival itself: the premise of being seen year after year is that everyone releases safely and cleans up afterwards.

A few points I experienced first-hand and would want to remind you of in advance.

Fire safety: The base of the sky lantern really is a burning flame; once lit, the lantern will clearly heat up and begin to swell. Spread it open, light it, and wait until it is fully swollen before letting go — don't rush to release it, as letting go before it is full can easily go wrong. When children are along, the adults must hold it together beside them.

Crowds: During the festival the old city moat is very crowded, with people standing all around. Hold your children's hands and agree on a meeting point in case you get separated — it will save a lot of anxiety.

Etiquette and mindset: This is a night carrying the meaning of making wishes and sending off ill luck, so slowing down a little and being a little quieter actually lets you catch that atmosphere better. Before the release, my friend crouched and wrote a few words for her daughter on the lantern's shade, very small; I asked my daughter what she wished for, and she thought a long while, in the end writing only "Mum, don't be so tired." In that moment you understand that what this festival wants is not liveliness, but to gently set the words in your heart up into the sky.

Because this is the home of Lanna sky lantern culture.

Yi Peng belongs to the Lanna people of northern Thailand, and Chiang Mai is precisely the heart of Lanna culture; releasing lanterns between the rooftops and the moat of the old city, that scene of lanterns rising one after another until you can no longer tell which is whose, is unique to here.

On the night wind that evening was heated air and the scorch of cotton paper, mixed with a little cool drifting off the river. The four of us let go at once, watching those lanterns rise side by side, smaller and smaller, into a sky full of light, until we could no longer tell whose was whose; the two daughters tipped their heads back and followed for a long time, necks aching, still loath to lower them.

My friend quietly reached over and held my hand a moment, saying nothing. What I came to remember in the end was not any one lantern, but that moment — two women raising children, each having held on a long time, and two little girls not yet old enough to understand, together setting the past year's hardship gently up into the sky. I think if you too bring the people you care about most to release a lantern, you will likely be like me: what drifts away is the ill luck, and what stays is these few people beside you.