Every year I get the same message from someone planning a trip: they have seen the photograph — a thousand lanterns rising in perfect formation over a field, monks in the foreground, everything gold — and they want to know which night that is and how much a ticket costs. The honest answer is that the photograph is usually a ticketed private event outside the city, that it costs a great deal more than they are expecting, and that the free version in town is better than they think.
Here is how Yi Peng actually works in Chiang Mai in 2026, what the different events cost, and how to see it without either overpaying or breaking the law.
When is Yi Peng 2026?
24–25 November 2026, with the main night on Tuesday the 24th. It follows the full moon of the second month of the Lanna lunar calendar — yi meaning two, peng meaning full moon — which falls at the same time as the twelfth-month full moon in the central Thai calendar. That is why it lands on the same night as Loy Krathong.
Chiang Mai’s programme spreads either side of the main night: parades, a decorated-lantern competition, temple installations and river events typically run from around the 22nd. Exact event dates and release windows are published by the municipality closer to the time — our Thailand festival calendar carries the confirmed dates as they land.
Yi Peng and Loy Krathong are not the same festival
This is the single most useful thing to understand before you book anything.
- Loy Krathong is national. You float a decorated banana-leaf vessel on water. It happens in every province.
- Yi Peng is Lanna — northern Thai, historically a separate kingdom with its own calendar. You release a paper lantern (khom loi, โคมลอย) into the sky, and you hang decorated lanterns (khom fai) outside homes and temples.
In Chiang Mai the two run together on the same nights, which is why the city is the only place you get both the water and the sky at once — and why the crowds there are the heaviest in Thailand that week.
The three ways to see the lanterns
1. The ticketed mass releases — the photograph you have seen
The synchronised thousand-lantern events are private, staged, held at venues outside the city, and organised primarily as a paid experience. They typically include transport, a vegetarian meal, a ceremony with monks, and a set number of lanterns per person. Tickets have historically run from roughly ฿3,000 into the ฿12,000+ range depending on the venue and package, they go on sale months ahead, and the well-known ones sell out.
They are genuinely beautiful and they are also the most commercial thing in the Thai festival calendar. If the photograph is the reason you are coming, this is how you get it. If you book one, book direct with the organiser and be sceptical of resellers; listed Yi Peng experiences vary enormously in what is actually included, so read the inclusions rather than the photographs.
2. The free city celebration — what most people should do
Around the Old City moat, Tha Phae Gate, the Ping River and Nawarat Bridge, the city celebrates for free. There are parades, the moat and river fill with krathongs, temples including Wat Phan Tao and Wat Chedi Luang put on lantern installations that are quietly the most beautiful thing in town, and lanterns go up in ones and twos all evening from the permitted areas.
It is not the tidy formation from the photograph. It is better in most of the ways that matter: it is free, it is what local people are actually doing, and you can wander it for hours. If you have one night in Chiang Mai for this, spend it here.
3. The temple ceremonies — the quiet option
Several temples hold their own observances on the main night, with chanting and lantern lighting. Wat Phan Tao’s candle-and-lantern setting in the teak viharn is the one photographers queue for. Arrive early, dress properly — shoulders and knees covered — and treat it as a religious occasion rather than a photo opportunity. Our temple etiquette guide covers the specifics.
The rules on releasing lanterns
Sky lanterns are an aviation hazard. Chiang Mai International Airport sits inside the city, and lantern releases have historically forced flight cancellations, delays and rerouting across the festival period. In response, the authorities now run a coordinated system every year:
- Designated zones. Releases are permitted only in specified areas, published by the province ahead of the festival.
- Time windows. Releases are restricted to announced windows on the festival nights, timed around suspended and rescheduled flights.
- Fines. Releasing outside the permitted zones and windows is an offence, and enforcement is real.
- Airline disruption. Dozens of flights in and out of Chiang Mai are routinely cancelled or retimed across those nights — if you are flying on 24 or 25 November, check your booking.
Buy a lantern only where you are permitted to release one, and use the specified materials — lanterns with wire frames are prohibited because they survive the burn and injure livestock and power lines. The rice-paper-and-bamboo ones burn out.
Outside the north, releasing a sky lantern generally is not part of the local tradition and often is not allowed at all.
Getting there, staying there, and the money
This is the busiest week of Chiang Mai’s year. Chiang Mai accommodation for 23–26 November should be booked months ahead; Old City and Nimman properties go first and rates run well above normal. If you leave it late, look at Santitham or across the river in Wat Ket, both walkable to the action.
Coming from Bangkok, the overnight train is the pleasant way and it fills for these dates — Bangkok–Chiang Mai routes are worth booking when you book the room. Flights are the fast option but are exactly the ones subject to festival-night rescheduling.
In the city itself: the Old City closes to traffic in stages, songthaews and ride-hailing surge hard from late afternoon, and walking is faster than any vehicle after about 18:00. Budget cash for krathongs, lanterns and street food; card acceptance at the stalls is close to nil.
What to do with the rest of the trip
You will be in the north in the best month of its year — dry, clear and cool, well before the burning season. Mornings are worth getting up for: see what to eat for breakfast in Chiang Mai, and the Chiang Mai province profile for what sits within a day’s reach. Our best time to visit guide explains why late November is the sweet spot nationally.
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Yi Peng in Chiang Mai: your questions, answered
When is Yi Peng 2026 in Chiang Mai?
24–25 November 2026, with the main night on Tuesday 24 November, coinciding with Loy Krathong. Surrounding events — parades, competitions and temple installations — usually begin a couple of days earlier. It follows the full moon of the second Lanna lunar month, so the date changes each year.
Is Yi Peng the same as Loy Krathong?
No. Loy Krathong is the nationwide festival of floating decorated vessels on water. Yi Peng is a northern Lanna festival of releasing and hanging paper lanterns. They fall on the same full moon and are celebrated simultaneously in Chiang Mai, which is the only place you reliably get both together.
Do I have to pay to see the lanterns in Chiang Mai?
No. The famous synchronised mass releases are ticketed private events outside the city, historically from around ฿3,000 to ฿12,000 or more. The city’s own celebration around the Old City moat, Tha Phae Gate, the temples and the Ping River is free, and it is what most residents are doing.
Can I release a lantern anywhere in Chiang Mai?
No. Releases are restricted to designated zones during published time windows, coordinated with Chiang Mai airport because lanterns are an aviation hazard. Releasing outside those zones and windows is an offence and is enforced. Wire-framed lanterns are prohibited outright.
Will my flight be affected during Yi Peng?
Possibly. Flights in and out of Chiang Mai are routinely cancelled or rescheduled across the festival nights to keep the sky clear during release windows. If you are flying on 24 or 25 November 2026, check with your airline and avoid tight connections.
How far ahead should I book for Yi Peng?
Several months. It is the most competitive accommodation week in Chiang Mai’s year — Old City and Nimman sell out first and rates rise sharply. Ticketed lantern events also release months ahead and sell out. Book transport at the same time as your room.
