Yi Peng lantern festival

What Yi Peng is — and how it differs from Loy Krathong

Yi Peng (also written Yee Peng) is the northern, Lanna version of Thailand's festival of light, centred on Chiang Mai and famous for the khom loi — the glowing paper sky lanterns released into the night air. It's the source of those breathtaking images of a black sky filled with thousands of floating lights. Yi Peng falls on the same full moon as Loy Krathong, the nationwide festival of floating krathong on water, so in Chiang Mai the two happen together: you'll see decorated baskets drifting on the Ping River and lanterns rising overhead on the same nights.

It's worth being clear about the difference, because travellers conflate them constantly. Loy Krathong is about floating baskets on water and happens all over the country; Yi Peng is the northern sky-lantern tradition specific to the old Lanna kingdom, with Chiang Mai as its heart. This page is about planning the Chiang Mai lantern experience specifically — which is the one most people are searching for when they picture a sky full of lights — and it's the harder one to plan, because the headline lantern spectacle is mostly tied to ticketed events that sell out far ahead.

Like every festival on this site, the dates aren't hard-coded. Yi Peng follows the November full moon, the exact night moves each year, and the big ticketed events announce their own dates annually — so treat the timing as approximate and verify both the full-moon date and any event you want to attend before you book.

Loy Krathong in Thailand

The nationwide floating-lights festival on the same November full moon — and how it differs from Yi Peng.

Thailand events and festivals

The festival calendar at a glance — where Yi Peng sits in the year and the other festivals to plan around.

The free city festival vs the ticketed mass releases

There are really two Yi Peng experiences, and knowing which you're after is the single most important planning decision. The free city celebration is the authentic, local festival: Chiang Mai's old city, Tha Phae Gate and the Ping River come alive with decorated lanterns, parades, temple ceremonies, food markets and locals releasing individual khom loi. It's beautiful, communal and costs nothing — but it doesn't produce the synchronised wall of thousands of lanterns rising at once.

That iconic image — the dense, simultaneous mass release — almost always comes from large ticketed events staged at venues outside the city, where organisers coordinate a synchronised launch for a paying crowd. These are professionally run, often include cultural performances and dinner, and are priced accordingly (they can be a significant outlay), and they sell out months in advance. If the synchronised mass release is your dream, you need a ticket to a specific event, booked early, and you should verify exactly what each event includes and where it's held.

Many travellers do both: join the free city festivities for the atmosphere and the floating krathong, and book one ticketed release for the headline spectacle. Just go in clear-eyed — book the ticketed event well ahead, and don't assume the free celebration will look like the marketing photos.

Chiang Mai travel guide

The old city, Tha Phae Gate and the Ping River where the free Yi Peng celebration centres.

Booking and hotel timing — Chiang Mai's peak week

Yi Peng and Loy Krathong together make this Chiang Mai's busiest and most expensive week of the entire year. Hotels — especially the well-located ones in and around the old city — fill months ahead and raise their rates, the ticketed lantern events sell out, and flights into Chiang Mai get tight and pricey. If you want to be here for the festival, the rule is simple: book as early as you possibly can, ideally several months out for both your hotel and any ticketed release.

Plan your timing around the full-moon night. Aim to arrive a day or two before so you're settled, not scrambling, and consider staying a night after the peak rather than fighting the post-festival exodus for flights. Base yourself in or near the old city if you can — that's where the free festivities concentrate and it keeps you off congested transport on the busiest nights. And confirm the festival dates before you book anything else: getting the night wrong is the one mistake you can't recover from once the trip is locked in.

Where to stay in Chiang Mai

The best areas and hotels for the festival — book early, base near the old city, and the rates to expect.

Thailand in November

Why November is prime time in the North — clear, cool and pre-haze — with Yi Peng on top.

Launching responsibly — the law, the airport and the risks

Sky lanterns are not a free-for-all, and taking part responsibly matters for safety, the law and the festival's future. Releasing khom loi is restricted to specific designated times and places during the festival, and launching them outside those windows — or near the airport — is prohibited. The airport restriction is real and strictly enforced: a lantern in an engine is a genuine hazard, so airspace rules tighten during Yi Peng and Chiang Mai's airport reschedules or limits flights around the festival nights. Never launch a lantern anywhere near a flight path, and check the local rules for where and when releases are allowed.

There are real-world risks beyond aviation, too. Lanterns carry an open flame aloft, so they're a fire hazard to roofs, dry vegetation and power lines, and their wire-and-paper remains fall to earth as litter that can harm wildlife and livestock that ingest it. The responsible approach: if you launch, do so only at a sanctioned event or designated point, use lanterns made with biodegradable materials where available, never release in windy or dry conditions, and keep the number you launch modest. Many travellers now prefer to enjoy the spectacle of an organised, controlled mass release rather than launching their own — which is both safer and easier on the environment.

Responsible travel in Thailand

Travelling lightly — from lanterns and wildlife to plastic and supporting local communities.

Is Thailand safe?

Practical risks worth knowing in Thailand — including fire and crowd safety at big festivals.

When exactly is Yi Peng each year?

Yi Peng falls on the full moon of the 12th Thai lunar month — the same night as Loy Krathong — which usually lands in November, but the exact date moves every year with the lunar calendar. On top of that, the large ticketed mass-lantern-release events set and publish their own dates annually, and they don't always fall exactly on the full moon. We don't hard-code any of these dates on this site. Treat 'the November full moon' as the approximate window, and verify both the official festival date and the date of any specific ticketed event you want to attend before you book flights, hotels or tickets — beds and tickets in Chiang Mai sell out months ahead.

Are the sky-lantern releases at Yi Peng free?

The city festival itself is free — joining the celebrations around the old city, Tha Phae Gate and the Ping River, watching parades, and seeing locals float krathong and release individual lanterns costs nothing. But the famous synchronised mass releases, where thousands of lanterns rise at once for the camera, are ticketed events held at venues outside the city, and they can be expensive and sell out months in advance. So the honest answer is: you can experience Yi Peng for free, but the postcard 'thousands of lanterns at once' image generally requires a paid ticket to a specific event, booked well ahead.

Can I release my own lantern at Yi Peng?

Sometimes, but only within strict limits. Lantern releases are confined to designated times and places during the festival, banned near Chiang Mai's airport (where flights are rescheduled around the festival), and prohibited in unsafe conditions because of the fire and wildlife risks. If you do want to launch one, do it only at a sanctioned event or an officially designated point, follow the local rules, avoid windy or dry conditions, and choose biodegradable lanterns where you can. Many visitors now opt to watch a controlled, organised release rather than launching their own — it's safer, kinder to the environment, and still gives you the spectacle.