The rain clouds that gather over Thailand each July mark the beginning of Khao Phansa, or Buddhist Lent, a three-month retreat when monks remain at their temples to study, meditate and devote themselves to monastic practice. For local communities, it is a time of merit-making and centuries-old traditions that have been passed down from one generation to the next.
While Buddhist Lent is celebrated across Thailand, each region does it in its own way.
In Ubon Ratchathani, towering wax sculptures roll through the streets in Thailand's most spectacular candle festival. In nearby Baan Cheethuan, ancient sermons and village processions preserve a quieter side of Isan heritage. In Nan, candles are offered not as works of art but as humble gifts to support monks during the rainy retreat. Ayutthaya takes the celebration to the water with a floating candle procession along a historic canal, while Saraburi welcomes Buddhist Lent with armfuls of rare seasonal flowers instead of candles.
Together, the candle festivals across the country offer an opportunity to experience Thailand's religious traditions and the diverse local cultures.
Experience one of northeastern Thailand's oldest Buddhist Lent traditions in Baan Cheethuan, Ubon Ratchathani. Photo://TAT Ubon Ratchathani Office
Thailand's Grandest Candle Festival
Ubon Ratchathani, July 28 – August 1, 2026
No destination celebrates Buddhist Lent quite like Ubon Ratchathani, where majestic wax sculptures transform the provincial centre into an open-air Buddhist art museum. For more than a century, temples with artisans have competed to create enormous candles carved with scenes from the Buddha's life, mythical creatures and celestial figures, turning an offering of light into an extraordinary artistic tradition.
The festivities begin on July 28 with Candle Gathering Day, when completed sculptures are assembled at Thung Si Mueang before the city's biggest celebration on July 29. Majestic candle floats parade through the streets by day before returning in an atmospheric illuminated procession from 7 pm. Another evening procession follows on July 30.
This year, visitors have even more chances to enjoy the celebrations thanks to two additional “Wan Lai” (Extended) Candle Festival Processions on July 31 and August 1, making it easier to experience the festival beyond its traditional peak.
Away from the parade route, visitors can spend time in communities around Wat Sri Pradu, Wat Thung Si Mueang and Wat Phol Phaen, where artisans, students and sculptors spend months transforming enormous blocks of wax into intricate masterpieces. For those hoping to experience both the grand procession and the creative process behind it, July 29 remains the ideal day to visit.
Villagers in Baan Cheethuan gather around the historic Lion Pulpit for the Pathom Somphot sermon marking the start of Buddhist Lent. Photo://TAT Ubon Ratchathani Office
A Quieter Side of Ubon's Candle Festival
Baan Cheethuan, July 29 – August 1, 2026
Just 28 kilometres northwest of Ubon Ratchathani, Baan Cheethuan offers a very different perspective on Buddhist Lent. Here, the celebrations are intimate and centred on faith, community and traditions that have endured for generations.
The village hosts four evening rites beginning at 7pm, with Night Candle Processions on July 29–30 followed by Candle Festival Processions on July 31 and August 1. Rather than elaborate floats, visitors encounter a close-knit community where local customs remain at the heart of the festivities.
The spiritual centre of the celebration is the Pathom Somphot Sermon at Wat Sri Nuan Saeng Sawang Arom. The first sermon of the Buddhist Lent is delivered from the village's remarkable Lion Pulpit, an intricately carved structure created by Vietnamese craftsmen more than a century ago. Chanted in the melodic Isan tradition, the sermon recounts the Buddha's first teaching using ancient palm-leaf manuscripts.
Beyond the festival, visitors can explore Wat Thung Sri Wilai, home to the thousand-year-old Phra Phuttha Wiset Buddha image, before strolling along Khua Noi, a wooden boardwalk winding through lush rice fields.
Candles, flowers and fragrant leaves are prepared for the Sai Bat Thian (Candle Alms-Giving) ceremony in Nan province. Photo://TAT Nan Office
A Candle Festival Rooted in Faith
Nan, July 31, 2026
In Wiang Sa, in the northern province of Nan, Buddhist Lent is celebrated with one of Thailand's most understated yet meaningful traditions. Held one day after the beginning of the rains retreat, the Sai Bat Thian (Candle Alms-Giving Ceremony) at Wat Boonyuen Royal Monastery remains focused on the original candle offerings: providing light for monks during their three months of study.
The ceremony brings together monks and novice monks from every temple in Wiang Sa District alongside local residents, who offer candles, flowers and scented water before sharing a communal meal. Afterwards, monks place candles into alms bowls representing each monastery, followed by long lines of villagers making their own offerings. Many choose to present 99 candles, an auspicious number believed to bring good fortune.
The day concludes with a traditional ceremony in which monks pay respect to their teachers and senior clergy, reaffirming values of humility, gratitude and community.
Wiang Sa preserves a northern Lanna tradition where quiet devotion, rather than spectacle, defines the start of Buddhist Lent.
The seasonal Dok Khao Phansa flower blooms just in time for Saraburi's centuries-old Flower Offering Ceremony. Photo://TAT Ayutthaya Office
A Candle Festival on Water
Ayutthaya, July 29, 2026
While candle processions elsewhere travel through city streets, the community of Lat Chado in Phak Hai District, Ayutthaya, takes to the water.
The annual Lat Chado Water Candle Procession follows a four-kilometre route along Lat Chado Canal, where beautifully decorated boats carry candles to the local temple. The procession recalls a time when canals served as central Thailand's highways and villagers travelled by boat to make merit on Buddhist holy days.
Visitors can experience more than the floating parade. The canal remains lined with traditional wooden houses, fishermen tending their lift nets (yo) and expansive rice fields that stretch beyond the village. The celebrations conclude at Lat Chado Market, a nostalgic riverside market where local food, handmade crafts and old-fashioned shopfronts preserve the charm of Thailand's waterside communities.
Located less than an hour from Ayutthaya's historic island, Lat Chado offers one of the country's most distinctive interpretations of Buddhist Lent.
An artisan adds the finishing touches to a giant wax sculpture ahead of Ubon Ratchathani's annual Candle Festival. Photo://TAT Ubon Ratchathani Office
A Floral Welcome to Buddhist Lent
Saraburi, July 27–30, 2026
Not every Buddhist Lent celebration revolves around candles. In Phra Phutthabat, Saraburi Province, the annual Tak Bat Dok Mai (Flower Offering Ceremony) welcomes the season with thousands of delicate blooms instead.
Before dawn, more than 10,000 Buddhist devotees and visitors gather at Wat Phra Phutthabat to present the rare Dok Khao Phansa, or Buddhist Lent flower, to over 3,000 monks beginning their three-month retreat. The flower blooms only during this season and grows naturally in the surrounding hills, making it both a symbol of renewal and a botanical emblem of Buddhist Lent.
The ceremony begins at around 6 am, when the temple fills with the fragrance of fresh blossoms and the gentle rhythm of chanting. Unlike the exuberance of Ubon's candle parades, Tak Bat Dok Mai is quiet and contemplative, reminding visitors that the essence of Buddhist Lent lies not in spectacle but in acts of generosity and devotion.
Just 90 minutes north of Bangkok, Saraburi offers one of Thailand's most memorable spiritual journeys, where faith is expressed through flowers.
