What's on in Chiang Mai, Thailand through the year

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Bo Sang Umbrella Festival

  15–25 Jan · usuallyMajor festival

  The umbrella-making village east of the city hangs its work along the main street for a weekend in January, with a parade and the workshops open. Half an hour out and worth the songthaew. Source ↗

Still on: Wild Himalayan cherry on the hills (20 Dec – 31 Jan (usually))

Busy — Chiang Mai Flower Festival, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Chiang Mai Flower Festival

  13–15 FebMajor festivalCrowded

  Floats built entirely of chrysanthemums and damask roses parade from Nawarat Bridge into the old town over three days, with the gardens at Suan Buak Haad planted up for it. It comes just before the air turns. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Burning season

  1 Feb – 20 Apr · usuallySmoke season

  Field and forest fires fill the valley with smoke that the surrounding hills hold in place, and the city regularly tops the world's live pollution rankings in March. Masks and air purifiers are normal, not precautionary. Source ↗

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Burning season (1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Songkran

• Festival

  Songkran

  13–15 AprWater-festival New YearCrowdedClosures

  The moat is the ammunition supply, and the whole ring road becomes the water fight for three days. Taken more seriously here than anywhere else in the country, and largely impossible to opt out of. Source ↗

Still on: Burning season (1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Long summer break in Thailand

• Season

  Southwest monsoon

  15 May – 15 Oct · usually

  The first rain clears the smoke out of the valley and the hills go green. It falls in short heavy bursts rather than all day, though September saturates the ground and the unpaved hill roads with it.

• Festival

  Inthakin city pillar festival

  15 May – 12 Jun · usuallyMajor festival

  Eight days of flower offerings at Wat Chedi Luang to ask the city pillar for rain, timed to the end of the hot season. Local, unhurried and almost entirely unattended by visitors. Source ↗

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Inthakin city pillar festival (15 May – 12 Jun (usually))

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Waterfalls at full flow

  1 Aug – 15 Oct · usuallyHigh water

  The end of the monsoon is when Mae Ya, Bua Tong and the Doi Inthanon falls actually run, and the hills are green rather than burnt. Trails are muddy and the leeches are real. Source ↗

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Waterfalls at full flow (1 Aug – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, October semester break in Thailand

• Nature

  Rice harvest in the valley

  15 Oct – 30 Nov · usually

  The terraces on the valley floor below the hills turn gold and are cut through late October and November, which is also when the air here is at its cleanest of the year.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Waterfalls at full flow (1 Aug – 15 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Loi Krathong

• Festival

  Loi Krathong

  24–25 NovMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Falls on the full moon of the twelfth Thai lunar month; the lantern release reschedules flights around it. Source ↗

• Festival

  Yi Peng

  24–25 NovMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The Lanna lantern festival runs alongside Loi Krathong: thousands of paper lanterns released over the old town on the same full-moon nights. The busiest week of the city's year and the one to book first. Source ↗

• Rule

  Lantern-night flight changes

  23–26 NovMajor festivalClosures

  Sky lanterns are an aviation hazard, so the airport moves or cancels flights around the lantern nights every year — 161 of them in 2025. Check your flight in against the full-moon dates before booking. Source ↗

Still on: Rice harvest in the valley (15 Oct – 30 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Wild Himalayan cherry on the hills

  20 Dec – 31 Jan · usuallyCherry blossom

  The pink blossom on Doi Inthanon and the ridges towards Doi Ang Khang comes out in the coldest weeks of the year, which are also the only weeks the air up there is clean. Source ↗