Wat er het hele jaar speelt in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Topdrukte — de drukste maand volgens de redactie, Christmas and New Year peak

• Festival

  Bo Sang Umbrella Festival

  15–25 jan · meestalGroot 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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Christmas and New Year peak (18 dec – 5 jan), Wild Himalayan cherry on the hills (20 dec – 31 jan (meestal))

Druk — Chiang Mai Flower Festival, schoolvakanties in 2 van de markten die de plek vullen

• Festival

  Chiang Mai Flower Festival

  13–15 febGroot festivalDruk

  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. Bron ↗

• Risico

  Burning season

  1 feb – 20 apr · meestalRookseizoen

  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. Bron ↗

Rustig — de rustige maand volgens de redactie, schoolvakanties in 2 van de markten die de plek vullen

In maart begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Burning season (1 feb – 20 apr (meestal))

Topdrukte — de drukste maand volgens de redactie, Songkran

• Festival

  Songkran

  13–15 aprWaternieuwjaarDrukSluitingen

  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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Burning season (1 feb – 20 apr (meestal))

Druk — tussen de pieken in, Long summer break in Thailand

• Seizoen

  Southwest monsoon

  15 mei – 15 okt · meestal

  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 mei – 12 jun · meestalReligieus feest

  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. Bron ↗

Rustig — de rustige maand volgens de redactie, schoolvakanties in 3 van de markten die de plek vullen

In juni begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Southwest monsoon (15 mei – 15 okt (meestal)), Inthakin city pillar festival (15 mei – 12 jun (meestal))

Rustig — de rustige maand volgens de redactie, schoolvakanties in 5 van de markten die de plek vullen

In juli begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Southwest monsoon (15 mei – 15 okt (meestal))

Rustig — de rustige maand volgens de redactie, schoolvakanties in 4 van de markten die de plek vullen

• Natuur

  Waterfalls at full flow

  1 aug – 15 okt · meestalHoogwater

  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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Southwest monsoon (15 mei – 15 okt (meestal))

Rustig — de rustige maand volgens de redactie, schoolvakanties in 3 van de markten die de plek vullen

In september begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Southwest monsoon (15 mei – 15 okt (meestal)), Waterfalls at full flow (1 aug – 15 okt (meestal))

Druk — tussen de pieken in, October semester break in Thailand

• Natuur

  Rice harvest in the valley

  15 okt – 30 nov · meestal

  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.

Nog steeds bezig: Southwest monsoon (15 mei – 15 okt (meestal)), Waterfalls at full flow (1 aug – 15 okt (meestal))

Topdrukte — de drukste maand volgens de redactie, Loi Krathong

• Festival

  Loi Krathong

  24–25 novLicht & vuurDrukBoek vroeg

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

• Festival

  Yi Peng

  24–25 novLicht & vuurDrukBoek vroeg

  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. Bron ↗

• Regel

  Lantern-night flight changes

  23–26 novLicht & vuurSluitingen

  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. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Rice harvest in the valley (15 okt – 30 nov (meestal))

Topdrukte — de drukste maand volgens de redactie, Christmas and New Year peak

• Feestdag

  Christmas and New Year peak

  18 dec – 5 janKerst & nieuwjaarDrukBoek vroeg

  The weeks around Christmas and New Year are the busiest of the year here for both foreign and Thai visitors: rooms and transport sell out early and rates run at their highest. Bron ↗

• Natuur

  Wild Himalayan cherry on the hills

  20 dec – 31 jan · meestalKersenbloesem

  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. Bron ↗