Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival
Giant carved wax sculptures paraded through Ubon at the start of Buddhist Lent. When it is held and how to plan a visit.
The Candle Festival in Ubon Ratchathani marks Khao Phansa, the beginning of the three-month Buddhist Lent, which usually falls in July. Traditionally, people offered candles to temples so that monks would have light during the rainy-season retreat. In Ubon this custom has grown into a competition to create enormous, intricately carved candle sculptures.
What happens
Teams from temples and communities spend weeks carving and moulding beeswax into sculptures depicting scenes from Buddhist stories and mythology. In the days before the parade, you can visit the temples to watch the carvers at work. The sculptures are then displayed around Thung Si Mueang Park and paraded through the city on floats, accompanied by dancers in traditional costume.
Tips
- Arrive a day or two early to see the carvers at work in temple grounds.
- The parade is crowded; find a spot along the route early in the morning.
- Hotels in Ubon fill up quickly; book well ahead.
- Ubon Ratchathani Airport has flights from Bangkok. The city is also the terminus of the north-eastern railway line.