Venue
Phra Pokklao Road, Phra Sing, Mueang Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
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Inthakin City Pillar Festival, Chiang Mai guide
Flowers for Chiang Mai's guardian pillar.
In short
The Inthakin festival usually lasts six to eight days in May or June; the 2027 week is expected around the start of June, but the province normally confirms it only a few weeks before. Residents bring flowers, candles and incense to the pillar shrine in the old city. It suits visitors interested in neighbourhood ritual.
Chiang Mai has kept a guardian pillar since the day the city was founded, and once a year its people come to thank it. For about a week they bring flowers, candles and incense to the pillar's shrine in the old city, asking for good luck and for the rains to arrive in time for planting.
It is a neighbourhood occasion as much as a state ritual. Office workers stop on the way in with a handful of flowers, older women sit in the shade beside the offering bowls, and a broken brick stupa towers over it all. Few events in the country show a city's bond with its own founding story so plainly.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Monday, 7 June 2027
Where: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Venue: Wat Chedi Luang
Held: Every year
Type of event: Cultural Events, Religious Festivals, Parade
Currency: Thai baht (฿ THB)
Time zone: UTC+7, no daylight saving
Language: Thai
Map
Close to the venue
- Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai Attraction · 7.3 km
- 137 Pillars House Hotel · 1.8 km
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Why women cannot enter the pillar shrine
Women are not allowed inside the building that holds the Sao Inthakin, and a sign at the door says so. The rule applies to everyone, visitors included. It does not stop women taking part: flowers, candles and incense can be offered anywhere else in the temple grounds, including the bowls laid out for the sai khan dok rite. Couples and families simply split up at the shrine door and meet again outside.
Flower offerings, dress and temple manners
- Choose clothes that reach past the knee and cover the shoulders. Many locals wear traditional Lanna dress or Thai silk for the festival, and you will see more of it on the opening morning.
- Offering flowers are sold by vendors near Metta Suksa School, close to the temple, along with candles and incense.
- Shoes come off before entering any hall.
- If you want to pour water over the rain Buddha as it passes, wait your turn and keep it gentle.
Visiting in the cooler morning hours
The festival falls in the hot weeks before the rains settle in. Come in the early morning, when it is cooler and the grounds are calm, and save the evening for one short visit to see the candles. Carry water and a hat for the procession, which moves slowly through open streets. Evenings bring the biggest crowds, so keep bags in front of you and agree a meeting point if you are in a group.
What happens on the day
- Opening morning
Procession of the Phra Buddha Kantharat
The rain Buddha is carried from Wat Chang Taem across the old city to the pillar temple, and onlookers splash it with water for a blessing.
- Every day, from early morning
Sai khan dok
Worshippers place flowers in the long rows of bowls around the grounds.
- Daytime
Merit-making
Ceremonies run in the temple halls.
- Evenings
Candlelight
The bowls are full, candles are lit and the crowds are biggest.
- Later in the week
Second parade
The Buddha image leads another procession through the old city.
Etiquette and dress
Dress
Cover shoulders and knees, men included, and take shoes off before entering a hall (TAT).
The pillar shrine
Women may not enter the pillar shrine itself, but every other part of the temple, including the flower bowls and the main halls, is open to them.
Behaviour
Keep voices low during chanting, no flash in the halls, and never point your feet at a Buddha image or a monk.
Booking a room in the old city before dates are confirmed
The working estimate for 2027 is 1 to 7 June. Treat it as a pencil mark. Chiang Mai province usually confirms the festival only a few weeks before it starts, so reserve a room you can cancel or shift and lock it in once the official notice appears.
Plan at least two visits: the opening morning for the procession, and an evening when the flower bowls are full and candles are lit. Our Chiang Mai travel guide covers the rest of the city.
The history of the city pillar and its temple
The pillar is older than the temple that now houses it. Tradition says King Mangrai raised the first Sao Inthakin in 1296, the year he founded Chiang Mai, at a site known as Wat Sadue Muang. It stood there for around 500 years, until King Kawila moved it in 1800 to its present home and set three yang trees beside the new shrine as guardians for the town. Those tall trees still mark the spot.
The temple itself carries more history. Its great chedi stood about 82 m high when it was finished in the mid-15th century, until an earthquake in 1545 brought down the upper 30 m. Between 1468 and 1551 the Emerald Buddha, now in Bangkok, sat in its eastern niche.
Each year the festival renews the bond between city and pillar, and the timing is no accident: the paddy fields are planted soon after. That is why the rain Buddha matters so much here: it leaves its own temple only twice a year, for Songkran and for this week. The central rite, sai khan dok, simply means offering flowers in bowls.
Getting there
Flying into Thailand
Long-haul flights land in Bangkok at Suvarnabhumi (BKK) or Don Mueang (DMK). Check entry rules for your passport on our Thailand visa page.
Bangkok to Chiang Mai
Fly north with Bangkok to Chiang Mai flights into Chiang Mai International (CNX). Sleeper trains take 12 to 15 hours; first-class buses from Mo Chit about 9 hours.
Airport to the Old City
About 3 km, ten to fifteen minutes. Registered taxis charge a flat 150 baht for up to five; ride-hailing costs about the same.
Inside the moat
Walk: the old city is about 1.6 km a side. Red songthaews charge 30 baht a person within the walls. On festival evenings, leave vehicles outside the moat.
Where to stay during the festival
Stay inside or close to the moat. The east side of the old city has the densest cluster of guesthouses, and Tha Phae Gate makes a convenient base, an easy stroll from Wat Chedi Luang at dawn and after dark.
Book a room you can cancel or move, and lock it in once the province announces the dates.
Chiang Mai
137 Pillars House5-star hotel
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from$400.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
5 Rooms available
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Weather and what to pack
The festival marks the start of the rains. Chiang Mai averages a May high of 34.7°C and a June high of 33.2°C, with lows around 24°C, and 118 to 168 mm of rain over about twelve days a month (1991-2020 normals).
Expect hot mornings and afternoon storms.
Worth packing
- Clothes that cover shoulders and knees
- Slip-on shoes
- A compact umbrella
- Small notes for flowers and candles
Car hire in Chiang Mai
Airport transfer to Inthakin City Pillar Festival, Chiang Mai
Met at arrivals at Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) and driven door to door to Wat Chedi Luang.
- Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) → Wat Chedi Luang
- 6 km · 20 min
Restaurants and food in Thailand
Places to eat in Thailand before or after the celebrations.
Yamazato
24th floor, Park Ventures Ecoplex, 57 Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330
Cuisine:KaisekiEdomae sushi
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Delivery
Vertigo
61st Floor, Banyan Tree Bangkok, 21/100 South Sathorn Road, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Cuisine:GrillInternational
- Dine-in
- Outdoor seating
- Bar
Khao Soi Mae Sai
29/1 Ratchaphruek Road, Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Cuisine:Northern ThaiNoodles
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Raya Restaurant
48/1 Dibuk Road, Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Cuisine:Southern ThaiPhuket
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Sorn
56 Soi Sukhumvit 26, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Cuisine:Southern ThaiFine dining
- Dine-in
Jay Fai
327 Maha Chai Road, Samran Rat, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Cuisine:ThaiStreet food
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
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Nearby things to see
Sights within easy reach of the festival.
Chiang Mai
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai
The temple sits on the slopes of Doi Suthep, around 15 kilometres from the old city of Chiang Mai, inside Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. It is one of the most sa...
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Timing & weather
It follows the Lanna lunar calendar; see the dates note above. The province announces the real dates only a few weeks beforehand.
General
Yes, everywhere except inside the pillar shrine itself.
You buy a small bunch of flowers, with a candle and incense if you like, and place them in the rows of bowls set out around the temple while making a wish or a prayer. It takes a few minutes.
Partly. UNESCO and the Japanese government paid for reconstruction in the early 1990s. Some critics say parts of the new work follow Central Thai style over Lanna, which is worth knowing as you study the facades.
The tourism authority ran a small evening tram tour last time, capped at 40 people a day. Nothing is confirmed for the next edition, so ask at the local TAT office once the dates are out.
Talk to the monks. Monk chats, usually with young novices, run every day and are open to anyone curious about Buddhism or Thai life. Look too for Phra Yok, a black jade copy of the Emerald Buddha placed in the chedi's eastern niche in 1995.
No. The lanterns belong to Yi Peng, in the cooler months late in the year. The pillar festival is a quieter, mostly local occasion before the rains, without any lantern release.
They are yang trees, planted by King Kawila when he moved the pillar here in 1800, as a protective presence for the city. Locals treat them with almost as much respect as the shrine.
Prices & payment
Nothing during the festival week. At other times foreign visitors pay 50 baht and use a separate entrance; Thai visitors go in free.
Booking
No. The procession, the offerings and the temple are all free to attend. You will spend money only on flowers and candles, and on any tour you choose to join.