Coming up: food, flowers, plants, pedestrians, hill tribes, beauty pageants, weird things you didn’t know about northern Thailand, and your complete guide to Chiang Mai Flower Festival.
Chiang Mai is one of my favorite cities on the planet—and over the past few years, I’ve spent a hefty chunk of time there.
You already know what Chiang Mai is famous for: temples, coworking spaces, cafes, elephants, and world-class day trips.
But it’s also home to many festivals—celebrating flowers, farmers, lanterns, Buddha, local music, and much more.
So: what about Chiang Mai Flower Festival? What can I see there? When is it held? What should I do? What’s this I’ve heard about a massive parade? And are there any hacks, tips, or hidden gems I need to know about?
Coming up, your backpacking buddy at Travelness have covered all that and more—here’s everything you need to know about Chiang Mai Flower Festival!
Introduction to Chiang Mai Flower Festival
The Chiang Mai Flower Festival is a celebration that happens every year in Chiang Mai, Thailand, usually during the first weekend of February. This colorful event runs for three days and highlights the area’s amazing flowers and cultural traditions.
The whole city gets decorated with beautiful flower arrangements, and there are big parades, performances, and other fun activities.
You’ll see all sorts of flowers and decorative plants here—including the special Damask rose and the yellow and white chrysanthemums typical to Chiang Mai!
The Chiang Mai Flower Festival 2025 is scheduled to take place from February 7 to 9, 2025, at Nong Buak Haad Public Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This annual event, now in its 48th year, celebrates the city’s rich floral heritage and cultural traditions.
This year’s theme, “Charm of Blossoms, Beauty of Wiang Ping Flora,” aims to promote tourism, enhance the city’s image, and establish Chiang Mai as a World Festival and Event City. The festival offers a unique opportunity to experience the vibrant culture and natural beauty of northern Thailand.
Chiang Mai Flower Festival traditionally marks the change in the seasons—cos this time of year is when the cool season begins to move into the hot season.
And what happens in hotter weather? Yep; the blooming of flowers!
(oh, and the festival also honors the farmers and gardeners who help these flowers to grow and flourish).
A few years back, Chiang Mai Flower Festival was only well-known among locals—but it’s now a lot more touristy… with people visiting the festival from around the planet. Depending on who you believe, between 500,000 people and 4 million people attend the festival each year. And get this: there are over 1 million flowers on-show at the festival!
The festival’s main attraction by far is the Flower Festival Parade, which runs from morning to afternoon on the event’s Saturday. But we’ll come to all the details on that soon.
In many ways, Chiang Mai is the perfect place for a festival like this one. Colloquially known within Thailand as the ‘Rose of the North’ (partially because of its flower-friendly cooler-than-most-of-Thailand climate), Chiang Mai feels very different from many parts of Thailand:
Here, you get no beach, no busy-ness, and a slow pace of life. Add that to all the hills, forests, nature, and inland adventures, and you get a place where many plants and flowers live and thrive.
Chiang Mai Flower Festival: Key Dates and Event Schedule
As we’ve covered, the Chiang Mai Flower Festival dates change every year—but the event almost always runs on the first full weekend of February.
The actual event schedule also changes every year—and it’s typically announced only a few days before the festival. The best place to check for up-to-date info on scheduling is with TATNews (they’re the Tourism Authority of Thailand). You can use either their official site, or their Facebook.
This year, the Chiang Mai Flower Festival 2025 is scheduled to take place from February 7 to 9.
The festival is mainly held in Nong Buak Haad Public Park (also known as ‘Buak Hard Public Park’)—but there might also be little unofficial events and gatherings held in other parts of the city… like parks, cafes, bars, and green spaces. During the festival weekend, the area around Nong Buak Haad Public Park is temporarily pedestrianized, and closed off to traffic.
The only part of the festival that’s always scheduled at a similar time is the massive parade, which always starts on the Saturday morning (and in 2025, it starts at 8am). The flower parade features 20+ different flower-packed all-natural floats, and usually starts at Nawarat Bridge (or just east of the bridge, on Charoen Muang Road).
Then, the parade typically follows the city’s moat. Chiang Mai’s old town is in the shape of a perfect square—and this square is separated from the rest of the city by a thin moat (basically like a little man-made river).
… so, the parade reaches the eastern part of the moat, before following the moat south, and traveling east to west along the southern side of the moat. Then, it finishes at Nong Buak Haad Public Park (which sits in the southwestern corner of the old town), where many of the floats and flowers are displayed.
In total, that means the parade is around 2.5 miles (4 kilometers). It can last anything from 4 to 6 hours, or maybe even a little longer. Thai people are pretty chilled out when it comes to scheduling, as you’ll soon find out.
Anyway, to catch the parade, locals perch themselves on benches, picnic blankets, and patches of grass along the route—and you should do the same. During the parade, there are regular en-route stops, and the parade people hand out flowers to the crowds. Other highlights of the parade include drummers, marching bands, and traditional Thai dress.
The floats themselves feature details from Thai culture, like depictions of Budda, Buddhist culture, local animals, Thai performances, and Thai places and traditions.
So, of course, the best day to attend Chiang Mai Flower Festival is the Saturday (cos most people who attend Chiang Mai Flower Festival are most interested in the parade).
Aside from the parade, over the three days, there’s loads more fun. You can also expect:
- Cultural performances: featuring music, song, dance, and traditional dress
- Themed flower gardens: including native and non-native flowers
- Conversations with professionals: people who work with plants and flowers are on-hand to ask questions, and chat about all things flowers
- Live music: including traditional and non-traditional markets
- Food markets: which is no surprise given Thailand’s street-food culture. You’ll never have to walk more than 5 minutes to see some food, and you can easily have a meal, a snack and a drink for a combined $3USD max
- Chances to buy plants, flowers, shrubs, and garden trinkets and furniture
The park displays are very bright and colorful, with big patches of yellow, purple and pink. And as you’ll see, there’s a big focus on orchids—northern Thailand’s orchids are famous in the nation. Other decorative flourishes include lanterns, lights, and little flower displays floating on the lakes of Nong Buak Haad Public Park. The displays are much more elaborate and intricate than most people expect.
The whole festival also celebrates Lanna culture—Lanna was an ancient Thai state, where Chiang Mai now sits. The people here had connections to Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India and other places, and their culture was very unique. So, lots of the performances feature elements and ideas from ancient Lanna culture—and some of the performers are actually from local hill tribes.
Another big highlight is the Miss Chiang Mai Flower Festival competition. And it’s basically just like any other ‘Miss [insert name of any other place here] competition.’ The competitors sit on the floats during the parade, then the pageant itself occurs in Nong Buak Haad Public Park on Saturday evening, shortly after the floats have arrived. The competitors introduce themselves, answer questions, and do some performances—and then the voting begins.
Obviously, Chiang Mai Flower Festival is great for anyone who likes flowers or plants. But even if you’re interested in neither of those things, you’ll probably still enjoy all the fun, culture, and unique vibes. Thai festivals are always really fun and welcoming, and Chiang Mai Flower Festival is no different.
Chiang Mai Flower Festival: Cultural Etiquette, Responsible Tourism, and Capturing Memories
Because Chiang Mai Flower Festival is hosted and organized by local people, it’s a good chance to contribute to the local economy:
During the festival, try to buy things (food, drinks, souvenirs) from these local people, instead of from big businesses.
Remember too that this is a pretty important festival for local people, especially given the focus on ancient Lanna culture. So be respectful.
You can be respectful in many ways:
- don’t take photos without consent,
- don’t be rude to any locals,
- and don’t drop any trash.
That said, some tourists in Thailand can be a bit of a nightmare—so don’t rock up to the festival swigging on a Chang and carrying a massive Bluetooth speaker, and wearing nothing but swimming shorts.
You’ll want to wear some comfy shoes; you’ll probably do more walking than you expect. And I know I’m not your mom, but you should also wear sunscreen, and take some water.
Lots of photographers (professional and not-professional) head to the festival, cos it’s so quirky and colorful. If you’re doing the same thing, the best times to grab some not-busy photos are when the festival opens (at 9am), and late at night (around and after 10pm).
Frequently Asked Questions About Chiang Mai Flower Festival
Are there toilets at Chiang Mai Flower Festival?
Yes, there are toilets inside the park.
Although there aren’t many public toilets along the parade route, all cafes and bars and restaurants are always happy to let you use their toilets (even if you’re not buying anything from them). Thai people are friendly like that.
Should I visit Chiang Mai Flower Festival?
In our opinion, yes! It’s a nice festival to visit as a foreigner because most other visitors are local. So it’s a good way to enjoy real Thai culture without it being about (or full of) endless tourists.
Can I take kids to Chiang Mai Flower Festival?
Yes! It’s a great kid-friendly event, it’s relaxed, and you’re not gonna find any super-drunk people, or anyone taking drugs.
Can I take pets to Chiang Mai Flower Festival?
As far as we can tell, only small pets are allowed. So if you can carry them, or put them in a stroller, it’s a big yes. Otherwise, it’s a big no.
Are there any scams I need to know about at Chiang Mai Flower Festival?
No.
Obviously, like in any crowded place ever, you should watch out for pickpockets. But broadly speaking, Thai people are very trustworthy, and very respectful. There are no common scams here, you aren’t gonna find lots of people trying to rip you off, and you’ll always feel safe.
If you’re with young kids, hold their hands carefully, and agree on a meeting point in case someone gets lost. The festival gets very busy, so it’s pretty easy to lose the people you’re with.
What type of food can I find at Chiang Mai Flower Festival?
The bad news is: there aren’t any themed foods related to the festival.
The good news is: Chiang Mai’s street food culture is some of the best in Thailand, with hundreds (probably thousands) of stalls dotted throughout the city center. And during Chiang Mai Flower Festival, there are even more stalls than usual.
You can expect big popular well-known favorites, like curries, pad thai, noodle soups, rice dishes, and mango sticky rice, along with lesser-known Chiang Mai specialties—like creamy-chicken khao soi, grilled sausages, and khai pam (eggs cooked inside a banana leaf).
When is Nong Buak Haad Public Park open?
During the festival, Nong Buak Haad Public Park is open from Friday to Sunday, from 9am until midnight.
During the day, you can of course see the flowers better—and if they’re shrouded in a cloak of dew in the early hours of the morning, they look even prettier than usual.
But at night, the park is all illuminated—and it arguably looks even better.
But I’m not gonna be in Chiang Mai in February!—are there any other festivals similar to Chiang Mai Flower Festival?
Yep, you’re in luck: Charming Chiang Mai Flower Festival runs in December each year. It’s pretty similar to Chiang Mai Flower Festival, but focused more around lights and illuminations.
Chiang Mai Flower Festival: Useful Resources and Links
Again, the best place to check for official updates and information on Chiang Mai Flower Festival is TATNews (the Tourism Authority of Thailand). Here’s their official site, and here’s their Facebook.
Your Chiang Mai accommodation can give you up-to-date information on the festival, and other events in Chiang Mai—and can help you arrange guides and tours. PM Tours are one of the city’s best-known tour operators… and might be able to give you some type of Chiang Mai Flower Festival experience.
For finding more things to do (including stuff related to the flower festival), here’s our favorite Chiang Mai events calendar. And if you’re looking for some Chiang Mai tours you can book right now, we recommend:
And for more on Chiang Mai, keep checking back to Travelness.
Before You Go
And that’s us done—that’s everything you need to know about Chiang Mai Flower Festival.
Again, we definitely recommend visiting—the festival is unique, welcoming, friendly, and hyper-local, and it features lots of cultural quirks. And, a top tip: if you’re gonna head to the festival, make sure you’re there on the Saturday, the event’s most fun day by far.
For more on Chiang Mai, here’s the best time to visit the city, and the best places to stay. And here’s everything you need to know about Chiang Mai Lantern Festival (the city’s most well-known event).
Thanks for reading, thanks for visiting Travelness, and we’ll see you again soon. Enjoy the flower festival!
IMPORTANT: Feel free to explore our other travel guides while you’re here – you might discover some delightful surprises! Plus, every visit helps support our small business. We truly appreciate it.
