The Chiang Mai Flower Festival

Thailand captured travellers’ imaginations long ago, and Chang Mai is considered one of the most beautiful places in Thailand. If you’re deciding when to go, you might be interested in timing your trip with the famous Chang Mai Flower Festival.

The Chiang Mai Flower Festival?

The Chiang Mai flower festival is three days packed full of colour and vibrancy which takes in the gardens, the main parade and the crowning of Miss Chiang Mai

The Gardens

During the first weekend in February, traffic around the moat surrounding the public park of Suan Buak Haad is closed. Vendors set up flower, orchid, and many other gardening focused stalls for visitors to browse during the festivities.

During these three days, the park is transformed with colourful displays. Gardeners create displays with offerings of flowers and judges choose the best species among them. Some of the species include local orchids, miniature trees, and varieties of Damask Roses only found here.

Landscape specialists also create displays to showcase different gardening decorations and setups, as well as displays from both local gardens and other countries.

Food and other refreshments are available, and there is a special kids’ play area all within the park.

The Parade

The festivities lead up to the famous Flower Parade. The participants line up along Charoen Muang Road and proceed all around the moat of the park.

Floats are decorated exclusively with flowers and highlighted with marching bands. Traditional dancers perform in traditional costumes all along the way. Attendees receive flowers as the parade moves along.

The parade moves slowly and frequently stops so that guests can admire the craftsmanship in individual floats.

After the parade, the crowds head to the finish area where all the floats are still on display. You can spend time admiring them once again and catch any you might have missed. There are plenty of food and drink stalls, and you’ll be able to purchase any last souvenirs from the vendors still set up.

Miss Chiang Mai

As the afternoon winds down, people turn their attention from the parade to the next part of the festival. Many of the young women riding on the floats are contestants for the Miss Chang Mai Flower Festival pageant.

In the late afternoon, the focus switches to choosing the winner, and this is the most serious part of the festivities. There’s music and dancing as the deliberations go on. The party doesn’t stop until the winner is chosen well into the evening.

Seeing the Chiang Mai Flower Festival

If you are in Chiang Mai during the festival, its well worth a half day visit and your hotel in Chiang Mai should be able to arrange the trip for you.

To view the parade, be sure you arrive at least 2 hours before the start time of the parade. This will give you a chance to stake out a spot along the parade route with an uninterrupted view of the participants and floats.

You can also purchase Flower Festival tours to help you organise your time and see other related aspects of Chang Mai’s garden culture. Trips could include the Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, a government research center for biodiversity and gardens for the general public, or the Taweechol Botanical Garden.

Flower Festival Dates

This year, the festival dates are February 2-4, 2018. The festival marks the end of the cool season and takes place before the heat descends on the city. It’s the perfect time to visit the city.

The parade that typically takes place on Saturday from Nawarat bridge to Thapae road, Kotchasarn Road, Changlor Road and then to Arak Road

Map Location of Nawarat Bridge

Map Location of Chang Lor Road

Map Location of Nong Buak Hard Public Park

Familiarise yourself with a walking tour of Chiang Mai around the "Old City"

Why visit Chiang Mai?

Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand, which some consider to have the most breathtaking views in the whole country. Its nickname is “Rose of the North,” and it is situated among the highest mountains in Thailand.

It received recognition from UNESCO as an official Creative City, and it features plenty of art, local museums, excellent restaurants. There’s no shortage of places to go with elaborate historical traditions.

Chiang Mai has been a city since 1296 when it was founded to be the capital of the kingdom of Lan Na. It gained prominence in 2006 when it was the site of a currency swap agreement between ten nations, China, South Korea, and members of the Association of Southeast Nations.

Chiang Mai Hotels

akyra Manor Chiang Mai is a suite only hotel centred around the courtyard within a room arrangement. Each room is carefully crafted to preserve the Thai aesthetic of bringing nature indoors. There is a rooftop bar and swimming pool with a view of the city and in-room amenities such as coffee and wifi.

There are two types of hotel suites. The Deluxe is perfect for couples, and the Manor is a little larger for those who want more space or have a small family to accommodate.

The Chang Mai Experience

The Flower Festival is the perfect time to visit The Rose of the North and get a feel for all its natural wonders. Thailand travel is simple, and many of the businesses and hotels also operate in English making your travel arrangements even easier.