Chiang Mai Flower Festival

Posted by Northerner on January 15th, 2011 filed in Attractions

One of the most colourful events on Thailand’s calendar takes place at the end of the Northern Thai winter season. Chiang Mai’s annual Flower Festival is held early in the year and part of the festive occasion includes a parade through the old city quarter with floats festooned with brightly coloured blooms.

The festival usually lasts for three days and the parade takes place on the Saturday. The procession begins at the River Ping’s Nawarat Bridge and then heads through the square at Tha Pae Gate and on to Pra Singh Temple. Many of the floats are then taken to the area inside the city moat near Nong Buak Haat Park.

The temperate climate between December and early February is perfect for regional horticulturalists to propagate eclectic flowers. Most of the growers seem to send their produce to be displayed on the floats or offered for sale at markets and stalls dotted around the city.    

Visitors can take their time looking over the flowers in the park area. Stalls lined up alongside the moat here offer ornamental plants and cut flowers for sale as well as handicrafts created by some of Chiang Mai’s finest artisans and a diverse assortment of snacks and drinks that will sorely tempt most people.