Events & Festivals in Laos

Laos has many festivals, or Boun scattered throughout the year to commemorate various aspects of traditional Lao lifestyle and culture. Most festivals are connected with religion and follow the rice farming seasonal cycle. The timing each festivals is calculated according to the Buddhist lunar calendar which changes every year. Please check the latest information before attending these events.

November

THAT LUANG FESTIVAL, VIENTIANE CAPITAL - 11 TO 15 NOV 2024

Hundreds of monks from all around the country gather each year in Vientiane for the biggest Buddhist festival in Laos, the Boun That Luang. Foreigners and Lao people alike come to the That Luang, an ancient stupa and the national symbol of Laos, to participate by giving alms and floral votives to the monks. 

Boun Pha That Luang is the most meaningful festival in Vientiane and in the Lao PDR. It is held over three to seven days during the full moon of the twenty-fifth lunar month (November, but sometimes it is at the end of October). The festival starts with a colorful candlelight wax castle (Phasat Pheung) procession which starts the evening before at Vat Simeuang. The procession continues to the next afternoon from Vat Simeuang to Pha That Luang. People carry flowers, candles, incense and wax castles decorated with flowers and banknotes. People wear their best clothes for this procession and there is also a parade of the men and women dressed in various Loa ethnic costumes who dance and play traditional music and songs while approaching the stupa. The wax castles have been a part of Lao lifestyle for many years, and bringing one to Pha that Luang on this occasion is believed to bring considerable merit.

The following morning, a huge crowd assembles at dawn at Pha That Luang to give alms to hundreds of monks who come here from around the country, and to play homage to the stupa. In the afternoon, everyone will gather on the esplanade for the traditional game of Ti Khee, which is played with a ball and long curved stick, resembling a game of hockey. The festival draws to close under a full moon when people from all over Laos will crowd around Pha That Luang for one last candlelight procession. in the evening there are firework displays to make the end of the celebration. During the Pha That Luang stupa festival, trade fairs, concerts, and fun fairs are held.

TOO MANY AMAZING TOURS TO CHOOSE FROM?

With so many amazing options, it can be difficult to know where to start when choosing a tour. We've put together a list of our Top 10 Adventure Tours in Luang Prabang to give a good starting point. Find your inspiration at: https://explore-laos.com/luang-prabang-top-10-adventure-tours