Phi Ta Khon, Thailand's Ghost Festival

Unlike Songkran or Loy Krathong, Phi Ta Khon has no fixed date. Dan Sai's spirit mediums choose the three days each year, and the festival usually falls on a weekend between mid-June and early July, though it has been held as early as March in the past. In 2026 it ran from Saturday 20 to Monday 22 June. The 2027 dates hadn't been announced in October 2026, and the town typically confirms them only a month or two ahead.

That makes it the hardest Thai festival to plan around. Watch the Loei province and Tourism Authority of Thailand announcements from early in the year, book a room you can cancel for the likely weekends, and fix the rest once the dates are out.

Day one starts at dawn at the river, where the town invites Phra Upakhut, a protective spirit, to guard the ceremony, and brings him in procession to Wat Phon Chai. Through the morning the ghosts start to appear, dancing in the streets and teasing anyone they meet.

Day two is the main event and the one most visitors come for. Prince Vessantara symbolically returns to the town, and the procession of ghosts winds through the streets to Wat Phon Chai, with music, dancing, contests for the best costumes and dancing, and rockets fired to call the rains, as at Isan's rocket festivals. It's loud, bawdy and very crowded.

Day three turns quiet. Monks recite the Vessantara story in sermons at the temple, and families make merit. Most visitors leave after the parade, but if you can stay the extra night, this is the devotional side of the festival that few outsiders see.

A Phi Ta Khon mask is made from kitchen gear and a tree. The headpiece is a huat, the woven bamboo basket Isan uses to steam sticky rice, stitched to a face cut from the sheath at the base of a palm-leaf stem, with a long carved wooden nose and horns, all painted in bright patterns. The costumes are patchwork, with strings of bells at the belt, so you hear the ghosts before you see them. The men carry palad khik, wooden phalluses painted red, a fertility symbol tied to rain and the harvest rather than an insult, so take the teasing in good humor.

Two figures stand out. The Phi Ta Khon Yai, the big ghosts, one male and one female, are about twice human size and made new each year. Wearing one takes spiritual permission and a commitment of at least three years, and at the end of the festival the costumes are thrown into the Man River. Everyone else, children included, is a small ghost, Phi Ta Khon Lek.

Dan Sai is a long way from anywhere, about 83 km from Loei city, roughly 90 minutes by road. From Bangkok, buses run from Mo Chit to Loei in about 8–10 hours for around ฿350–600, and some buses on the Loei–Phitsanulok road stop in Dan Sai itself. Or fly from Don Mueang to Loei, about 1 hour 10 minutes on Thai AirAsia, the only scheduled route, whose seats sell out for festival week. From Loei, minivans to Dan Sai cost about ฿70–200. Driving from Bangkok is about 520 km.

Dan Sai has only a few guesthouses and small resorts, around ฿500–1,500 a night, and they book out three to six months ahead for festival week, often before the dates are confirmed, so book something you can cancel. Loei city, 83 km away, has far more choice and is the usual fallback, although it means an early start on parade day.

Phi Ta Khon is a working religious festival in someone else's hometown, not a show. Photograph the parade freely, but ask before close-up portraits, especially of children and of the big ghosts, whose wearers take their role seriously. Don't step into or block the procession, and don't fly a drone over the temple. Inside Wat Phon Chai, take off your shoes and cover your shoulders and knees. Very little is in English, so a Thai-speaking friend or a local guide helps.