Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival: Thailand's Most Spectacular Regional Festival

The Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival (Ubon Candle Procession, or Prasat Thong Festival) takes place every July at the beginning of Khao Phansa — the Buddhist Lent period when monks retreat to their temples for three months. The festival is unique to Ubon Ratchathani and has no equivalent elsewhere in Thailand. Over several months before the festival, local artisans and temple teams carve enormous wax sculptures — mythological creatures, deities, scenes from Thai history and Buddhist legend — of extraordinary quality and scale. Some sculptures are taller than a house and made entirely of beeswax shaped by hand. On the main festival day, these works are mounted on enormous floats and paraded through the city centre with elaborate costumes, traditional music, and tens of thousands of spectators lining the route. The following day, a beauty contest and traditional performances extend the celebration. Outside festival time, Ubon Ratchathani is a pleasant university city on the Mun River near the Laos border, with good local food (Isan cuisine at its authentic best), Khong Chiam pink river confluence nearby, and easy access to Pha Taem National Park's prehistoric cliff paintings.