Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival

When: Asanha Bucha and Khao Phansa, the full moon of the eighth lunar month and the day after it, usually in July and sometimes in early August.

Where: Ubon Ratchathani in northeastern Thailand, centred on Thung Si Mueang park in the city centre.

Don’t miss: the giant candles lit up in Thung Si Mueang on the evening of Asanha Bucha, the parade on the morning of Khao Phansa, and the carvers at work in the temple yards in the days before.

Every July, as the rains settle in, Thai monks begin Phansa, the three-month retreat when they stay in their own monastery to study and meditate. Lay people mark the start by taking gifts to the temples, and the most important gift is a candle to light the monks’ quarters through the long wet season. Across Thailand this is a quiet, local act of merit. In Ubon Ratchathani it has grown into the country’s most spectacular festival of sculpture.

Each temple, district and many schools and organisations of the province make a candle, and the big ones are no longer candles in any ordinary sense. They are floats several metres high: a core of plaster or cement built up with thick layers of wax, then carved or decorated into scenes from the life of the Buddha, the Jataka tales and Hindu mythology, with angels, naga serpents, garuda and the mythical creatures of the Himmapan forest. A large candle takes a month or more of community work, and none of them is ever burned.

There are two main styles. Carved candles are shaped by hand with fine blades, a technique developed in the 1950s by the Ubon artisan Khamha Saengngam, later named a National Artist. Printed candles are covered with hundreds of small wax motifs cast in moulds and pressed onto the surface, giving a dense, glittering finish. Both compete for prizes.

The tradition is much older than the floats. Villagers once tied simple candles into bundles and carried them to the temple on ox carts and handcarts, to the sound of drums and gongs, and the candles grew larger and more elaborate over the 20th century. The festival became an officially recognised national cultural event in 1976 and now draws visitors from across Thailand and abroad. The parade itself has stayed rooted in Isan culture: dancers in local silk, and bands of phin lutes, khaen mouth organs and ponglang xylophones walk alongside each float.

The festival follows the Buddhist lunar calendar. Asanha Bucha, which commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon, falls on the full moon of the eighth lunar month, and Khao Phansa, the first day of the monks’ retreat, is the day after. In most years that is in July; in years with an extra lunar month it moves into late July or early August. On the evening of Asanha Bucha the finished candles are lined up and lit in Thung Si Mueang park, and smaller candlelit processions circle the temples. The main parade sets off on the morning of Khao Phansa and winds through the city centre for several hours. The carving goes on in temple grounds around town in the week before, and is often the best time to see the work up close. Asanha Bucha is a public holiday, and alcohol sales are banned nationwide on both days.

Ubon Ratchathani is served by Ubon Ratchathani Airport, with daily flights of about an hour from Bangkok. Overnight sleeper trains run from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani station, which sits across the Mun River in Warin Chamrap, a short ride from the town centre, and long-distance buses also run overnight. Hotels in town fill up for the festival, so book well ahead. Thung Si Mueang and the parade route are in the compact old centre, easy to reach on foot or by tuk-tuk.

• Stake out a place along the parade route early on the morning of Khao Phansa; the stretch near Thung Si Mueang fills first.
• Visit the temple workshops in the days before the parade to watch the carvers. Ask before photographing, and don’t touch the wax.
• Go back to Thung Si Mueang after dark on Asanha Bucha, when the candles are lit and the crowds are calmer than at the parade.
• July is the rainy season, so carry an umbrella or a light rain jacket, and expect heat and humidity between showers.
• Dress modestly for the temples, with shoulders and knees covered, and remove your shoes before entering any hall.
• Alcohol cannot be bought on Asanha Bucha or Khao Phansa.
• Combine the festival with a trip east to the clifftop rock paintings of Pha Taem National Park above the Mekong.