Skip to content
ThailandHQ

Religious

Ork Phansaวันออกพรรษา

The end of the rains retreat — boat races on the Mekong, alms at dawn, and the naga fireballs at Nong Khai

Next
In 4 weeks
26 October 2026
Where
Nationwide, Nong Khai, Phon Phisai, Uthai Thani, Chiang Mai
Public holiday
No
Alcohol sales
Banned

In short

Ork Phansa closes the three-month monastic retreat. In the north-east it is the biggest date of the year after Songkran: longboat racing on the Mekong and its tributaries, the Tak Bat Devo procession in which monks descend a temple stairway to receive alms, and the naga fireballs — glowing orbs that rise from the river at Phon Phisai and draw tens of thousands of spectators. It is a statutory dry day but not a public holiday.

The ruined brick chedi of Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai rising in stepped tiers against a clear blue sky, with a naga-flanked stairway climbing its flank, small coloured flags along the base and the white and gold eaves of the viharn at the right of frame.
Vyacheslav Argenberg / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Go if

  • The Mekong at Phon Phisai and Rattanawapi in Nong Khai province, for the fireballs
  • Longboat racing, which runs across Isaan and central Thailand through October and November
  • Tak Bat Devo at Wat Sangkat Rattana Khiri in Uthai Thani, the most photographed version of the alms procession
  • The kathin season that follows, when temples receive new robes and communities fundraise

Be aware

  • Not a public holiday. Banks and offices open, but alcohol sales are banned for the day
  • Nong Khai accommodation for the fireball night sells out months ahead and prices triple
  • The fireballs are a natural phenomenon on an unpredictable schedule; a large crowd sometimes sees very little
  • Riverbank viewing areas in Phon Phisai are ticketed and heavily policed for crowd control

Dates

The full moon of the eleventh lunar month, three lunar months after Khao Phansa — normally October. The kathin robe-offering season runs for the month that follows.

  • 26 October 2026Monday. The Koh Phangan full moon party was pushed to the 27th as a result.
  • 15 October 2027Friday.

Sources

What’s on

Calendar →

← The full Thailand calendar