With Chiang Mai’s polluted season behind us, the city’s tourism atmosphere has visibly lifted. At Wat Chedi Luang, visitors have been turning out throughout the day to take in the grandeur of the ancient chedi beneath noticeably cleaner skies.
The temple is now busy with preparations for this year’s Inthakin Festival — formally known as the Sai Khan Dok Inthakin ceremony — scheduled to run from 13th to 19th May 2026, with the Ork Inthakin (closing rites) on 20th May.
The festival is one of Chiang Mai’s most enduring traditions, held at the onset of the rainy season. Centred on the veneration of the Inthakin, the city’s sacred pillar, the ceremony draws on the belief that ancestral spirits and protective deities will bless the city with peace, timely rains and prosperity.
Devotees bring offerings of flowers, incense, candles and turmeric-and-acacia water, presented in ceremonial vessels in a ritual known as sai khan dok — literally, the offering of flower trays.
