Travel to Thailand during Songkarn water festival

Learn More about Songkarn water festival 

Songkran is the Thai New Year water festival, which takes place from 13-15 April every year; 13 April is Thai New Year’s Day. Songkran is an occasion that symbolizes kindness, love, empathy, and gratitude, using water to cleanse and to wish for plenty of rain in the year ahead. Songkran festival is celebrated throughout Thailand in April, the hottest month of the year.

We have selected a range of popular tourist destinations to experience Songkran and create unforgettable memories, both in traditional and modern style:

 

1. Khao San Road 

Khao San is home to the undisputed hub of Bangkok’s modern celebration of Songkran. Cordoned off to traffic, the carnival atmosphere in the backpacker district is electric. Thai and Foreigners alike hold stations equipped with oversized water guns, pressure hoses, and giant cooler containers. Crowded and wild, Khao San is the place to be to experience crowds armed with water guns while enjoying pumping music from the local establishments.

 

2. Ayutthaya

If you are looking for a more traditional Songkran experience, Ayutthaya is a good choice. Here you can see people going to the temple to make merit, pouring water on the hands of those who are senior to ask for blessings. The atmosphere is family-friendly, with temples decorated in Songkran theme. The city does also enjoy its fair share of water games with elephants spraying, which is said to banish bad luck.

 

3. Chiang Mai

The northern capital of Chiang Mai is where the largest Songkran festivities are held, with the city stretching out the celebrations for nearly a week. It is also more common in the north of Thailand for people to collect sand, which is taken to their local monastery. This sand — symbolic of dirt carried on their feet over the past year — is used to replenish the monastery before being sculpted into stupa-shaped mounds and decorated with colorful, celebratory flags.

 

Typical activities during the Songkran Festival

  • People often do spring cleaning in houses, temples, schools, and offices to welcome the New Year with cleanliness symbolic of a fresh start.
  • It is also common to release birds and fish back to their natural habitat, as part of the merit-making activities.
  • Sprinkling water onto Buddha images and monks to receive blessings for the New Year.
  • Building sand pagodas in the temple grounds. Bringing sand to the temple is considered to be a merit as the sand can be used for construction or restoration by the temple.
  • Pouring water onto elderly family or community members to show respect and gratefulness and to ask for their blessing.
  • Most well-known are the friendly water fights using clean or scented water, exchanging New Year’s greetings. It is wise to ask permission before throwing water at someone in case they do not wish to get wet!
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