Nakhon Sawan

Nakhon Sawan Province, also known as Pak Nam Pho is where the rivers of Ping, Wang, Yom, and Nan converge and form the Chao Phraya River, the most important waterway of Thailand. Nakhon Sawan is in the lower northern part of the country between the North and the Central Region. It is regarded as the doorway to the North and it is the hub of transportation in the Lower North.

Festivals & Events

Nakhon Sawan Chinese New Year Festival
When: February
Where: Utthayan Sawan (Nong Sombun Park), Kosi Road and the bank of the Chao Phraya River, Amphoe Mueang

The most anticipated event in festival calendar year for Nakhon Sawan is undoubtedly Chinese New Year Festival and Chao Pho - Chao Mae Pak Nam Pho Procession Festival which are annually held harmoniously side by side for continuous 12-day period during Chinese New Year to bring good luck, fortune and prosperity. Chinese migrants have been settling down all over Thailand for hundreds of years and many of them and their descendants inhabit in Nakhon Sawan nowadays, hence the long-standing tradition of Chinese New Year Celebration since olden days.

The highlighted programmes are definitely 2 amazing “Chao Por - Chao Mae” Processions which take place in the evening and then the following morning. The festival also features various processions such as lion parade, dragon, angel processions and the goddess Guan Yin procession marching along the main roads in the municipality. Another unmissable event is the spectacular illuminated dragon dance that will keep you mesmerised and stunned by the movement of the dragon, its carriers’ skills and their endless energy. Included are also marching bands, dancers in colourful costumes, acrobats standing on each other’s shoulders and the list goes on. Be a part of this event of Nakhon Sawan and witness one of the most impressive festivals of all time.

Ban Kao Thong Songkran Festival
When: April
Where: Tambon Kao Thong, Amphoe Payuhakiri

This long tradition of Tambon Kao Thong has long been held annually during Songkran Festival in this village where many of Mon offspring reside in today. The festival showcases local tradition and culture through folk games and performance such as “Jup Khor Mue Sao” (Holding maidens’ hands ceremony) which will be played in the afternoon after the morning merits making. Young men and women will gather around in a temple’s yard standing separately in 2 groups by gender. A guy will walk towards the girl he fancies and ask to hold her hand politely if the targeted girl agrees, they both will go for a walk around the lawn together and a guy will then walk her back. The one simple rule is not to touch a girl’s hand higher than her elbow.

Tropical Flower and Ornamental Plants Festival
When: May
Where: Sawan Park, Amphoe Mueang

This spectacular flora exposition is held annually in the summer to boast the mesmerising beauty of tropical flowers and ornamental plants. The festival showcases light-and-sound performance, a contest of various kinds of orchid, an orchid gardening competition, colouring contest, jade contest as well as competitions for a wide range of flowers and plants such as cactus, Poi Sian (type of plant), Chuan Chom (Pink Bignonia), and Ko Son (Garden croton).

Boat Races for His Majesty’s Trophy
When: October
Where: Chao Phraya River

Be amazed by the greatest races of traditional long boats ranging from small, medium and large sizes from all over the country. These Boat Races for His Majesty’s Trophy are held annually at the end of the Buddhist Lent along Chao Phraya River in front of Nakhon Sawan Provincial Hall. There are also other boat races at temples along the river, for example, from Wat Ko Hong and Wat Takhian Luan. This boat racing tradition has been carried on for decades to show the harmonious collaboration among inhabitants of Nakhon Sawan and its neighbours.

Loy Krathong Festival
When: November
Where: In front of Chao Mae Na Pha Shrine

When it comes to Loy Krathong Festival, one of Thailand’s oldest and best-conserved traditions, Ban Na Pha Community at Amphoe Mueang Nakhon Sawan knows just how to celebrate the festival in a very unique way. As the full moon of the twelfth lunar month approaches and lights up the sky at nightfall, the locals bring out their coconut shells they have been collected throughout the year to clean and creatively and elaborately decorate them with coloured papers and place a candle in the centre of the shell.