Ubon Ratchathani Travel Guide: Candle Festival, Pha Taem

Ubon Ratchathani is the big city of south-eastern Isan, and it is easy to treat it as a stopover on the way to Laos. It deserves more than that. The town has the most elaborate candle festival in Thailand, a handful of temples worth walking between, and a forest monastery tradition that draws visitors from abroad. A short drive east, the province runs out at the Mekong: prehistoric paintings at Pha Taem, the rock-strewn riverbed of Sam Phan Bok and a place where two rivers of different colour meet.

Everything here was checked on 16 October 2026 against the sources listed above. We say where they disagree and where we could not verify something. We give no entrance fees or opening hours that we did not read on an official page. Hotels are in our where to stay in Ubon Ratchathani guide, or in Thai, ที่พักอุบลราชธานี.

What Ubon is, and how the province is laid out

Wikipedia describes Ubon Ratchathani as one of the four largest cities of Isan, on the north bank of the Mun River. Across the river is Warin Chamrap, and the two form one continuous built-up area. Wikipedia puts the city about 497 km from Bangkok in a straight line and about 629 km by road. The city was founded in the late eighteenth century, and Wikipedia notes that it was a major United States Air Force base during the Vietnam War, a legacy that still shows in the airport, which is shared with the Royal Thai Air Force.

The province is large, and that shapes every plan. The city and its temples are in the middle. Khong Chiam, Pha Taem and Kaeng Tana are in the east, where the Mekong is the border with Laos. Sirindhorn Dam is south-east, and Phu Chong-Na Yoi National Park is in the far south on the Cambodian side. Thai road distances matter more than the map suggests: the Department of National Parks gives about 80 km from the city to Khong Chiam, and about 100 km by bus from the city to Na Chaluai for Phu Chong-Na Yoi.

Getting to Ubon Ratchathani

The 12Go page for Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani was opened in a real browser on 16 October 2026. Its title lists bus, train, flight and taxi, and it carries an editorial introduction about the Morchit bus terminal, trains and flights. We did not capture a figure block, so we quote no prices, no number of operators and no departure times: the page lists bus, train, flight and taxi options, and what you see on the day is what counts.

The railway station and the airport are on opposite sides of the Mun River from each other, and the station is on the south bank in Warin Chamrap, not in the city centre. Ask your hotel how long a taxi takes from the station or airport at the time you arrive.

Ubon city and the Candle Festival

Ubon is known for its candle festival. Wikipedia says the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival is the most elaborate of Thailand's candle-parading traditions, held around Asanha Puja and the start of Buddhist Lent (Khao Phansa). A hotel in the city, Tohsang Heritage Ubon, says it takes place around July every year, and that the highlights include a candle procession that ends at Thung Si Mueang, a candle competition, a light and sound show, cultural shows and displays of local artisans' candle sculptures, with the candles finally offered to temples in the province.

Wikipedia adds that the candles are carved a couple of days before the procession, that on Asanha Bucha day they are taken to Thung Si Mueang for decoration and an evening exhibition, and that the procession runs through the city centre on the morning of the first day of Lent. We could not verify the exact dates of the next festival on an official source, so check the announcement before you book a room.

Thung Si Mueang is the park in the middle of town. Wikivoyage describes a tall yellow candle sculpture there, completed in 2000 and 22 m high, which has become the city's symbol, and a Monument of Goodness built by former prisoners of war. Close by, Wat Thung Si Mueang is known for its wooden Ho Trai, a scripture hall built in a pond to protect the manuscripts from insects. Tohsang Heritage Ubon's site describes a mix of Thai, Burmese and Lao decorative styles on it.

Wikivoyage also lists the National Museum of Ubon Ratchathani, a single-storey building from 1918 that once served as the city hall, and Wat Phra That Nong Bua, which Tohsang Heritage Ubon's site and HOP INN's page both list among the nearby attractions. We could not verify opening hours for any of them.

Wat Nong Pah Pong and the forest monastery tradition

Wat Nong Pah Pong was founded by Luangpu Chah (Phra Bodhiyana Thera), according to Tohsang Heritage Ubon's page about it, and is one of the best-known forest temples, with branch temples in several countries. The same page says the site has a large ordination hall decorated with terracotta pictures, a golden chedi where Luangpu Chah's relics are kept, and a museum with his belongings and a wax figure.

Wikipedia adds that Ajahn Chah was born near Ubon in 1918 and helped re-establish the Thai Forest Tradition, including the international branch monastery Wat Pah Nanachat, which is in Warin Chamrap district. Wikivoyage lists Wat Pah Nanachat as the International Forest Monastery. We found no verified visitor rules, so if you visit either monastery, check for guidance on the temple's own channels and dress and behave as you would in any working monastery.

Pha Taem National Park

Pha Taem is the main reason to go east. The Department of National Parks gives the park as 212,500 rai, with the Mekong running along its boundary for 63 km, and lists the Pha Taem, Pha Kham and Pha Mon prehistoric paintings among its sights, together with a Pha Taem viewpoint, Soi Sawan waterfall, the Saeng Chan waterfall, a wildflower field and the Sao Chaliang mushroom-shaped rocks. Wikipedia says the rock art is estimated to be about 3,000 years old, and Wikivoyage counts over 300 paintings in five categories, including animals, geometric motifs, hands and fish traps.

The park page says you reach it from Ubon by driving to Khong Chiam, about 80 km, then taking the Khong Chiam to Khemarat road and a short turn to the park office on Phu Pha Kham. The park page lists accommodation inside the park, which has to be booked and collected from the visitor centre. It also gives shop hours of 06.00 to 18.00. Those are the park shops' hours, not the gate, and we did not find the entrance fee on that page, so check before you go.

Sao Chaliang, which a Khong Chiam hotel describes as the biggest natural rock formation of its kind in Thailand, is a mushroom-shaped pillar formed by wind and water erosion.

A Khong Chiam hotel's attractions list also describes Pha Chana Dai, an eastern cliff that is the first place in Thailand to see the sunrise; it says it can only be reached by four-wheel-drive vehicle. Wikipedia adds that Pha Taem is a popular place to catch the first sunshine of the New Year. We found no verified crowd or fee figures for that morning.

Khong Chiam, the two-colour river and Sam Phan Bok

Khong Chiam is the easternmost district of Thailand, according to Wikipedia. Wikivoyage describes the Maenam Song Si, the "two-colour river": where the Mun meets the Mekong, the Mekong is reddish brown and the Mun bluish. A Khong Chiam hotel's site says the same, adding that the two colours merge to form a bi-coloured river. Wikipedia says the Pak Mun Dam is 5.5 km upstream of the confluence, and that the dam has been criticised for its effect on Mun River fisheries and for displacing villagers.

Sam Phan Bok, the "three thousand holes", is on the Mekong in Pho Sai district. Wikipedia calls it the biggest rock reef in the Mekong, a seasonal attraction where water has eroded sandstone into more than 3,000 holes and basins. A Khong Chiam hotel says to visit between October and May, when the water is low, early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and says you take a boat to reach different spots along the river.

Kaeng Tana National Park

Kaeng Tana is on the Mun River in Khong Chiam district. The Department of National Parks gives the park as 50,000 rai and lists Kaeng Tana rapids, Tat Ton waterfall, a suspension bridge and Lan Pha Phueng among its sights. The park page gives shop hours of 08.00 to 17.00. Wikipedia says the park was established in 1981 and that the highest peak is 543 m.

Sirindhorn Dam and the Dom Noi river

EGAT says Sirindhorn Dam is an important multipurpose dam of the north-east, giving tourism benefits as well as power and irrigation. It is in Sirindhorn District, was built across the Lam Dom Noi River, started in June 1968 and was completed in 1971. EGAT also says the reservoir now carries a hydro-floating solar hybrid which it calls the largest in the world. Wikivoyage and Thai Wikipedia list the dam and rafting on the reservoir among the district's attractions. We did not find a waterfall called Sirindhorn on a source we could verify; the nearby Tat Ton waterfall is in Kaeng Tana National Park.

Phu Chong-Na Yoi National Park

In the far south, near the Cambodian and Lao borders, the Department of National Parks lists Phu Chong-Na Yoi at 428,750 rai, with waterfalls including Huai Luang, and says it is about 100 km from Ubon to Na Chaluai. It is a long day trip, so most visitors treat it separately from Pha Taem. We have no verified information on current access, so ask locally before you go.

The seasons

The Department of National Parks' Pha Taem page splits the year into a hot season from mid-February to mid-May, a rainy season from mid-May to mid-October and a cool season from mid-October to mid-February. It gives a mean temperature of 26.9 degrees C, and, for the year 2011, a low of 8.5 degrees C in January and a high of 42 degrees C in April. It gives about 1,581 mm of rain a year, with September the wettest month. It also says the Mekong runs highest in August and September, and that its water level varies by about 15 m in the dry season.

In practice, that means Sam Phan Bok and the Mekong rocks are a dry-season sight, the cool months suit the cliffs, and the Candle Festival falls in the wet season.

Where to stay

Our stay guide checks 9 hotels against their own websites, in four areas:

• Ubon city centre: Tohsang Heritage Ubon, Arista Hotel Ubon and Laithong Hotel.
• Central Ubon and the airport side: Centara Ubon, HOP INN Ubon Ratchathani and B2 Ubon Boutique & Budget Hotel.
• Warin Chamrap: The Vela Warin.
• Khong Chiam: Tohsang Heritage Khongjiam and Khong Chiam Orchid Riverside Resort.

Open where to stay in Ubon Ratchathani for the area table and the hotel cards.

Nearby destinations

• Isan: the wider north-east
• Khon Kaen: another big Isan city
• Bangkok: where most trips to Ubon start
• Thailand overview

FAQ

Prices, schedules and entry rules change. Figures here are approximate as of 2026; always confirm on the official or operator page before you book. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.