"Commemorating the events of March 21, 1946" in Khammouane Province
2024-03-21

40 Year Anniversary of Bolikhamxay Province & Ethnic Tribe Festival in Bolikhamxay Province
2024-03-06

Ka Tu Festival in Sekong Province
2024-03-05

Caravan to Phou Ya Kha in Oudomxay Province
2024-02-28 - 2024-02-29

Lao Food Festival in Vientiane Capital
2024-02-23 - 2024-02-27, 2024-01-23 - 2024-01-27

Sikhottabong Stupa Festival in Khammouane Province
2024-02-22 - 2024-02-24
Sikhottabong Stupa festival is held annually during the full moon in February and it is celebrated over several days. People of north eastern Thailand, Nakhorn Phnom, and nearby provinces come and gather for stupa worshipping and entertainment. During the festival, there are religious activities along with a local trade fair and performances held around the stupa.

Na Dou Buddha Foot Print Festival in Salavanh Province
2024-02-22 - 2024-02-24

Vat Phou Festival in Champasack Province
2024-02-22 - 2024-02-24
This is the largest festival in Champasack Province and one of the largest festivals in the entire country. It is held annually on the grounds of the enchanting pre-Angkorian remains of Vat Phou in Champasack. This festival attracts thousands of people each year, who come for prayer ceremonies and to enjoy the festivities. There is elephant racing, buffalo fighting, cock fighting and performances of Lao traditional music and dances. There is also a trade fair showcasing the products from the southern provinces of Laos, and from the neighbouring countries

Bolaven Coffee-Tea Festival in Champasack Province
2024-02-19

Tai Dam New Year in Luang Namtha Province
2024-02-17

Chinese Lunar New Year
2024-02-10

Pra Keo Nam Yard Festival in Salavanh Province
2024-02-03 - 2024-02-05

Kapok Flower Festival
2024-01-26 - 2024-01-29

ASEAN TOURISM FORUM 2024
2024-01-22 - 2024-01-27
MESSAGE FROM EXCELLENCY MADAM SUANESAVANH VIGNAKET MINISTER OF MINISTRY OF INFORMATION CULTURE AND TOURISM, LAO PDR

On behalf of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism of Lao PDR, I am pleased to announce that Lao PDR will be hosting the ASEAN TOURISM FORUM 2024 from 22nd to 27th January 2024 in Vientiane Capital with the theme: “Quality and Responsible Tourism – Sustaining ASEAN Future.”
By organizing this event, our aim is to strengthen our collaboration in further improving our tourism products to attract more international tourists, and at the same time, to contribute more to our community and to sustainability of tourism within the region.
Vientiane Capital is the home to the most significant Laos cultural and historical attractions, and the center of major businesses with excellent connectivity to the surrounding of our neighbors.
In 2024, there will be important events for Laos such as Lao PDR will be the chair of ASEAN Summit, host of ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 and launching the Visit Laos Year 2024. Therefore; the government of the Lao PDR has developed tourism infrastructure, facilities, transportation, tourism activities, various tourism products and will upgrade the tourism services up to standards. In preparation for Tourism exhibition, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism has signed the TRAVEX Agreement with ASEANTA to operate the tourism exhibition during the ATF 2024.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to invite you all to come and visit Laos to experience Lao tourist attractions by yourselves. I, therefore, would like to take this opportunity to cordially invite you to attend the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR. Thank you.

Phabath Phonsan Festival in Bolikhamxay Province
2024-01-21 - 2024-01-25

Ethnic Tribe Festival in Oudomxay Province
2024-01-10 - 2024-01-15

Rice Festival in Sayabouly Province
2024-01-09 - 2024-01-12

Hmong New Year in Vientiane Province
2024-01-08 - 2024-01-14
Hmong New Year in Phonkham Village, Phon Hong District, Vientiane Province.

Ethnic Festival and Cultural Market Fair in Bokeo Province
2023-12-25 - 2023-12-31

Vang Vieng Fest (Music Festival in Vang Vieng District, Vientiane Province)
2023-12-23 - 2023-12-24

That Inghang Festival in Savannakhet Province
2023-12-21 - 2023-12-27
The ritual ceremony is performed annually at the Pha That Ing Hang (Ing Hang Stupa), one of the most sacred stupas in Savannakhet Province and in Central Lao. In December people organize a festival to show their respect to Buddhism and to the people who built this stupa. Many people including the old and young come to the festival from south and north of Lao as well as from Thailand. People make offerings of Khanmarkbeng (a small green tower-like offering, which has good made of banana leaves and flowers) around the stupa. People also ask nuns who are around the stupa for blessings. The nuns give blessing to people by tying cotton strings around their wrists. Local people bring forest products like honey and traditional food as offerings.

Lao National Day
2023-12-02
This celebrates the 1975 victory of the proletariat over the monarchy with parades, speeches, etc. Lao national and communist hammer and sickle flags are flown all over the country. Celebration is mandatory, hence poorer communities postpone some of the traditional Ok Phansa activities usually practiced roughly a month earlier-until National Day, thus saving themselves considerable expense.

That Luang Festival and Trade Fair in Vientiane Capital
2023-11-23 - 2023-11-27
Boun Pha That Luang is the most meaningful festival in Vientiane Capital as well as in the Lao PDR. It is held over three to seven days during the full moon of the twenty-fifth lunar month (November, but sometimes it is at the end of October). The festival starts with a colorful candlelight wax castle (Phasat Pheung) procession which starts the evening before at Vat Simeuang. The procession continues to the next afternoon from Vat Simeuang to Pha That Luang. People carry flowers, candles, incense and wax castles decorated with flowers and bank notes. People wear their best clothes for this procession and there is also a parade of the men and women dressed in various Loa ethnic costumes who dance and play traditional music and songs while approaching the stupa. The s-called wax castles have been a part of Lao lifestyle for many years, and bringing one to Pha that Luang on this occasion is believed to bring considerable merit.
The following morning, a huge crowd assembles at dawn at Pha That Luang to give alms to hundreds of monks who come here from around the country, and to play homage to the stupa. In the afternoon, everyone will gather on the esplanade for the traditional game of Ti Khee, which is played with a ball and long curved stick, resembling a game of hockey. The festival draws to close under a full moon when people from all over Laos will crowd around Pha That Luang for one last candlelight procession. There are also fire work displays to make the end of the celebration. During the Pha That Luang stupa festival, there are trade fairs, concerts and fun fairs held.

Lhai Heua Fai, Festival of the Boats of Light in Luang Prabang Province
2023-10-30 18:00 - 22:00 (Asia/Vientiane)
Boun Lai Heua Fai is a festival for the Phanang Naga which is held during Boun Xouang Heua in order to bring good luck. Each village in many provinces makes and decorates a boat. The boats are then paraded through the town, at night they are lunched onto the river and ceremoniously set on fire as offerings to spirits. This festival involves floating the ritual flowers onto the river, to send of bad luck and give thanks to the water spirits. When holding boat race, people ritually reclaim the land from the Naga, chasing them out from fields and streams and back into the Mekong River.

Boun Ork Phansa (The end of buddhist lent)
2023-10-29
Boun Ork Phansa is the last day of Buddhist Lent. It occurs on the 15th day of the 11th month of the lunar calendar. In the morning, donations and offering are made at temples around the country. In the evening candlelight processions are held around the temples while hundreds around of colorful floats decorated with flowers, incense and candles are set adrift down and rivers giving thanks to the river spirit (Lai Heua Fai). They are said to pay respect to the Buddha and to thank the mother of rivers for providing water for our lives as well as to ask for blessing and to float the bad luck for the past year away, enabling the good luck to flow in. Villagers who live far from rivers set up model boat made of banana stems and decorated with flowers and candlelight, while other simply light up some candles in front of their houses and do their prayer, wishing for good luck. This colorful ritual has been carried on by Lao people for thousands of years.

Naga Rocket in Bolikhamxay Province
2023-10-29
The fireballs coming out from the water’s surface can be seen once a year on the last night of the Lao Buddhist Lent. The Naga Rockets can be spotted where the Nam Ngum and the Mekong river meet in Thaprabath District, Bolikhamxay Province, as well as in Pak Ngum District, 60 kilometers east of Vientiane.

Boun Khao Salak Ancestor Festival
2023-09-29
This festival occurs during the 10th full moon of the lunar calendar. The purpose of the festival is to obtain merit by providing offerings to dead ancestors. The offerings to the dead are passed to monks during the morning ceremony at the temple, just after almsgiving. A basket is filled with food and daily amenities such as soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, cigarettes, etc. along with the names of the dead people the family wish to honor. The monks or novice the basket, then draws the names from the basket. In the evening at 7pm to 8pm, it is the for a candlelight procession (Wien Tien). Afterwards, the candles, incense the flowers are placed near the side of the Sim.

Boat Racing Festival in Luang Prabang
2023-09-14
At the Khao Padabdin ceremony day, people visit local temples to make offerings to dead ancestors as well as to share merit-making. This festival includes boat racing on the Nam Khan River and a trade fair in Luang Prabang World Heritage town.

Boun Khao Padabdin (Rice Growing Festival)
2023-09-14
Boun Hor Khao Padabdin (the literal translation is decorate (padab) dirtearth (din))starts in the middle of the rainy season. This festival is held in commemoration of dead ancestors. Over two days, Buddhist devotees flock to the Vats (temples) carrying strays of offerings for monks and deceased ancestor. Music is traditionally performed in the grounds of the Vat while people make their donations. During Boun Khao Phansapadabdin, each household cooks a number of “khao Tom” to give to relatives and friends and some are reserved for giving alms to the monks. In the early morning at 4am to 5am, people place the “khao tom” and other food wrapped in banana leave or lotus leave in the four corners outside one’s house, the stairs, the spirit house, the rice storehouse, and on the gate, as well as on the ground so that the sprit can reach them. It is also the time to shoe respect to “Mae Thoranii” (the Earth God).
