Laos festivals and events 2027: month-by-month calendar

How to read this calendar

When we checked in October 2026, Laos had not published its official 2027 holiday calendar. The fixed holidays here come from the Labour Law, which sets the annual rest days, and the ASEAN-Japan Centre's calendar of Lao holidays; any extra or substitute days for 2027 will be announced later. Every date in this article is therefore a usual date, not a confirmed one.

The Buddhist festivals follow the lunar calendar, so their Gregorian dates move each year. We give the month or season they usually fall in; check the local date before you book. A holiday does not tell you which shops or sights close.

January to March: New Year, Vat Phou and Makha Bousa

International New Year's Day, 1 January (a Friday in 2027), is a rest day under the Labour Law.

The Vat Phou festival at the temple of Vat Phou in Champasak province is held every year on the full moon of the third lunar month, in January or February, together with Makha Bousa. Expect almsgiving and religious and cultural rituals at the temple site. The 2027 dates had not been announced; Pakse is the base.

Makha Bousa, which commemorates a sermon the Buddha gave to 1,250 enlightened monks, usually falls in February.

International Women's Day, 8 March (a Monday in 2027), is a paid rest day for women under the Labour Law.

April and May: Lao New Year and Visakha Bousa

Lao New Year (Boun Pi Mai) has a three-day core, usually 14 to 16 April (Wednesday to Friday in 2027). Expect water fights and the pouring of water over Buddha images; Luang Prabang's tourism office says its celebrations run longer and that most people stay drenched for much of the festival. Keep your phone and passport in a waterproof bag.

International Labour Day, 1 May, falls on a Saturday in 2027; the law provides a replacement rest day when a holiday falls on the weekly rest day.

Visakha Bousa, the full moon of the sixth lunar month, marks the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death and usually falls in May.

July to September: Buddhist Lent and the Luang Prabang boat races

Khao Phansa, usually in July, begins three months of monastic seclusion and meditation during the rainy season.

The Luang Prabang boat races (Boun Souang Heua) take place every year in the ninth lunar month, usually in August or September, with village boats racing on the Nam Khan. The day before, the Lor Lad market fair draws hundreds of vendors from around the country. The 2027 dates had not been announced.

October and November: Ork Phansa, the fire boats and That Luang

Ork Phansa, usually in October, is the full-moon ceremony that ends the rainy-season seclusion.

In Luang Prabang, the Fire Boat Festival (Boun Lai Heua Fai) goes with it: each village makes and decorates a boat, parades it through town, and offerings are floated on the river to honour the water spirits. The 2027 nights had not been announced.

The That Luang festival at Pha That Luang in Vientiane is held on the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, around November. The ASEAN tourism site describes almsgiving, Lao games and candlelit processions and hundreds of thousands of devotees.

December: National Day

Lao National Day, 2 December (a Thursday in 2027), is a rest day under the Labour Law.