Chanthaburi Fruit Festival

The Chanthaburi Fruit Festival is a vibrant and delectable festival with a centuries-old history. The event is typically held from the end of May or the start of the first week of June and lasts for around 10 days annually. If you have the chance to attend this event, you will understand why Chanthaburi province is known as the "Tropical Fruit Bowl of Thailand" in other parts of the world. Visitors get a one-of-a-kind chance to gorge themselves on the fresh, juicy fruits that the area produces each year at the Chanthaburi Fruit Festival.

The festival was once known as the World Durian Festival because it was situated in an area with ideal growing conditions for fruits, particularly durian. However, later on, it was given a new name which is the name that people know today - The Chanthaburi Fruit Festival. This made more sense because, in addition to the infamous durians, there are many other fruits on show at the festival. But out of all the fruits, durian is still the most common one to see at the event. Every year at the Fruit Festival, exotic fruits including durians, rambutans, longans, and mangosteens are displayed in colorful displays modeled after Buddhist mandalas. In the early years, the Fruit Festival was held on narrow sidewalks surrounding King Taksin Lake Park in downtown Chanthaburi.

The intriguing fruit floats are yet another unique feature of this festival. A lot of farmers participate in this activity. Participants decorate their floats with colorful orchids, durians, mangosteens, rambutans, and other flowers as an impressive attempt to win the best fruit float competition. These floats feature Thai Orchids and Roses, two flowers that are widely accessible in the region. Various historical events from Thai history are beautifully portrayed on these Floats.

Duration: Around 10 days (late May, or early June)

Location: Chanthaburi, Thailand