Wai Kru Festival (Sak Yant Ceremony)
Price: approximately 4,000 ฿
Booking: recommended 1 week before the event
Departure: from Pattaya
Included: transfer, food, drinks, Thai-speaking guide
Note: this tour is not suitable for children.
If you wish to receive a Sak Yant tattoo during the festival, please inform us in advance.
Wai Kru Festival Overview
The Wai Kru Festival takes place around February or March each year.
Originally, Sak Yant tattoos were sacred markings worn by warriors seeking spiritual protection and physical strength in battle. They covered their bodies with magical symbols believed to make them invincible to swords and arrows.
Today, Thais from all walks of life — doctors, lawyers, taxi drivers, actors, and even gangsters — wear Sak Yant tattoos for luck, protection, and power.
These tattoos are created by Buddhist monks using a long metal or bamboo needle dipped in a special ink made from unique ingredients such as charcoal and snake venom.
Over time, the spiritual power of the tattoos fades, requiring them to be re-blessed — this is the core meaning of the Wai Kru Festival, a sacred ceremony to honor the masters (Ajans) and recharge the magical energy of the tattoos.
Where It Happens
Every year, thousands gather at Wat Bang Phra, a famous Buddhist temple about an hour’s drive from Bangkok, for this spiritual and chaotic event.
The atmosphere is intense: devotees enter trances, scream, and rush toward the shrine, believing themselves to be the animals or spirits inked into their skin — tigers, crocodiles, monkeys (Hanuman), or other mythical beings.
How the Ceremony Unfolds
- The night before: monks and Ajans tattoo new seekers late into the night.
- Festival morning: as mantras begin, people fall into trance (called Khong Kuen) and mimic the creatures or spirits of their Sak Yant tattoos.
- The climax: hundreds charge toward the shrine, roaring and flailing. Soldiers and monks form a “human wall” to stop them and help end their trance by rubbing their ears.
Standing in the crowd, you must stay alert — participants in trance can rush in your direction without warning!
After the main ritual, the monks sprinkle holy water over the crowd to calm them, then distribute flowers and fruits as blessings.
When it’s all over, the crowd disperses, leaving behind the remnants of mats, food, and incense — the powerful energy of the day lingering in the air.
Additional Information
You can book a Sak Yant tattoo ceremony with a master in Pattaya any day — there is no need to attend the Wai Kru Festival specifically for this.
The festival is recommended for observers and those seeking a powerful cultural and spiritual experience, rather than as a casual sightseeing trip.
Wai Kru Festival photos
