Why Bikaner celebrates the camel
Bikaner was founded in 1488 in some of the hardest country in India, and it survived because of one animal.
When you watch a herder spend an hour clipping a pattern into his camel's coat, you are watching someone who loves his animal and wants the world to see it. That, more than any contest, is what the Camel Festival is for.
The founder: Rao Bika, a son of the founder of Jodhpur, rode north into the Jangladesh, the scrub desert between the Thar and the Punjab.
A hard land: he found little water and less rain. What it had was trade.
Facts to know
- When
- Every January, usually the first half or middle
- Where
- Bikaner city and the Raisar dunes
- Lasts
- Usually two or three days
- Best day
- The parade and contests, then the dune evening
- Book by
- Four to six months ahead
- Good for
- Desert journeys, photographers, winter birders
- The caravans: they crossed it carrying salt, grain, wool, opium and cloth between the ports of Gujarat and the cities of the north, every load on the back of a camel.
- The merchants' wealth: Bikaner grew rich as a market town on those routes, and its merchants built the carved red houses you still see in the old city.
- More than a beast of burden: the camel pulled ploughs and water wheels, carried brides to their weddings and the dead to their cremations, and gave milk, wool and dung for fuel.
- A great breed: the Bikaneri camel became one of India's finest, tall, strong and able to walk for days through the heat.
- The Camel Corps: Maharaja Ganga Singh, who ruled from 1887 to 1943, raised a camel cavalry from it, the Bikaner Camel Corps, which served in the British Empire's campaigns in China, Egypt and beyond.
- Its heirs: the tradition lives on in the camel contingent of the Border Security Force, whose riders still guard the desert frontier.
- The decline: in the late twentieth century trucks and tractors arrived, the camel began to lose its work, and herds have shrunk sharply across Rajasthan over the past few decades.
- State animal: Rajasthan named the camel its state animal in 2014 and passed laws to protect it, but the herders' way of life is still under real pressure.
- Why the festival matters: begun by Rajasthan Tourism, it is part celebration of the past and part a way of keeping pride in these animals alive.
- Read more: our journal on the camels of Rajasthan covers the breeds, the herders and the people keeping the camel economy alive. Our Bikaner guide has the history of the city.
How to look at a festival camel
Stand beside a herder at the festival and he will tell you more about his camel's ancestry than most people know about their own.
Facts to know
- Species
- Dromedary, the one-humped camel
- Bikaneri
- Big, heavy, bred for hauling
- Jaisalmeri
- Lighter, faster, a riding camel
- Other breeds
- Marwari, Mewari, Kachchhi
- Neck band
- The gorband
The breeds
Dromedaries: India's camels are the one-humped camel of the hot deserts, and Rajasthan has several breeds of its own.
- The Bikaneri: the big one, heavy and powerful, with a broad chest and a slight dip above the eyes that herders look for. It was bred for hauling and the long caravan routes.
- The Jaisalmeri: lighter and faster, a riding camel of the western dunes. Herders say it can outrun any other breed over distance.
- The others: the Marwari of the Jodhpur country, the Mewari of the southern hills, and the Kachchhi from across the border in Gujarat, which you may see at the research centre.
The ornaments
The gorband: a decorated neck band of beads, shells, cowries and coloured wool, woven by the women of herding families.
- The song: a much-loved Rajasthani folk song tells of a young woman weaving a gorband for her camel. You may hear it sung at the festival.
- Saddle cloths: embroidered, often with mirror work, laid over the back.
- Bells and silver: bells and anklets on the legs ring with every step. Silver ornaments, once a herding family's savings, appear on the finest animals, and nose pegs often carry small tassels.
The fur cutting
The winter coat: it grows thick and soft, and artists clip it down in layers to leave raised designs standing proud of the skin.
- The best work: has shading, borders and complete scenes. Some owners colour the patterns with henna, so they glow a deep orange in the sun.
- A season's art: a good piece lasts only until the coat is shed in spring. As one herder told us, it is a painting the camel carries home and then gives back to the desert.
The riders
Festival dress: men of the herding communities wear their finest turbans, often in bright safa colours, with white or gold angarkhas.
- Moustaches: big ones, waxed into curls.
- The real subject: their camels are their reputation, and their pride is what the day is about.
Local tip
At the festival, ask your guide to point out the breeds side by side. Once you have seen a Bikaneri next to a Jaisalmeri, you will never again think that a camel is just a camel.
When the festival is held
The Camel Festival is one of the few in Rajasthan that keeps to the Western calendar. It is a January festival, and in our experience it has always been a cold one.
Who runs it: Rajasthan Tourism with the Bikaner district administration.
The dates: set each year, and they have moved by a week or two. Because the festival is not tied to the moon, they are announced well ahead in most years.
The programme: events, venues and timings often appear only a few weeks before.
Facts to know
- Month
- January, every year
- Recent years
- First half or middle of the month
- Length
- Two or three days
- Calendar
- Western, not lunar
- Day temperature
- Often low twenties Celsius
- Nights
- Properly cold, can fall below freezing
- Our promise: we confirm the dates each year as soon as they are announced, and keep your plans flexible until then.
- The cold: the city has recorded temperatures below freezing, and mornings at the dunes can be bitter until the sun is up.
- The days: bright and dry, which makes this a comfortable month to walk the old city and spend long afternoons outdoors.
- What to bring: layers, a warm jacket for the evening programme and a hat for the midday sun.
- Kites: January is also the month of Makar Sankranti, on 14 January, when Bikaner's skies fill with kites as they do over Jaipur. Some festival programmes have included kite flying.
- Read more: our guide to Rajasthan in January has the rest of the month.
What happens at the Camel Festival
The programme changes a little each year, but the heart of it does not: camels, their owners and the people of the desert showing off what they love.
The parade from Junagarh
The opening: usually a procession of decorated camels and riders through the city, from the walls of Junagarh Fort to the stadium.
- Who walks with them: bands, folk dancers and women carrying brass pots on their heads.
- The backdrop: the red stone of the fort, with the whole city lining the road.
Camel decoration
- Days of work: owners dress their animals in embroidered saddle cloths, mirror work, silver ornaments, tassels, pompoms, bells and anklets.
- The judging: judges look at the whole animal, rider and costume together, and the competition is serious. The best of them are works of art.
Fur cutting, the camel's art
What it is: herders clip intricate designs into the thick winter coat with scissors, leaving raised patterns of flowers, peacocks, geometric borders and even portraits.
- Colour: sometimes the designs are coloured with henna. A single camel can take days.
- Its name: called bal katai by some herders, a folk art that belongs only to the camel country of western Rajasthan.
Camel dance
- The show: trained camels move to the drums, lifting their legs in step, turning and kneeling at their owner's command. It draws the biggest cheers of the festival.
- Watch the animals: the best handlers work quietly, and their camels are relaxed.
Races and contests
The afternoons: camel races, camel polo, tug-of-war between locals and visitors and, in some years, camel milking contests.
- For the men: competitions for the finest moustache and the most elaborate turban.
- For the young: the titles of Mr Bikaner and Miss Marwan, hotly contested by young people of the city.
Heritage walks and the old city
- On the programme: recent editions have included heritage walks past the carved Rampuria havelis and the Bhandasar Jain temple.
- Our way: if the official walk is crowded, our own guides walk the same lanes with you at a quieter hour.
Evenings on the Raisar dunes
- Out of the city: the last part of the festival often moves to the dunes at Raisar, on the Jaisalmer side of Bikaner.
- What happens: camel and horse events, folk music and dance as the sun goes down, and a cultural evening that usually ends with fireworks over the sand.
The fire dance
Who dances: the Jasnathi Sidhs, a community of devotees from the villages around Bikaner.
- The dance: barefoot on a bed of glowing embers, to drums and chanting, tossing handfuls of coals into the air.
- Its meaning: a sacred tradition, not a stunt, performed in deep concentration. Watch in silence while they dance.
Local tip
Of everything on the programme, do not miss the fur cutting. Go among the camels before the judging, when the owners are relaxed and happy to show you their work.
A festival day, the way we plan it
Festival days in Bikaner start cold and end colder. The secret is to leave the middle of the day empty.
Facts to know
- Early morning
- Parade near Junagarh
- Late morning
- Decoration and fur-cutting contests
- Midday
- Lunch on a sunny terrace, rest
- Late afternoon
- Camel research centre
- Evening
- Raisar dunes, or a haveli fire
Morning, the parade
- Start early: breakfast at your hotel, then walk or drive to the route near Junagarh for the start, when the camels are fresh and the light is soft.
- A better view: our guide finds you a spot on a step or a raised verandah rather than in the crowd at the barrier.
Late morning, the contests
Follow the camels: to the arena for the decoration and fur-cutting competitions.
- Before the judging: spend time among the animals while the owners are relaxed.
- Ask first: ask before you photograph a camel up close, just as you would ask before photographing a person.
Midday, lunch and a rest
- Back to the palace: lunch in the sun on a terrace, then rest.
Afternoon, the camel research centre
Where: the National Research Centre on Camel, on the edge of the city, if the festival schedule allows.
- When: the late afternoon, when the herds come back from grazing at dusk.
- Taste it: camel milk tea and ice cream at its milk parlour. It is the best way to understand the breeds you saw dressed up in the morning.
Evening, the dunes
The dune evening: drive out to Raisar before sunset with warm layers and a blanket.
- Our arrangements: hot drinks and seating at the edge of the crowd, so you see the folk performers and the fire dance and can leave easily.
- Other evenings: dinner in a haveli courtyard with a fire is our favourite way to end the day.
Local tip
On the way back for lunch, detour for fresh Bikaneri bhujia and hot kachori from a busy stall in the old city.
The camels themselves: welfare and ethics
We love this festival, and because we love it we watch it with open eyes.
The owners: most camels here belong to herders and farmers who depend on them and treat them as family. The decoration, fur art and grooming are expressions of real pride.
The honest part: it is still an event built around working animals in crowds and noise, and not every handler is gentle.
- The nose peg: camels are steered with a rope through a nose peg, traditional across the desert, which can be harsh if pulled hard.
- Who we spend time with: owners who obviously care for their animals. We skip the events that make us uncomfortable.
- No forced poses: we never pay for photographs with a camel forced into a pose.
- Riding: we arrange gentle rides and longer camel safaris with owners we know, never on a festival day when the animals are already tired.
- How we choose: our page on ethical animal encounters explains who we work with.
- What helps most: valuing the camel. Buying camel milk products, choosing safaris with herders who are paid fairly and visiting the research centre all keep the animals worth keeping.
Manners at the festival
Bikaner is friendly, curious and proud. A little courtesy goes a long way.
Ask before photographing: people and camels alike. Herders who have spent a week on a camel's coat are usually delighted to be asked, and many will pose with real pride.
Mind the back legs: keep a respectful distance. A camel can kick forwards and sideways, and a startled one moves fast.
- Don't feed them: unless the owner offers. Some are on careful diets before the contests.
- The fire dance: watch in silence and don't step close to the embers. It is a devotional performance.
- Dress warmly and modestly: women will be comfortable in long sleeves and a shawl, which you will need for the cold anyway.
- Expect to be photographed: visitors from abroad are part of the spectacle for many people, and a smile and a selfie are the price of admission.
- Keep your bag closed: especially in the crowds near the parade route.
Where to stay for the Camel Festival
Bikaner has palace hotels of real character and far fewer rooms than Jaipur or Udaipur. In festival week they fill fast.
Book early: as early as you can tell us, ideally four to six months ahead, and earlier for a particular suite.
Facts to know
- Book rooms
- Four to six months ahead
- Earlier for
- A particular suite
- Busy all month
- Weddings, Christmas and New Year
- Grandest
- Laxmi Niwas Palace
- In the old city
- Bhanwar Niwas
- A tight month: January also brings winter weddings and the Christmas and New Year crowds in its first days.
- Compare them: our guide to luxury hotels in Bikaner covers every option.
Laxmi Niwas Palace
- What it is: part of the great Lalgarh complex built for Maharaja Ganga Singh, and the grandest stay in Bikaner.
- Its character: carved red sandstone courtyards and period rooms at Laxmi Niwas Palace. Its terraces are wonderful in the January sun.
Narendra Bhawan
- What it is: the former home of Maharaja Narendra Singh, the last maharaja of Bikaner.
- Its character: Narendra Bhawan is a stylish boutique hotel with a strong personality and a rooftop pool, for guests who like design and a younger mood.
Bhanwar Niwas, in the old city
- What it is: Bhanwar Niwas, a Rampuria merchant haveli with painted rooms and a courtyard.
- Why choose it: it is a short walk from the lanes of the old city, right in the middle of Bikaner during the festival.
Gajner, by the lake
- What it is: the old royal hunting lodge on a lake in the scrub west of the city, now a heritage hotel.
- The trade-off: about forty-five minutes from the centre, a little far for the parade but lovely for a quiet day after the festival.
Bikaner between the festival events
The festival fills a day or two. Bikaner deserves the rest of your time, and festival week shows the city at its liveliest.
Junagarh in the first hour
The fort: built between 1589 and 1594 on flat ground, not a hill.
- Why its rooms are so rich: the fort was never looted, so its palace interiors are among the finest in Rajasthan.
- How to see it: go as it opens, before the festival crowds, with a guide who can show you the gold-leaf work of Anup Mahal and the First World War biplane in the Ganga Mahal museum.
The old city and its havelis
The houses: merchant homes carved in red sandstone fill the lanes inside the old walls, above all the Rampuria havelis.
- When to walk: in the late afternoon light, with a guide, stopping for hot bhujia, rasgullas and chai.
- In festival week: the old city has a holiday feeling, with families in their best clothes.
Bhandasar Jain temple
- The story: Bikaner people will tell you the merchant who built it had ghee mixed into the mortar instead of water.
- Inside: a painted interior that is one of the treasures of the city, and calm even in festival week.
Lalgarh Palace
- The palace: red sandstone, begun in 1896 for Maharaja Ganga Singh.
- The museum: photographs and trophies that tell the story of modern Bikaner. Our Lalgarh Palace guide has the details.
Devi Kund Sagar at sunset
- What it is: the royal cenotaphs of the Bikaner rulers, beside a tank east of the city.
- Why go: after a loud festival day, an hour here at sunset is the perfect quiet ending.
Journeys that fit the Camel Festival
Bikaner is the northern corner of the desert triangle, and January is one of the finest months to travel the Thar.
The desert triangle
- The route: our desert triangle journey links Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, and the festival slots in at the start or end.
- Two festivals: Jaisalmer's Desert Festival usually falls around the full moon of Magh, in February, so in some years you can catch both on one journey.
Karni Mata and Deshnoke
- The temple: Karni Mata at Deshnoke, about thirty kilometres south of Bikaner, is famous for its sacred rats.
- When: early in the morning, on a day without festival events.
Nagaur and its cattle fair
The town: Nagaur lies between Bikaner and Jodhpur.
- The fair: its great cattle fair falls in Magh, usually in late January or February.
- A remarkable pair: in a year when the dates line up, you see one a festival and the other a working market of the desert.
Shekhawati on the road east
- Where: the painted towns of Shekhawati lie about four hours east of Bikaner, on the way back to Jaipur or Delhi.
- In January: cold nights in their havelis and crisp, empty mornings in the lanes.
Winter birding
- Jorbeer: the vulture and raptor gatherings near Bikaner are at their best in winter.
- Tal Chhapar: the grasslands of Tal Chhapar, with their blackbuck, lie a few hours east. Birders can fold both into a festival trip.
What we tell friends before they go
Bikaner is easy to love and easy to get cold in.
Pack for two seasons: sunshine at noon and near-freezing evenings on the dunes.
Hotel first: book it before anything else. Rooms run out long before flights do.
- Junagarh on a quiet morning: see it on a morning without parade events, when the fort is calmer.
- Bhujia to take home: buy it from a busy shop where it is made fresh, and carry it home in a sealed tin.
- Bikaner's own craft: look for usta work, the raised gold-leaf painting on camel-hide lamps and bottles.
- Desert time: accept that the programme will run late. Desert festivals keep their own time.
Local tip
Give Bikaner three nights: one for the festival, one for Junagarh and the old city, and one for Deshnoke and the camel research centre.