The festival at a glance
What it is: the region's own festival, organised by the state, with folk music, camel and horse events, village sports, craft fairs and haveli walks.
What it is not: a big desert spectacle like Pushkar or the Jaisalmer Desert Festival. It is low-key, and all the better for it.
- Season
- Late winter
- Recent dates
- 22-23 March 2025
- Usual length
- About two days
- Main town
- Nawalgarh
- Organiser
- Rajasthan Tourism with the districts
- Good for
- Repeat visitors, families, photographers
- The real draw: the setting. Shekhawati's towns hold hundreds of merchant havelis painted inside and out between about 1830 and 1930.
- The catch: the dates move, and have been held in February in many years and in March in recent ones.
- Read first: our Shekhawati guide for the region and its towns.
The land of Rao Shekha
The founder: Rao Shekha, a chief of a junior branch of the Kachwaha clan of Amer, carved out his own territory north-west of the Kachwaha heartland in the fifteenth century.
The Shekhawats: his descendants spread slowly across the sandy plains, often taking land from the Kaimkhani nawabs, a Muslim Rajput family who held Jhunjhunu and Fatehpur.
- Named after
- Rao Shekha, a 15th-century Kachwaha chief
- Districts
- Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Churu
- Painting peak
- Roughly 1830 to 1930
- Largest estates
- Sikar and Khetri
- Fatehpur: founded by the Kaimkhanis in the mid-fifteenth century, it was taken by the Shekhawats in the early eighteenth.
- The thikanas: the land was divided among brothers and cousins into estates held by thakurs. Nawalgarh, Mandawa, Dundlod, Mukundgarh and Bissau each had a fort of its own.
- Loose loyalty: all of them owed allegiance to the maharajas of Jaipur, and their thakurs married into the great families of Rajasthan.
- Churu: to the north-west, Churu belonged to Bikaner, which is why historians use Shekhawati today for the whole painted region across three districts.
- Read more: our guide to the Rajput dynasties shows how these branches fit together.
Why the towns are painted
The towns lay on caravan routes between the ports of Gujarat and the cities of the north. The thakurs offered protection and low taxes, and merchant families settled under their forts. When the trade moved to the British ports, the Marwari families followed it, grew rich and sent the money home to build and paint.
What they built: havelis around courtyards, with an outer court for men and business and an inner court for the women of the family.
- What they painted: gods and epics, Krishna and the gopis, local legends, processions, and later trains, cars, bicycles, aeroplanes and Europeans in hats.
- The technique: the earliest work is true fresco, painted on wet lime plaster. Later painters often worked on dry walls, and chemical colours replaced natural ones.
- Why so much survives: most owners lived far away and came back only for weddings and festivals.
- Why so much is fading: the same absence. Many havelis are locked, looked after by caretakers, or slowly crumbling.
- Learn to read them: our painted havelis page and the journal on Shekhawati frescoes explain the scenes.
How to read a painted wall
Start at the gate: the main entrance was the family's public face, often painted with Ganesh above the door for good fortune.
Then the facade: horses, elephants, processions and soldiers marching along the upper walls, the grandest show for the street.
- Earliest work
- True fresco on wet lime
- Later work
- Painted on dry plaster
- Favourite themes
- Krishna, the Ramayana, Dhola and Maru
- Look up
- Ceilings, brackets and arches
- Inside the outer court: gods and epics, from Krishna dancing with the gopis to battle scenes from the Ramayana.
- Desert lovers: look for Dhola and Maru, the prince and princess of a beloved Rajasthani ballad, often shown riding away together on a camel.
- The modern world: trains, cars, bicycles, gramophones and Europeans in top hats, painted as the merchants saw them in Calcutta and Bombay.
- Ceilings and brackets: the finest and best-preserved work is often overhead, out of reach of sun and hands.
- Colour as a clock: soft natural earth tones usually mean earlier work, brighter chemical blues and greens a later date.
When the festival falls
Recent history: held in February in many years, the festival has moved to March in recent ones. The 2025 edition ran on 22 and 23 March.
Why it moves: the dates are set by the state each year, around other events and the lunar festivals of the season.
- Usual season
- February or March
- 2025 edition
- 22 and 23 March
- Set by
- The state, each year
- Weather
- Warm days, cool nights
- Mustard in flower
- Around February
- How we plan: we confirm the dates each year as soon as they are announced, and never ask you to book flights until we have.
- February: the most comfortable weather of the year, with mustard in flower and long sunny days.
- March: warmer days, often in the low thirties Celsius by the end of the month, and Holi with the spring full moon.
- Nights: cool in February and pleasant in March. December and January nights are cold, but the festival is not held then.
- Month guides: Rajasthan in February and Rajasthan in March.
What happens at the festival
Folk music and dance
Who performs: folk musicians and dancers from Shekhawati and across Rajasthan.
- Look for kachhi ghodi: dancers on dummy horses staging mock battles and comic heroics, one of the region's best-loved dances.
- Also: Ghoomar, Kalbelia dancers and the desert songs of Manganiyar and Langa musicians.
Camel and horse events
What: camel and horse races and displays on open ground at the edge of town.
- Why here: Shekhawati sits at the edge of the Thar, and camels and horses still matter in its villages.
- Watch the animals: the best handlers work quietly, and their animals are calm.
Village sports
- What: kabaddi, tug of war and other rural games, with village teams competing hard.
- Visitors: sometimes invited to make up a team. Say yes.
Craft fairs
- What: stalls of regional crafts: textiles, lac bangles, pottery, wooden toys and painted objects.
- Buy from makers: pay fairly and bargain gently.
Haveli walks
- What: guided walks through the painted lanes of Nawalgarh and nearby towns.
- Our advice: if the official walk is crowded, our own guides walk the same lanes with you at a quieter hour.
Contests for visitors
- What: turban tying, mehndi and similar light-hearted contests have featured in past programmes.
- Practise first: our team will happily show you how to tie a safa before the clock starts.
Nawalgarh, the festival's home
The town: a former thikana of the Shekhawats with a fort of its own, and lanes of merchant havelis around it.
Podar Haveli Museum: a restored merchant house with painted courtyards, the easiest place to understand a Shekhawati haveli as a home.
- Morarka Haveli: another of the town's restored havelis, with fine painting in its courtyards.
- Painted wells and temples: Shekhawati merchants also paid for wells, temples and cenotaphs, many of them painted.
- At festival time: stages, stalls and events fill the town, and families come in from the villages.
- Read more: our Nawalgarh page.
The painted towns around the festival
Mandawa, the best-known
- Why go: the most visited painted town, with a castle hotel at its heart and busy lanes of havelis.
- At festival time: an easy base, a short drive from Nawalgarh.
Fatehpur, the oldest
- Why go: the Kaimkhani town of the fifteenth century, with some of the finest painted havelis in the region.
- Look for: the Le Prince haveli, restored by a French artist as a cultural centre.
Alsisar, the quiet one
- Why go: a small village with a fort hotel and calm lanes.
- A note: the Magnetic Fields music festival held at Alsisar for a decade has since moved on.
Churu, on the dunes
- Why go: the Bikaner side of the painted country, with grand havelis such as the Surana haveli.
- Don't miss: the Sethani ka Johara, a stepped reservoir outside town, at sunset.
Mahansar, Ramgarh and Dundlod
- Why go: smaller towns with exceptional painting, cenotaphs and very few visitors.
- How: with a guide who knows which caretakers hold the keys.
Life at the edge of the Thar
The fields: mustard, gram and wheat in winter, millet after the rains. In February the mustard turns whole horizons yellow.
The khejri tree: the hardy desert tree whose pods become sangri, and whose shade marks every field.
- Water: wells with tall pillars and small domes, and joharas, stepped reservoirs built by merchants to catch the rains, such as the Sethani ka Johara near Churu.
- Chhatris: domed cenotaphs, many of them painted inside, built by families in memory of their dead.
- Seasons: cold nights in December and January, gentle late winters, and summers among the hottest in India.
- Village life: women in bright odhnis at the wells, camel carts on the roads and men gathering at the chaupal in the evening.
A festival day, the way we plan it
Early morning, the lanes
- Walk before breakfast: the lanes are empty, the light is soft on the painted walls and the town is washing its doorsteps.
- With a guide: who knows which havelis are open and which families welcome visitors.
Mid-morning, the festival
- Follow the programme: village sports, craft fairs or camel and horse events, depending on the day.
- Stay mobile: our driver moves you between venues in different towns.
Lunch and rest
- Back at your haveli: a long lunch in the courtyard and a rest through the warm afternoon.
Late afternoon, a second town
- Fatehpur or Mahansar: when the low sun lights the painted facades.
- Or the fields: a walk through yellow mustard with a farming family.
Evening, music
- The programme: the evening's folk performances, if there are any on your day.
- Or dinner on the roof: at your haveli, with the town's lights below.
Good manners in the painted towns
Ask before entering: many havelis are homes. Some are museums, and others are kept by caretakers who will show you round for a small tip.
Don't touch the walls: two-hundred-year-old paint is fragile. Point, don't touch.
- No flash: it fades pigments over time, and caretakers rightly ask you not to use it.
- Ask before photographing people: in the lanes, at the sports and in the crowds.
- Temples: shoes off and shoulders covered.
- Dress: light, modest clothes, with a layer for the evening in February.
- Our guides know the families: they know which doors welcome visitors and which do not, and that is half their value.
- Tip the caretakers: a small, fair tip for opening a locked haveli is expected and helps keep the building cared for.
Where to stay for the festival
- Book
- Two to three months ahead
- Busiest weeks
- Festival weeks, Holi and Christmas
- Nights we suggest
- Two or three
- Style
- Family forts and havelis
Castle Mandawa
- What: Castle Mandawa, a long-established castle hotel at the heart of Mandawa.
- For the festival: a short drive from Nawalgarh.
Roop Niwas Kothi, Nawalgarh
- What: a long-established heritage hotel in Nawalgarh itself.
- For the festival: puts you in the festival's home town.
Alsisar Mahal
- What: a fort hotel in the quiet village of Alsisar.
- For the festival: calm nights, and a drive to the events by day.
Piramal Haveli, Bagar
- What: a calm, beautifully kept merchant house in the village of Bagar.
- For the festival: a peaceful base for guests who want a haveli, not a hotel.
Photographing the festival and the towns
Facades in side light: early morning or late afternoon brings out the relief of the paintings without the glare of midday.
Interiors: carry a small torch and steady your camera on a wall. Flash is not allowed and fades old pigments.
- Festival events: the camel and horse displays move fast, so find a place at the edge of the ground early.
- Mustard fields: go at golden hour with a farming family we know, and ask before walking into a field.
- Read more: our photography tips for Rajasthan cover light and etiquette.
What to eat in Shekhawati
Bajra roti: pearl millet bread, eaten hot with ghee and jaggery, or with garlic chutney.
Ker sangri: the desert's famous dish of dried wild berries and beans, sharp, savoury and very local.
- Kadhi and pakoras: gram flour simmered with buttermilk, a lunchtime staple.
- Sweets of the merchant towns: the Marwari families' love of sweets shows in every bazaar.
- Winter greens: in late winter, mustard leaves and fresh gram appear in village kitchens, cooked simply with ghee and spices.
- Where to eat: we plan most meals at your haveli, where the family kitchen cooks properly. Our Rajasthani food guide has the dishes.
Other festivals of the season
Holi and gindad: in the weeks before Holi, men gather in the squares at night for gindad, a circle dance with sticks to the chang frame drum. See Holi in Rajasthan.
Gangaur: about two weeks after Holi, girls carry clay images of the goddess through the lanes, singing. See Gangaur.
- Khatu Shyam ji: the great fair at this pilgrimage temple near Sikar falls in Phalgun, and fills the roads with walking pilgrims.
- Salasar Balaji: one of north India's busiest temples, in Churu district, with crowded fair days.
- Our advice: these fairs are beautiful to witness, but we plan drives around them.
- Further afield: the Desert Festival at Jaisalmer and the Bikaner Camel Festival fall earlier in the winter.
Getting there and around
From Jaipur: we like to stop on the way at Samode, whose palace is itself a painted jewel.
- From Jaipur
- About 3.5 to 4 hours to Mandawa
- From Delhi
- About five to six hours
- To Bikaner
- About four hours further west
- Between towns
- Usually under an hour
- A private car is essential: the towns are close together, but public transport between festival venues is slow.
- Onwards: Bikaner is about four hours west, and Delhi five to six hours east.
- Planning drives: our guide to getting around Rajasthan explains how we time them.
What most visitors miss
Painted interiors: the outer facades fade fastest. The inner courts and upstairs rooms often hold the best-preserved work.
The smaller towns: Mahansar, Ramgarh and Dundlod have exceptional painting and almost no visitors.
- Painted cenotaphs: at Ramgarh and elsewhere, the domes of the chhatris are painted inside with scenes of gods and court life.
- Morning rituals: the lanes at dawn, when doorsteps are washed and temple bells ring, before the festival wakes up.
- A conversation with a caretaker: many have looked after the same haveli for decades and know its stories better than any book.
Journeys that include the festival
The painted towns: our four-night painted towns of Shekhawati journey is the easiest way in, and it can be timed to the festival.
The havelis trail: the region anchors our longer heritage havelis trail, which continues to Bikaner and beyond.
- With Holi: in a March year, the festival and Holi can fall close together. Our Holi in Rajasthan journey can include both.
- With the desert: continue west to Bikaner and the desert triangle.
- With birds: the blackbuck grasslands of Tal Chhapar lie within reach of Churu.
Who will love it
Repeat visitors: if you have seen the great cities, Shekhawati in festival week shows village Rajasthan at play.
Art lovers: the festival is a cheerful excuse to spend three days among the painted walls.
- Families: children enjoy the sports, the camels and the contests.
- Photographers: painted facades, yellow fields and folk dancers in the lanes.
- Slow travellers: anyone happy to wander, sit in a courtyard and let a town reveal itself over two or three days.
- Less suited to: guests who want grand palace hotels, or a large festival with seating and a fixed programme.
- If the dates don't work: the painted towns are wonderful any time from October to March.
Before you go
Confirm the dates with us: the festival has moved between February and March in recent years.
Stay at least two nights: one town is not Shekhawati.
- Pack: a light jacket for the evenings, good walking shoes and a scarf for the dust.
- Expect a loose programme: events start late and change venue. Our team checks each morning, so you are in the right town at the right time.
- Carry small notes: for caretakers' tips, tea and crafts.
- Bring a small torch: some haveli interiors are dark, and the paintings reward a closer look.
- Don't confuse festivals: the Magnetic Fields music festival is no longer held at Alsisar; check its own announcements if music is your reason for coming.