Plan your trip · Bikaner

What's on in Bikaner

Upcoming festivals, fairs and events in Bikaner — plan your visit around them, then check the best time to visit.

Nothing dated is confirmed for Bikaner right now, so here is the year instead — the fixtures that come round annually, and what each one means for a visit.

The year in Bikaner

Bikaner packs most of its outdoor calendar into the cooler months; the pre-monsoon peak is hot enough that daytime processions are genuinely hard going. Broadly, Oct – Mar is when visiting is most comfortable here, and that is when the calendar is busiest — which also means accommodation is most expensive and books furthest ahead.

Most of these follow lunar calendars and move by weeks from year to year, so treat the windows below as the season rather than the date, and confirm the year’s dates before you book around one.

Signature to Bikaner

Camel Festival

🗓️ January

Two days of camel parades, races and fur-cutting displays.

Planning: Cold mornings in the desert — bring layers.

Across Rajasthan

Desert and camel fairs

🗓️ October–February

Livestock fairs that became festivals — Pushkar in autumn, Bikaner's camel festival and Jaisalmer's desert festival in winter.

Planning: This is peak season; rooms are booked months out and prices double.

Teej and Gangaur

🗓️ July–August and March–April

Processions of decorated idols through the old cities, especially Jaipur and Udaipur.

Planning: Good street photography, heavy crowds in the old-city lanes.

Nationwide

Diwali

🗓️ October–November

The biggest holiday of the year — lamps, sweets, fireworks and a week of visiting family. Cities are lit up and markets stay open late.

Holi

🗓️ March

Coloured powder and water, thrown at anyone within reach, mostly through the morning.

Navratri and Dussehra

🗓️ September–October

Nine nights of fasting, music and dance, ending with Dussehra. What it looks like changes completely by region — garba in Gujarat, pandals in Bengal, processions in the south.

Eid al-Fitr

🗓️ shifts ~11 days earlier each year

The end of Ramadan. The old quarters of Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bhopal are at their best in the evenings through the preceding month, when food streets run past midnight.

Makar Sankranti and Pongal

🗓️ mid-January

The harvest turn, marked with kites in the west and north and four days of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.

Bikaner's biggest event is the Camel Festival in January, organised by Rajasthan Tourism. Over a few days, decorated camels parade through the city, and there are camel races, camel dances, fur-cutting displays and folk music, with events held around Junagarh Fort, the Dr Karni Singh Stadium and nearby sand dunes. Gangaur in March–April is also celebrated with processions in the old city.

Outside the city, the Karni Mata Temple at Deshnoke holds two large fairs during the Navratri festivals, and the Kolayat fair, about 50 km away, draws pilgrims and camel traders on Kartik Purnima in October–November. Festival dates follow the Hindu calendar and change each year, so check the dates and book early if you plan your trip around an event.

Tips for Attending Events & Festivals in Bikaner

Book rooms early for the Camel Festival, as the city fills up fast.
Bring warm layers for January evenings, which get cold in the desert.
Arrive early at festival venues for a good view of the parades.
Carry a scarf and sunglasses for dust at the camel events.
Expect heavy crowds and road traffic at Deshnoke during Navratri.
Keep your phone and bag secure in crowded areas.

Questions

Bikaner — FAQ

What happens at the Bikaner Camel Festival?

The festival includes a procession of decorated camels, camel races, camel dance and decoration competitions, fur-cutting displays, folk music and dance, and rural games such as tug of war. Events are spread across several venues in and around the city.

Is the Bikaner Camel Festival free to attend?

Most of the public events and parades are open to everyone. Check the Rajasthan Tourism programme for the year, as venues and timings change.

How is Gangaur celebrated in Bikaner?

Gangaur honours the goddess Gauri (Parvati) and runs for about 18 days after Holi, in March–April. Women dress in their finest clothes and carry decorated idols of Gauri through the old city in processions.

What is the Kolayat fair?

The Kolayat fair is held on Kartik Purnima, usually in November, at Kolayat, about 50 km from Bikaner. Pilgrims bathe in the holy lake linked to the sage Kapil Muni, and a large camel and cattle fair runs alongside.