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Bikaner Camel Festival is organized in the beautiful city of Bikaner, Rajasthan by the state’s Tourism Department. The desert town of Bikaner is located in the Northern part of Rajasthan. The festival is organized every year in the month of January or late December to emphasize the value of ship of the desert – “Camel“. The two day festival is marked by different interesting activities.
Bikaner Camel Festival: 2024 Date
- 2024: 12th January (Friday) – 14th January (Sunday)
The History
The camels of Bikaner region are renowned for their strength, endurance and beauty. The camel has always been an integral part of Bikaner, and this can gauged by the fact that the Bikaner army had a Camel Corp called “Ganga Risala” which took part in both the World Wars and as well as in conflicts in Somaliland, Egypt and China. “Ganga Risala” was the predecessor of Indian Army’s camel unit “Ganga JaisalmerRisala” which saw action in Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, and was later disbanded in the year 1975. The camel is still utilized by the Border Security Force’s Bikaner Camel Corp for patrolling the long international border which Rajasthan shares with Pakistan and remains a star attraction at Republic Day Parade.
The Bikaner Camel Festival
The Festival is a two-day affair the dates for Bikaner Camel Festival this year were the 13th and 15th January. This festival which fervently celebrates the “ship of the desert” is cheered on by thousands of locals and tourists, as it brings to the fore not only the special relation people of this region have with this sturdy animal, but also promotes camel breeding and the age old tradition of camel taming and training.
Day 1:
Bikaner Camel Festival 2024 The festival starts with a procession of camel festival adorned beautifully in traditional necklaces and anklets, Camel Fair Bikaner and vibrantly colored bridles. This colorful parade starts from the magnificent Junagarh Fort and ends at the Dr. Karni Singh Stadium. It is upon reaching the open ground that the Camel Festival begins in earnest. The camel pageant is held, with camel owners showing off their majestic camels decked up to the brim. There are also competitions for camel milking and the best fur cutting design. But it is the dancing competition that is the most eagerly awaited. The audience is left spellbound by the jingling of anklets to rhythm of music, as the day ends with cultural performance by the local artists.
Day 2:
There are also number of competitions for both the tourists and the locals. These competitions include tug of war for both males and females, and the water pot race for women. There is also the Turban tying competition for tourists from other countries,not forget the villagers wrestling competition and a kabbadi display match. Like the previous day, this is followed by an evening of cultural programs where the audiences are bewitched by the colorful swirling skirts and the music. A dazzling display of fireworks brings the Bikaner Camel Festival to a close.
This festival starts off with a magnificent procession of bedecked camels against the red sandstone backdrop of the Junagarh Fort (1588-1593) in the town.
Junagarh Fort Bikaner India
It is a colorful spectacle of beautifully decorated camels that fascinates the onlookers with their charm and grace.
The festivity advances to the open sand-spreads of the Polo Grounds, followed by camel races, camel milking, fur cutting design, the best breed competition, camel acrobatics, camel bands and so on.
A sight of unusual camel activities like camel races, camel dances, and the bumpy, neck shaking camel rides highly fascinates the viewers. The camels display amazing footwork, dancing gracefully to the slightest direction of their riders.
Their displays and competitions accompany the color, music and rhythm unique to a fair in Rajasthan. The jubilant skirt swirling dancers, the awe-inspiring fire dance and the dazzling fireworks light up the fortified Desert City. The festivities reach to the peak with a different tenor as the renowned artists display a medley of folk dances and songs. Finally, the festival concludes on a fine note by magnificent display of sparkling fireworks which illuminates the desert city of Bikaner.
Bikaner Weather:
Bikaner is one of the most visited cities in the state of Rajasthan. City is situated at an altitude of 228 meters. Summers are quite warm here with highest temperature recorded being as high as 49º C usual temperature during summers is still very high and is about 43º C. Winters provide a very pleasant climate with lowest temperature being 8º C. Best time to visit Bikaner is during the months of October to February.
