Camel Festival, Bikaner, Rajasthan

Camel Festival, Bikaner: Camel Festival is organized each year in January month by the state government with camel races, various cultural events and a fire dance performed by the Sidh people. 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. 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.

Bikaner camel festival has a historical significance. The camels were very important when there were no motor vehicles. At that time the camels were an important part of the transport in the city of Bikaner. Camel festival is organized by the Art and craft Department of Rajasthan Tourism with an intention of attracting more and more tourists to this city which is famous for its camels. The camels of Rajasthan were famous for their endurance as well as their strength and beauty. Today, even when cars have taken away much of pressure from our Ship of Desert of Rajasthan, camels continue to hold their place intact.