Camel Festival, Bikaner, Rajasthan India

The Bikaner Camel Festival is an event organized by the Department of Tourism, Art and Culture, of Bikaner, Government of Rajasthan. It takes place every year in the month of January. At this festival the "ships of the desert" are seen at their best. Some spectacular and unusual camel performances like camel races, camel dances, and the bumpy, neck shaking camel rides take place at this event.

The Bikaner Camel Festival starts with a procession of bedecked camels from the Junagarh fort. The camels are decorated in typical Rajasthani attires, colorful bridles and saddles. The festival takes place over two days.

Camel dance performances also take place. Competitions take place for the best decorated camel, fur cutting design, camel milking and the best camel hair cut. The camels display splendid footwork and dance gracefully to the direction of their drivers. Tea and sweets made of camels' milk are available during the festival.
 

On the second day of the festival the fleetest camels of the region take part in races. The competition is fierce as the best camels compete for the prizes, which is of great honor. Thousands of excited tourists join the local population to watch the events and cheer on their favorites.
 

On both evenings the festival ends with a performance by the renowned folk singers and dancers of Rajasthan. The jubilant dances swirling the ghagras, the awe inspiring fire dances and many other interesting and enthusiastic performances entertain visitors. In the grand finale a magnificent display of fireworks takes place which illuminate the desert city of Bikaner.
        The 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.