Forts, palaces and temples
- Junagarh
- Opening time, two to three hours
- Deshnoke
- First light
- Lalgarh
- Early afternoon museum, sunset tea
- Bhandasar
- Late afternoon
- Devi Kund Sagar
- Late afternoon
Walk Junagarh's painted palaces at opening time
Why: built for Raja Rai Singh between 1589 and 1594, it holds some of the richest palace rooms in Rajasthan.
- The rooms: the gold-leaf Anup Mahal, the mirrored Phool Mahal and the Badal Mahal, painted with clouds and rain.
- When and how: arrive when the gates open, with a good guide, and give it two to three hours. The light is softer, the rooms quieter and the stone still cool.
- Don't miss: ask your guide to stop at the sati handprints on Daulat Pol, which most visitors walk past.
Visit Karni Mata at Deshnoke at dawn
Why: about 30 kilometres south, the temple shelters around 20,000 sacred rats, the kabas, believed to be the goddess's family.
When: at first light, when local devotees outnumber visitors.
- How: enter barefoot in a pair of old socks and move slowly.
- Look for: the silver doors with their embossed scenes, and a rare white kaba near the sanctum.
- Afterwards: sit in the square with a glass of hot milk.
Take tea at Lalgarh as the stone turns pink
Why: Ganga Singh's red sandstone palace, designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob and finished in 1926, marries Rajput pavilions and an Edwardian country house.
- Early afternoon: the Shri Sadul Museum, for its photographs of royal Bikaner.
- Then: tea on a terrace while the carved screens glow rose in the last hour before sunset.
Find the gold inside Bhandasar Jain temple
What: a three-storey temple in the old city, dedicated to Sumatinatha, the fifth Tirthankara.
- Outside and in: red and yellow stone outside, paintings, mirror work and gold leaf within.
- The story: Bikaner people love telling that its merchant builder, Bhanda Shah, used ghee instead of water in the mortar.
- How: remove leather items, dress modestly and go in the late afternoon, when the lanes around it are at their best.
See where the city began at the Lakshminath temple
What: one of Bikaner's oldest Hindu temples, near the site of Rao Bika's first fort, the citadel before Junagarh.
- Its life: a living temple, busy at the times of worship.
- Why: it gives you the city's story at its very beginning.
- Combine it: with Bhandasar, which stands close by.
Watch the sun set over the royal chhatris of Devi Kund Sagar
What: east of the city, the cremation ground of the Bikaner rulers, a quiet complex of chhatris, domed memorial pavilions, beside a tank.
- Look for: carving in red sandstone and marble, and several painted ceilings.
- When: late afternoon, when it is almost always empty, with peacocks on the walls and the stone warming in the low sun.
- Why: one of the most peaceful places in Bikaner.
Browse the Ganga Government Museum
What: the city's government museum, founded by Maharaja Ganga Singh.
- The collection: sculpture, terracottas, coins, miniature paintings and objects from the Bikaner region, including finds from early sites in the north of the state.
- When: a good hour in the heat of the day. It is modest and old-fashioned, which is part of its charm.
- How: our guides pick out the highlights so you don't drift.
The old city, its havelis and bazaars
Walk the Rampuria havelis in the late afternoon
Who built them: the Rampuria family, Jain merchants who made fortunes in Kolkata, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The facades: carved with balconies, screens, flowers and figures.
- Inside: some mix Rajput painting with European tiles and chandeliers, and our guides know which families welcome visitors.
- When: from about an hour before sunset, when the low light picks out every leaf of carving.
- Across Rajasthan: our page on painted havelis explains how merchant families built.
Lose yourself in the bazaar behind Kote Gate
What: the main bazaar of the old city, a crowded tangle of grain, spices, cloth, brass, bangles and, everywhere, bhujia.
- Its character: noisy and real rather than pretty.
- How: with a guide who grew up here, stopping wherever something catches your eye and letting the lanes lead you to the havelis.
Meet an usta artist
What: usta art, Bikaner's signature craft of raised gold-leaf painting, named after the families who worked for the royal court.
- Where you see it: on lamps, bottles and boxes of camel hide, and on walls and ceilings.
- How we do it: we take you to watch artists in their own workshops, not to commission showrooms, and you buy only if you want to.
- Choosing makers: our page on crafts of Rajasthan explains how.
Look for desert wool, carpets and durries
Why: Bikaner has long been one of the great wool markets of the Thar, trading the fleece of desert sheep.
- What to look for: hand-knotted carpets, flat-woven durries and warm wool shawls.
- How: buy from established makers and ask how a piece was made. Our shopping guide explains how to judge quality and pay a fair price.
Cycle the old city at dawn
Why: before the traffic wakes, the lanes belong to milkmen, temple bells and sweepers.
- How: a slow guided ride on a good bicycle, stopping for tea and a kachori, through havelis and squares in soft early light.
- Back in time: you return to your hotel before the heat.
- More: our page on cycling the old cities at dawn.
Photograph the lanes in the long light
When: late afternoon. The carved facades were made for the low sun, when every bracket and screen throws a sharp shadow.
- Etiquette: ask before photographing people, especially women and anyone at prayer.
- Patience: be patient in the narrow lanes, where motorbikes appear from nowhere.
- More: our photography tips for Rajasthan cover light, lenses and etiquette.
Eating your way through Bikaner
- Bhujia
- Fresh from the pan, GI tagged
- Breakfast
- Kachori, puri, jalebi, rasgulla
- Camel milk tea
- At the research centre
- Royal dish
- Laal maas
Taste bhujia fresh from the pan
What: crisp strands of moth bean and gram flour dough, fried and spiced with black pepper.
- Protected: a Geographical Indication tag means only bhujia made in the Bikaner region may use the name.
- Where: in the old city it is made in small workshops and sold by weight.
- How: at a busy shop where it is being made, tasting the spice blends side by side. Buy a sealed tin to take home.
Start the day with kachori, puri and a rasgulla
Serious breakfasts: spiced kachoris, puris with potato curry and jalebis hot from the oil, from early morning.
- The pride of the city: rasgullas, soft cheese balls in light syrup.
- Where: Chhotu Motu Joshi near the station is the best-known name, with queues from early in the day.
- The full list: our food of Bikaner guide.
Drink camel milk tea at the research centre
What: the milk parlour at the National Research Centre on Camel serves camel milk, camel milk tea and ice cream.
- The taste: gently salty and slightly sweet, and far more pleasant than most guests expect.
- When: late afternoon, as the herds come home.
Learn to cook in a Bikaner home
What: cooking sessions with Bikaner families, in a haveli courtyard or a family kitchen.
- The dishes: ker sangri, the dried berries and beans of the Thar, kadhi and bajra roti.
- The best part: eating what you made. Our page on a haveli cooking class explains how it works.
Dine like a court in a palace hotel
- What: Rajput dishes in grand dining rooms, from laal maas, the red mutton curry of Marwar, to delicate royal sweets.
- Where: the carved courtyard of Laxmi Niwas Palace, the stone lit warmly around you, one of the great evenings of the desert.
Camels, birds and the open desert
- Camel centre
- Founded 1984, herds home late afternoon
- Jorbeer
- Vultures, best in winter mornings
- Gajner
- About 30 km west, lake and sanctuary
- Tal Chhapar
- Blackbuck grasslands to the east
- Stargazing
- Clear winter nights
Watch the herds come home at the camel research centre
What: the National Research Centre on Camel, established in 1984, studies and breeds India's camels on the edge of the city.
When: late afternoon, when hundreds of animals return from grazing.
- The breeds: the tall Bikaneri, the lighter Jaisalmeri and the Kachchhi of Gujarat.
- Also: a small museum, the milk parlour and calves to watch. Children love it.
- Their story: our journal piece on the camels of Rajasthan.
Ride out into the dunes at sunset
What: gentle camel rides and longer camel safaris in the desert around Bikaner, with owners we know and trust to care for their animals.
- For most guests: short rides at sunset.
- For the adventurous: a half-day ride with a picnic.
- Rather not ride: a camel cart is a slower, gentler way to cross the sand.
Look for vultures at Jorbeer in winter
Why: the carcass dump outside the city is one of the best places in India to see vultures.
- In winter: resident Egyptian vultures are joined by migrant Eurasian griffons, Himalayan griffons and cinereous vultures, with steppe eagles in numbers.
- Be warned: it is not pretty and it does smell, but serious birders count it among the great sights of the Thar.
- How: early morning, with binoculars and a naturalist.
Spend a morning at Gajner
Where: about 30 kilometres west, the old royal lodge beside a lake in a protected woodland.
- Its history: once the hunting reserve of the maharajas, turned into a wildlife sanctuary by Maharaja Karni Singh.
- Wildlife: blackbuck, chinkara, nilgai and waterbirds.
- Stay on: the palace is now a heritage hotel, so you can stay for lunch or a night.
See the blackbuck of Tal Chhapar
Where: east of Bikaner, the grasslands of Tal Chhapar.
- Wildlife: large herds of blackbuck, the spiral-horned antelope of the plains, with harriers, eagles and, in winter, demoiselle cranes in the surrounding farmland.
- How: a long day trip, or a good stop on the road towards Shekhawati and Jaipur.
- Seasons: our birding page suggests the best ones.
Lie back under the desert stars
When: a clear winter night, a short drive out of the city, when the Milky Way is bright over the dunes.
- How we set it up: blankets, a fire and hot drinks, and sometimes a telescope with someone who knows the sky.
- Darkest nights: our stargazing page explains when.
Festivals and the Bikaner year
- Camel Festival
- January
- Akha Teej
- April or May, two days
- Karni Mata Fair
- Navratri, spring and autumn
- Kolayat fair
- Full moon of Kartik, October or November
Cheer the decorated camels at the Camel Festival
When: every January.
- What: parades of decorated animals, camel dances, races, folk music and contests for the best-groomed camel and the finest moustache.
- Who loves it: it is cheerful, colourful and wonderful with children.
- Book: hotels fill early, so book well ahead.
Fly kites on Bikaner's birthday
When: Akshaya Tritiya, called Akha Teej, in April or May, when Bikaner celebrates its founding.
- What: across two days, the whole city climbs onto its rooftops to fly kites.
- What to eat: bajre ka khichda, a dish of pearl millet, with tangy tamarind water.
- Its mood: hot, joyful and almost unknown to visitors.
Join the pilgrims at the Karni Mata Fair
When: twice a year, during Navratri in spring and autumn.
- What: thousands of pilgrims walk to Deshnoke. Watching them on the road at dawn is unforgettable.
- Be aware: the temple is very crowded at these times.
See the full moon fair at Kolayat
When: the full moon of Kartik, in October or November.
- Where: the sacred lake of Kapil Sarovar at Kolayat, about 50 kilometres from the city, where a large fair grows up around the ghats and temples.
- How: go early in the morning to see the bathing and the lamps.
Bikaner after dark
Dinner in a haveli courtyard
What: private dinners in the courtyards of old merchant houses and heritage hotels, lit by lamps, with Marwari dishes.
- With music: folk musicians from the desert villages, if you like.
- Sleep in one: Bhanwar Niwas, a Rampuria haveli completed in 1927, puts you inside one of these houses.
Evening chai in the old city
- What: after dark the sweet shops and tea stalls stay busy, with families buying milk sweets and men arguing over the cricket.
- How: a short evening walk with your guide, ending with hot, sweet chai and a rasgulla, the best way to see the city at home.
Hear the music of the desert
Who: hereditary musicians from the villages of the Bikaner and Jaisalmer country.
- Their songs: desert lovers, warrior heroes and the coming of the rains.
- How we arrange it: intimate evening performances in a courtyard or on a hotel lawn, with musicians we know, rather than staged shows.
- More: our page on folk music and dance introduces the instruments and the families who play them.
Learn to tie a Bikaner turban
Why: every region ties its safa or pagri a little differently, and older men in Bikaner can tell where a stranger comes from by his headgear.
- How: an evening session with someone who ties turbans for weddings. It is great fun, and the next day's photographs are much better.
- More: our page on the art of the Rajasthani turban explains the styles and colours.
Day trips and stops on the road
Mukam, the holy place of the Bishnoi
Where: in the east of the district.
- Why: the holiest place of the Bishnoi community, where the last rites of their founder, Guru Jambheshwar, were performed.
- What you'll see: the Bishnoi protect trees and wild animals as a matter of faith, and their villages are full of tame blackbuck and chinkara.
- Their history: our page on the Bishnoi villages.
Shekhawati's painted towns
- Why: a natural route from Bikaner towards Jaipur or Delhi.
- How: best as an overnight stop rather than a rushed day trip.
Nagaur and Khimsar on the road to Jodhpur
Nagaur: south of Deshnoke, with its great fort and its famous cattle fair. See Nagaur.
- Khimsar: the fort hotel of Khimsar.
- Why stop: one of them breaks the drive beautifully.
- The circuit: our desert triangle journey links Bikaner, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer in exactly this way.
Choosing by who you are travelling with
For families
Animals and stories: the biplane and armoury at Junagarh, then the camel centre at dusk with its calves and milk parlour.
- The finish: a short camel ride and a fire under the stars.
- Deshnoke: if the children are curious rather than nervous, it will be the story they tell at school.
- The rhythm: active mornings, afternoons by the pool.
For couples
The room: a palace room with a view.
- The moments: tea at Lalgarh as the stone turns pink, and a private haveli dinner with musicians.
- Calm: a night at Gajner beside the lake.
- Romance: a dawn drive to Deshnoke, shared with almost no one else, is a very particular kind.
For returning travellers
Rajasthan made new: if you have seen Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur, Bikaner is where the state feels new again.
- Go deeper: a naturalist at Jorbeer and Gajner, an afternoon with an usta artist and a day at Mukam with the Bishnoi.
- The route east: slowly, through Tal Chhapar into Shekhawati.
- More ideas: our offbeat Rajasthan journey.
What we would honestly skip
Big-dune expectations: the country around Bikaner has sand and scrub, and the rides are lovely, but for tall golden dunes save yourself for Jaisalmer and the Sam sand dunes.
Deshnoke at midday: hotter, busier and less atmospheric. Go at dawn or not at all.
- A driver's favourite showroom: commission shopping inflates prices and pushes poor work. We take you to makers and long-established shops, and you never have to buy.
- Racing jeeps on the sand: fast dune driving scares wildlife and erodes fragile ground. A slow drive, a walk or a camel cart shows you more.
- Bikaner in a day: many travellers pass through between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, see the fort and leave. With one more night, the city opens up.
- Performing animals: any show with dancing animals or animals made to perform. Our ethical animal encounters page explains what we will and won't do.
How to fit it all in
An easy pace: you won't do everything on this list, and you shouldn't try.
Two or three days: our Bikaner itinerary gives day-by-day versions.
The seasons: our best time to visit Bikaner guide explains them, from cold January mornings to the fierce heat of May.
- Day one
- Junagarh and the old city
- Day two
- Deshnoke, Lalgarh, the camel centre
- Day three
- Gajner or Jorbeer, then the stars
- Bring
- Socks, a temple scarf, a winter layer
- Where to sleep: our guide to luxury hotels in Bikaner compares the palace hotels, the haveli and the lakeside lodge at Gajner.
- The bigger picture: start with our main Bikaner guide for the city, its rulers and its people.
- The daily rhythm: forts and temples in the morning, lanes in the late afternoon, rest in the middle of the day.
- A guide who grew up in the old city: it changes everything.
- What to carry: socks for Deshnoke, a scarf for temples and a warm layer from November to February.
- Animals: never feed or chase them, whether camels, peacocks or the kabas of Karni Mata.
